Amman, Sept. 28 (Petra) -- The Urban Observatory has recorded a 72.3 percent score on its cultural status indicator for Amman, with the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) aiming to raise the figure into the 80s next year, GAM Deputy City Manager for Community Development Thamer Shobaki said Monday.

Speaking at a seminar titled "The Role of Civil Society Institutions in Cultural Development: Greater Amman Municipality as a Model," held as part of the 25th Amman International Book Fair, Shobaki said turning audiences into active participants and creators of culture is the true measure of success.

He explained that GAM’s strategic vision has expanded beyond traditional municipal services to include strategic planning and a central role in cultural and community development.

Shobaki said cultural sustainability should be measured not by the number of events or attendees, but by their lasting impact and their ability to positively influence public awareness and behavior.

He called for establishing a unified cultural council to coordinate efforts among ministries, institutions and civil society organizations and organize cultural activity through a structured framework, while protecting younger generations from hate speech.

On the creative economy, Shobaki said cultural institutions primarily seek to preserve national identity, customs and traditions, with economic activity serving as a complementary objective.

He highlighted Amman’s cultural infrastructure, noting that GAM’s cultural work has expanded from a single department to a directorate with centers and libraries across the capital. He also highlighted the Amman Municipality Library, which dates back nearly a century and has 25 branches across the city.

Shobaki also cited the "Read to Rise" competition, whose participation has grown from 300 children to nearly 5,000, and the "Our Books, Our Civilization" initiative, which has distributed about 72,000 free books across Jordan.

He highlighted the cultural roles of the Hussein Cultural Center, the Museums Center and the Habib Al-Zoubi House of Poetry, as well as GAM’s acquisition of heritage houses and support for two Jordanian folklore groups and Bayt Al-Ruwad, which works to revive Jordanian musical heritage.

Shobaki said GAM has more than 150 strategic partners and highlighted its free publishing program, under which the municipality publishes books and manuscripts after review by specialized committees and deposits copies with the National Library.

On preserving Amman’s heritage, he said no changes are permitted to municipality-owned heritage buildings in order to protect the city’s visual and planning identity. He also pointed to the "Narrative of Place" initiative, launched under the direction of Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah II, to collect sources and document the history of Amman’s neighborhoods and their early residents.

More than half of GAM’s programs target children and youth through Zaha cultural centers in the governorates, while other initiatives include the "Young Writer" publishing program and a reading marathon, he added.

//Petra// AJ

28/09/2026 17:43:03