Mimeta's January 2026 analysis reveals an unprecedented crisis in artistic freedom: 21 artists killed in Iran's month-long crackdown, TikTok's ownership transfer enabling infrastructure-level censorship affecting 170M+ users, and 44 documented cases across 27 countries. The Middle East accounts for 43% of cases, with religious justifications in 36%. Despite this escalation, resistance persists, Kenya overturned film bans, Lebanese artists performed under threats, and Australian boycotts sparked institutional crisis.
The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are crucial to Mimeta’s vision and approach to the idea of cultural development and artistic freedom. They are precisely emphasising how Mimeta can promote democratisation and the implementation of human rights. The SDGs also influence the structures of monitoring and evaluating within programmes of Mimeta
The national cultural policy group (civil sector initiative) in Egypt presented to the parliament on Monday 19th March an outline of a proposed cultural policy and a plan for restructuring the ministry of culture.
