SCPR Discusses Syria’s Cultural Landscape at “The New Wave?” Event in Damascus
Damascus, Syria – 15 September 202626
The Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR) participated in “The New Wave?”, an event organised by Culture Tank Factory in Damascus on Tuesday evening, 15 September 2026. The event explored transformations within Syria’s cultural sector, the policies governing it, and its relationship with the economy and the public sphere.
SCPR was represented by its Programmes Manager, Shiren Saeed, who delivered an opening intervention examining the place of culture within public policy. She addressed the ways in which both declared and undeclared policies shape the cultural landscape and influence opportunities for participation, expression, and belonging across different segments of society.
Saeed emphasised that public policies are not limited to official documents and government decisions. Rather, they serve as a mirror reflecting how the state views its citizens and defines its relationship with them. Every political or economic decision carries an implicit vision that determines who is recognised and valued, who remains marginalised, and who is permitted to contribute to the public narrative and express their experiences.
Her intervention also addressed the concept of a “policy of inaction”, highlighting that policy is reflected not only in what public institutions do, but also in what they choose not to do. This includes neglecting cultural institutions and spaces, allowing libraries to disappear, marginalising certain languages and regions, and complicating approval procedures for some activities while facilitating others. Such gaps do not merely represent an absence of policy; they may become a means of producing an organised form of disorder whose consequences are borne by society.
Saeed also discussed the mental models that shape governments’ approaches to culture and their relationships with citizens. She explained that viewing culture through a consumerist lens transforms it from a human right and a space for participation and knowledge production into a commodity governed by market logic and mechanisms of control.
She noted that the effects of exclusionary policies extend to the distribution of dignity and a sense of belonging. When particular groups or regions are denied visibility, participation, and the ability to express their memories and experiences, they increasingly feel unseen and become less connected to the public sphere.
Reflecting on Syria’s cultural landscape, Saeed explained that the country is experiencing what SCPR describes as “institutional suffocation”. Decades of authoritarianism, conflict, and displacement have contributed to the erosion of the public sphere and the fragmentation of networks of trust.
She added that the cultural sector is also affected by an undeclared policy that reduces culture to its consumer dimension. This can be seen in commercial production, social media platforms that condense and diminish knowledge, and the treatment of cultural engagement as a form of luxury. These trends intersect with the global shift towards consumerism and market-oriented economies, as well as economic policies that have weakened the middle class, which has historically played a central role in supporting culture and producing knowledge.
In concluding her intervention, Saeed stressed that Syria’s reconstruction must not be limited to rebuilding physical infrastructure. It must also reposition cultural policy within a broader vision of justice and the social contract.
This requires a shift from a culture of guardianship to one of participation and empowerment, and from consuming culture as a commodity to enabling people to produce their own knowledge, preserve their memories, and tell their own stories. Culture is not a luxury that can be postponed until political and economic conditions stabilise; it is a fundamental pillar of the public sphere. Without cultural justice, there can be no genuine justice or recovery.
“The New Wave?” brought together intellectual discussion and artistic practice through sessions on cultural policy and the cultural economy, alongside performance and musical presentations. It also provided a space for researchers, artists, and cultural actors to discuss the roles of the state and independent initiatives, the future of cultural work in Syria, and pathways towards more participatory, equitable, and sustainable cultural policies.
SCPR Discusses Syria’s Cultural Landscape at “The New Wave?” Event in Damascus
Damascus, Syria – 15 September 2026
SCPR Discusses Syria’s Cultural Landscape at “The New Wave?” Event in Damascus
Damascus, Syria – 13–14 September 2026
The Syrian Center for Policy Research (SCPR) participated in “The New Wave?”, an event organised by Culture Tank Factory in Damascus on Tuesday evening, 15 September 2026. The event explored transformations within Syria’s cultural sector, the policies governing it, and its relationship with the economy and the public sphere.
SCPR was represented by its Programmes Manager, Shiren Saeed, who delivered an opening intervention examining the place of culture within public policy. She addressed the ways in which both declared and undeclared policies shape the cultural landscape and influence opportunities for participation, expression, and belonging across different segments of society.
Saeed emphasised that public policies are not limited to official documents and government decisions. Rather, they serve as a mirror reflecting how the state views its citizens and defines its relationship with them. Every political or economic decision carries an implicit vision that determines who is recognised and valued, who remains marginalised, and who is permitted to contribute to the public narrative and express their experiences.
Her intervention also addressed the concept of a “policy of inaction”, highlighting that policy is reflected not only in what public institutions do, but also in what they choose not to do. This includes neglecting cultural institutions and spaces, allowing libraries to disappear, marginalising certain languages and regions, and complicating approval procedures for some activities while facilitating others. Such gaps do not merely represent an absence of policy; they may become a means of producing an organised form of disorder whose consequences are borne by society.
Saeed also discussed the mental models that shape governments’ approaches to culture and their relationships with citizens. She explained that viewing culture through a consumerist lens transforms it from a human right and a space for participation and knowledge production into a commodity governed by market logic and mechanisms of control.
She noted that the effects of exclusionary policies extend to the distribution of dignity and a sense of belonging. When particular groups or regions are denied visibility, participation, and the ability to express their memories and experiences, they increasingly feel unseen and become less connected to the public sphere.
Reflecting on Syria’s cultural landscape, Saeed explained that the country is experiencing what SCPR describes as “institutional suffocation”. Decades of authoritarianism, conflict, and displacement have contributed to the erosion of the public sphere and the fragmentation of networks of trust.
She added that the cultural sector is also affected by an undeclared policy that reduces culture to its consumer dimension. This can be seen in commercial production, social media platforms that condense and diminish knowledge, and the treatment of cultural engagement as a form of luxury. These trends intersect with the global shift towards consumerism and market-oriented economies, as well as economic policies that have weakened the middle class, which has historically played a central role in supporting culture and producing knowledge.
In concluding her intervention, Saeed stressed that Syria’s reconstruction must not be limited to rebuilding physical infrastructure. It must also reposition cultural policy within a broader vision of justice and the social contract.
This requires a shift from a culture of guardianship to one of participation and empowerment, and from consuming culture as a commodity to enabling people to produce their own knowledge, preserve their memories, and tell their own stories. Culture is not a luxury that can be postponed until political and economic conditions stabilise; it is a fundamental pillar of the public sphere. Without cultural justice, there can be no genuine justice or recovery.
“The New Wave?” brought together intellectual discussion and artistic practice through sessions on cultural policy and the cultural economy, alongside performance and musical presentations. It also provided a space for researchers, artists, and cultural actors to discuss the roles of the state and independent initiatives, the future of cultural work in Syria, and pathways towards more participatory, equitable, and sustainable cultural policies.
