Host Al-Andalus Museum
A contribution to knowledge and dialogue that its host countries can make possible, share with the world and sustain over time.
Al-Andalus Museum brings Museum, School and Forum together in a proposal across two shores. Its ambition is to offer experiences that broaden perspectives, education that serves the community and cultural cooperation between countries.
01 / Why it matters
An idea can grow when someone from elsewhere translates it, questions it or discovers a new possibility within it. Al-Andalus offers specific stories through which to experience that human capacity: receiving, transforming and sharing knowledge.
Recognising Muslim contributions to European history and their relationship with other traditions broadens our perspective. The story also includes the conflicts and inequalities of that world. Its purpose is to awaken curiosity about others and explore better ways of relating today.
Explore the museum’s purposeThe project’s ambition
A presence in Iberia and the Maghreb and another in the Arab East. A shared mission, with initiative from both places and programmes connecting their institutions and audiences.
Iberia and the Maghreb
Histories, heritage and living knowledge connected with Al-Andalus. A presence that brings them into dialogue with other traditions and develops new interpretations with the other shore.
Knowledge in both directions
The Levant and the Arabian Peninsula
Histories and traditions of knowledge from the Levant and the Arabian Peninsula. A presence that contributes its own questions and explores them with institutions on the other shore.
Shared programming would give continuity to the relationship between hosts. Each presence will be developed with its institutions and communities, taking account of their cultural and educational priorities.
Its heritage, its questions, the experience of its institutions and the creativity of its communities.
Shared content, professional relationships, educational resources and new ways to reach other audiences.
Content researched and produced together, drawing on both contexts.
Encounters between researchers, educators and creators to share methods and develop joint work.
Materials and projects connecting educational institutions and supporting learning before and after the visit.
Programmes on translation, water, crafts or living together, approached from different perspectives.
These are areas of cultural connection. Countries, cities, the form of each presence and development phases remain open.
02 / What it offers your country
The value for hosts grows from the service the museum provides: to their citizens, their visitors and the institutions they work with. A recognisable, sustained cultural contribution can strengthen their reputation for openness, knowledge and connection.
How that value is built
The country supports knowledge, education and cooperation.
Audiences encounter it in galleries, classrooms and public gatherings.
That experience can strengthen its image of openness and ability to connect.
Cultural openness
The story of Al-Andalus brings together contributions from different traditions and relates them to the host context. The visit invites people to discover connections and reconsider preconceptions.
The perception it can strengthenAn open country, confident in its identity and able to recognise others’ contributions.
Education
The School proposes working with local teachers: preparing a question in the classroom, exploring it during the visit and returning to it with resources for comparing sources and sharing what was learned.
The perception it can strengthenA country that turns its educational commitment into concrete opportunities to learn.
International cooperation
The Forum proposes bringing researchers, educators and creators from both shores together around a shared question. Each encounter could lead to a public resource and a line of joint work.
The perception it can strengthenA country able to convene, listen and sustain cooperation.
Local creativity and knowledge
Programmes propose involving local researchers, craftspeople and creators in interpreting heritage and producing new content, with authorship and participation terms agreed.
The perception it can strengthenA country that produces culture and knowledge and recognises those who make them possible.
Cultural life and visiting
A recognisable immersive experience, educational programmes and evolving encounters can extend relationships with residents and visitors. Their development will connect with local cultural life.
The perception it can strengthenA destination with a cultural proposition of its own and an institution close to its community.
Development will include evaluation with audiences and institutions. Indicators and objectives will be agreed at each stage, starting with concrete questions:
What do visitors understand, and what new questions do they take away?
Who gains access, who takes part in programmes and what barriers remain?
What joint work continues, and what resources does it produce?
What do audiences associate with the countries making the museum possible, and how does that perception evolve?
03 / What makes it distinctive and credible
The distinction lies in what visitors discover and do: recognise someone else’s contribution, compare perspectives and see their own understanding change. Technology gives that encounter a form.
A proposed signature experience
Córdoba, tenth century. Work on the Greek text of Dioscorides offers a way to explore what changes when words, images and knowledge of plants come together. The proposal turns that story into an experience of comparison and discovery.
Visitors compare different clues at independent tables. A shared projection connects the contributions, while others can observe and continue their journey.
Explore the concept and its sourcesThe Dioscorides case provides sources and distinguishes the historical episode from its exhibition interpretation.
Read the sourcesThe proposal combines a shared narrative, optional participation and independent interaction points. Visitor flow and accessibility are part of the design.
Explore the visitor journeyResearch, specialist review, design, testing with visitors and operational assessment guide the passage from concept to delivery.
Explore the method04 / How we begin
The first conversation seeks to identify an institutional fit: what contribution your country wants to support, who could take part and what conditions would enable a collaboration to be explored.
Relate the museum’s mission to your country’s cultural and educational priorities, its audiences and the role it could play between the two shores.
Recognise which institutions should be involved, their capabilities and the questions a later study would need to address.
Agree a proportionate scope of work: objectives, responsibilities, necessary studies and resources to assess the possibilities for collaboration.
The ambition of two shores guides the project. Host countries, locations, the form of the venues and development phases remain to be agreed. The founders’ residence in the UAE motivates the study of a legal vehicle there; it does not determine the museum’s location. Ownership, operation and rights will be defined in the relevant agreements.
Explore the project and its governance principles