The organizing authority: Supreme Council for Family Affairs

Dates Held: 11^th – 12^th May 2004

First: Seminar's Objectives and Themes

The Seminar aims at highlighting the cultural aspect of persons with special needs in the Gulf Cooperative Council States, and making available to cultural creators the opportunity to get to know each other and exchange expertise among them, raising awareness in the Gulf society members about the importance of this segment through the cultural and artistic activities, besides removing the psychological and social barrier and providing the best conditions for including this segment in the community.

Second: Work Paper

1.      Present reality and care of the government in the area of the cultural movement for special needs persons: Maryam Saleh Al-Ashqer.

2.      The experience of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the cultural field toward special needs persons: Abdulla bin Mousa Al-Jassas.

3.      The experience of Sharja City in caring for special needs segments: Osama Nadeem Mardeeni.

4.      The role of the arts in the life of persons with special needs: Najat Al-Qallaf.

5.      The care of the Sultanate of Oman in the cultural field of special needs persons: Mohammed Abdulla Al-Oraimi.

6.      The reality of the Kingdom of Bahrain's care in the cultural field of special needs persons: Moneera bint Hindi.

Third: Recommendations

1.      Activating the role of the media to continuously raise awareness of and highlighting this segment in the community and rot to depend only on occasional or casual media.

2.      Informing the law of special needs persons which is currently applied in some Gulf States and include this law within the rest of the laws and informing special needs persons of their rights.

3.      Confirming the prevalence of sign language in all service audio-visual programs as a basic means and working toward establishing common cultural centers for special needs persons to fulfill the principle of total inclusion.

4.      Continuous enhancement in the governmental and non-governmental organizations to issue publications and periodicals concerning special needs persons.

5.      Promoting special needs services on the level of cities, towns and villages, besides follow-up and direct overseeing of the entire centers and institutions concerned with special needs persons by specialized executive bodies.

6.      Including in school curricula the disability culture in all Gulf States besides caring for talented and distinguished persons with special needs.

Holding the cultural seminar once every two years and coordinating with Gulf States.