KAFA’A Launches the Jordan National Cultural Index with support from UNESCO
Amman, Jordan – 12 August 2026 —
Performance Index Center | KAFA’A announced today the launch of the Jordan National Cultural Index, a national initiative designed to measure the performance of Jordan’s cultural sector across four core dimensions. The initiative is developed in partnership with the Ministry of Culture and the Jordanian National Commission for Culture, Education and Science, and aligned with the Culture | 2030 Indicators framework of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
The launch marks the formal start of project implementation — an 18-month initiative spanning all governorates of the Kingdom, supported by UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity and the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
The Index measures cultural sector performance across four foundational dimensions:
• Culture for Environment and Resilience
• Culture as a Driver of Economic Development
• Culture as an Enabler of Social Development
• Cultural Openness and Diversity
Eng. Muath Al Mbaidheen, CEO of Performance Index Center | KAFA’A, described the initiative as a significant step forward in how Jordan documents and measures cultural performance: “This Index is not designed to pass judgment — it is designed to give national cultural bodies a credible, diagnostic tool that supports evidence-based cultural policymaking.”
He concluded: “Through this project, we look forward to deepening coordination among national bodies, and to embedding a culture of measurement as an integral part of Jordan’s commitment to international frameworks.”
Sultan Al-Khalaif, Secretary-General of the Jordanian National Commission for Culture, Education and Science, said: “This partnership with Performance Index Center | KAFA’A reflects the Commission’s role in strengthening Jordan’s presence within UNESCO’s international frameworks, and in supporting national tools that translate these frameworks into measurable practice.”
He added: “The Jordan Cultural Index represents a national model for localizing UNESCO’s Culture | 2030 Indicators, and strengthens Jordan’s capacity to contribute to international reporting and comparisons through an objective methodology that reflects the reality of the local cultural sector.”
Eng. Al Mbaidheen noted that the project will be implemented with broad participation from youth, civil society, experts, and government entities — through a series of participatory workshops and a national fellowship program to build the capacity of local cultural researchers, alongside media content and a short film to bring the Index’s findings to the general public.
Findings will be presented at a national conference bringing together members of Parliament, government entities, and cultural institutions. The Index will be published in both Arabic and English, in print and online, ensuring the widest possible national reach and laying the groundwork for potential regional adaptation.
The project extends KAFA’A’s ongoing work in performance and impact measurement, and reflects Jordan’s international commitments under UNESCO’s 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and the priorities of the Creative Industries pillar of the Economic Modernization Vision.
