Cultural cooperation Egypt – Netherlands 2021-2024

The Netherlands has been actively present, visible and recognised in the Egyptian field of arts and culture. The Dutch government has not only supported Dutch cultural actors in Egypt but also extended support to locally based cultural activities led by and involving local practitioners fulfilling local demands. Current project partners include Herstory, Cimatheque, Adef and Megawra.

Some important goals that have been set and actively pursued which have proven to be successful: paying more attention to artists and practitioners, not only to institutions; reaching out to cultural initiatives beyond Cairo and to various underserved communities and segments of the society; recognising the intrinsic, social and economic values of culture and acknowledging this as a medium for job creation. 

In the current period, the essence of the Dutch cultural policy with regard to Egypt is to help arts and culture play a more active and influential role as a vehicle for social change. The overall objective is to promote social cohesion and community resilience. As such, the cultural policy focuses on the artistic and creative process and on innovations, as well as on the role of arts and culture as catalysing tools for development.

New Dutch-Egyptian partnerships have been established with the help of the Dutch embassy in Cairo. The building of new partnerships and collaborations in the cultural international field will remain an active goal. This approach has shown how building constructive alliances and partnerships, locally and with the Netherlands, creates empowered cultural actors and an enriched cultural sector.

In order for these (international) partnerships to be fruitful, mutual trust and understanding are essential. Residencies are a good way to establish a mutual exchange and long-term artistic relationships, for example. A beautiful example of this is the digital art residency programme Rebooting, which was initiated by B’sarya art space in Alexandria. This residency yielded interesting co-creations between artists from the Netherlands and artists from Egypt.

The Dutch embassy in Cairo and DutchCulture are good starting points for cultural professionals who want to carry out projects in Egypt and/or with Egyptian partners.

Priority disciplines include performing arts, music, film, tangible and intangible heritage conservation, design (product design and architecture), and urban development/design. Besides this, special attention will be given to innovation, interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral activities, and arts-based interventions that bridge creativity and other issues like sustainability, climate change, environment, food security and liveable cities. 

Would you like to receive more information regarding opportunities for cultural exchange with Egypt? Feel free to contact our country advisor.

• Go (back) to the main country page for Egypt 
• Webpage of the Embassy of The Kingdom of the Netherlands in Egypt 
• Follow the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Egypt on Facebook