Negotiating the Wording of a Joint Statement in Arabic: C2 Conversation

Nabil — first organisation representative: We represent three fictional arts organisations: Frame Association, Mirror Group and Trace League. I propose a statement for a photo exhibition: “We commit to making the photographs available and preserving them for the public.” My association can provide twelve copies and display them for four days.

Lina — second organisation representative: My group can print forty copies of the catalogue before the first day. But “we commit” may make me responsible for display and storage as well. Are we announcing what each organisation will do, or placing our names beneath a promise wider than our capacity?

Mazin — third organisation representative: I read “preserving them for the public” as meaning they remain available to revisit after the exhibition. Temporary display does not fulfil that purpose. My league requires a long-term storage plan before signing a statement containing this phrase.

Samir — facilitator: I facilitate the session; I do not represent a fourth organisation, and I neither vote nor sign for you. Let us first specify what each phrase means, then each representative chooses what they authorise for their organisation.

Nabil — first organisation representative: By storage I meant protecting the copies during the four days, then returning them to their owners on the fifth. I did not mean creating an archive. I find the phrase acceptable with that meaning, but Mazin has shown that it carries another reasonable meaning.

Lina — second organisation representative: Then let us say “protecting the copies during display” and attribute that to your association. Printing a catalogue preserves a description of the exhibition, but does not keep the photographs themselves available. I do not want the catalogue to take the place of the storage plan Mazin requests in the statement.

Mazin — third organisation representative: I appreciate that distinction. I do not object to the catalogue or the display, but neither answers my question. I proposed that Frame Association keep the copies after the exhibition; my proposal was not an acknowledgement that it had agreed to do so.

Samir — facilitator: I will record in the draft that storage after the exhibition is not agreed. I cannot turn “Mazin proposed” into “the organisations agreed”. This preserves the point of disagreement without binding anyone to a plan they have not accepted.

Nabil — first organisation representative: My association will not keep the copies after the fifth day. Their owners agreed only to display and return. I cannot turn my promise to protect them during display into a promise to keep them with us afterwards.

Lina — second organisation representative: What do you think of a narrower statement concerning only the exhibition and catalogue? I can sign it if it says Mirror Group handles printing only. I will accept an explicit statement that it contains no commitment to long-term storage.

Mazin — third organisation representative: The text becomes more accurate, but I will not sign it for Trace League. I have signing authority, and my decision here concerns the project’s purpose, not just the phrase’s ambiguity. In my view, the exhibition needs an accessible legacy after it ends.

Samir — facilitator: But Mazin’s refusal to sign does not make the statement impossible. It can be joint between two organisations, provided they are named and the absence of the third signature is clear. Do Nabil and Lina want this text with its stated limits?

Nabil — first organisation representative: Yes, and I have authority to commit my association to display, protection and return. But we should not put “after consultation with Trace League” in the statement as if that were evidence of endorsement.

Lina — second organisation representative: I have authority to commit my group to printing the forty. I will put the two signatory organisations’ names on the catalogue. Any reference to Trace League’s participation in the discussion will be in a separate paragraph and will not present it as an exhibition organiser.

Mazin — third organisation representative: I accept mentioning participation in the discussion if it states that the league did not sign the statement and is not organising the exhibition. But I do not accept shortening my observation to “later details”. For me, storage concerns the project’s purpose, rather than a deferred detail.

Samir — facilitator: We will identify your objection to the absence of a storage plan, rather than to catalogue printing. I will read the joint text in the two organisations’ names only. I do not infer from your acceptance of a reference to you that you accepted the announced commitment or abandoned your objection.

Nabil — first organisation representative: I propose this paragraph: “Frame Association commits to providing twelve copies, displaying and protecting them for four days, and returning them to their owners on the fifth day.” My paragraph does not include catalogue printing, and through it I do not undertake storage after the return.

Lina — second organisation representative: This follows: “Mirror Group commits to printing forty copies of the exhibition catalogue before the first day.” This commitment does not make my group responsible for the displayed copies. I will put in the conclusion that the statement contains no commitment to long-term storage.

Mazin — third organisation representative: These paragraphs attribute nothing to me that I have not accepted. I will publish a separate statement: Trace League participated in the discussion and did not sign the joint text because there was no long-term storage plan. I will not describe the two organisations as having promised what they rejected.

Samir — facilitator: The word “we” remains in the introduction. I propose: “We at Frame Association and Mirror Group announce the following commitments.” This limits the pronoun’s reference, and the two paragraphs specify who undertakes each task. I will ask you both about signing this particular version.

Nabil — first organisation representative: I authorise signing this version for Frame Association, with the specified introduction and conclusion excluding a long-term storage commitment. The display and return paragraph is the commitment my association will undertake. The exhibition has not begun; we are announcing future work.

Lina — second organisation representative: I authorise signing the same version for Mirror Group. We have not printed the catalogue; forty is the number of promised copies, not the expected number of visitors. I do not want a printing figure to become a promise about attendance.

Mazin — third organisation representative: I confirm that Trace League is not among the signatories and undertakes none of the stated commitments. Accepting accurate reporting of my objection does not mean endorsing the exhibition. People will read my separate statement to understand why my objection remained despite clarification of the phrases.

Samir — facilitator: This is therefore the version authorised for signature by two organisations, not three. I will send it unchanged for completion of signing and publication. I will not add “by everyone’s agreement” after the session or place my name among the signatories.

Nabil — first organisation representative: I still think the temporary exhibition is worth holding even if it leaves no accessible archive. Our agreement on specified tasks does not create agreement among the three about the exhibition’s purpose.

Lina — second organisation representative: I will retain “we commit” only where the organisation and task are clear. The catalogue will describe the exhibition and Trace League’s participation in the discussion without conflating them with signature or storage.

Mazin — third organisation representative: I will retain the disagreement about purpose in my statement and mention that the two organisations clarified the commitment’s limits. We will disagree about a known project rather than appear to agree on an ambiguous phrase.

Samir — facilitator: The session will produce a joint text that Nabil and Lina authorised for their organisations, and a separate statement Mazin is preparing. Signing, publication and implementation still lie ahead. My role is to preserve the limits, rather than create an imagined consensus.