First Cultural Development Project in Eastern Ghouta

Academics and intellectuals established the Center for Management and Development in Douma, Damascus. The center aims to develop and raise the level of competence and skill in the society to improve its future political and cultural performance. Mohamed Khair Na’al, director of the center, said that the society needs to get out of the reality of underdevelopment, ignorance and isolation which dominated throughout the reign of the Assad regime. The center seeks to develop the Syrian society and its culture so that it may be able to reach self-management in the future. The center also aims to raise the level of competence and skill in the Syrian society. Na’al said that the center is comprised of several departments; the first is the “Oli al-Albab Forum, where more than 17 symposia were held to discuss the problems and propose solutions to the challenges that face the society. The discussions included the issue of the managing liberated areas, the discussion of the ruling system, the military, medical, educational, and media situation in Ghouta, and the principles of democracy and freedom. Na’al also said that the center contributes to the developments of productivity projects designed to resist the siege and provides advice to the military and civilian institutions. Na’al stresses that the center is not affiliated with any armed faction or internal or external side, whether it was military or civilian, pointing out that it is independent of any financial support. Moreover, Abu Abdallah al-Shami, member of the center’s administration, said that the center embarked on others projects but could not go through with them due to lack of funding and equipment, such as publishing of magazines and newspapers in Ghouta and the establishment of Department of Studies and Research and a cultural club for the youth. He points out that among the major challenges facing the center are lack of financial support, and criticized supporters of the revolution who make most of their help to the relief, medical and military fields while do not pay attention to projects of this type. The reactions of the besieged residents of Ghouta to the center varied. Some people expressed optimism about this idea while others showed reservation. Sami Abu Asim describes the center as a unique cultural project that the revolution truly misses. However, Adnan an FSA fighter, said it was not appropriate to talk about a project while the regime’s warplanes bomb the civilians in Ghouta. (Source: Al Jazeera)