## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

Charity number 1136384 

A Company limited by guarantee number 07184925 

Annual Report and Financial Statements 

for the year ended 31 March 2021 





## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Annual Report and Financial Statements 

for the year ended 31 March 2021 

|**Contents**|**Page**|
|---|---|
|Trustees' Annual Report|2 to 9|
|Independent Examiner's Report|10|
|Statement of financial activities|11|
|Balance sheet|12|
|Statement of Cash Flows|13|
|Notes to the accounts|14 to 20|



**Prepared by the Greater Merseyside Community Accountancy Service** 

1 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Trustees' report continued 

## Review of progress and achievements 

Like many other Arts and Culture organisations LAAF has continued to experience the challenges brought about by Covid 19. The staff and board have drawn on the experience of the last 12 months to manage the organisations Art and cultural offer and to create new ways of working with creatives and engage audiences locally, nationally and internationally. Despite the challenges, we have much to celebrate. Increased funds have provided us with the opportunity to produce and deliver an exciting hybrid festival of in-person and online events. We delivered a rich programme of out-offestival events and participative workshops, brokered new partnerships and co-delivered a number of innovative pilot projects whilst grown our staff team by recruiting permanent and temporary staff. 

## **Festival** 

Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 2021 ran from 16 July – 14 November 2021. This was the first time that the festival moved from its usual 10-day format. 

The LAAF Board and festival team agreed to this change due to the implications of Covid-19 pandemic for programming. The UK Government ended Covid-19 restrictions on 19 July 2021, which enabled for live events to resume. Despite this the LAAF team approached this year’s festival with caution, prioritising the safety of artists, audiences and staff team. The festival programme was a blend of live and digital events. 

The multi-artform programme of live and online events was an artist-led response to the complexities of the climate emergency in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region today. 

The dire impact of the climate crisis is already being disproportionately felt in the MENA region, an area which has faced unprecedented climatic events in recent years. Scorching temperatures, rising sea levels and dwindling natural resources increasingly threaten a region already confronting the continuing realities of conflict and colonialism. From performance to visual art, LAAF 2021 provided a platform to express the lived experiences of those often excluded from climate conversations, while addressing interconnected issues such as imperialism, climate justice and capitalism. 

## **Festival highlights:** 

LAAF presented its first commissioned work _Eating the Copper Apple_ by award-winning queer poet and writer lisa luxx at Toxteth TV. luxx was the recipient of Al-Omar commission and supported by Anahid Kassabian and Mishaal Al-Omar throughout its inception. This powerfully collaborative work by a team of female Arab creatives (luxx, Nour Sokhon, Tamara Al-Mashouk, Diyan Zora, Alia Alzougbi, Scarlett Saad and Anya Urban) took audiences on a journey from West Yorkshire to the borders of Syria, in a one-woman show exploring identity, culture and displacement. Two sell-out performances at VideOdyssey, Toxteth TV on Saturday 17 and Monday 19 July finished a tour which started at Bradford Literature Festival and featured two performances at Rich Mix, London, for Shubbak. A special digital version of Eating the Copper Apple was also released online for audiences impacted the pandemic. 

Jessica El Mal’s _Grounds for Concern_ was installed outside Open Eye Gallery between 16 July – 16 August, in partnership with Open Eye Gallery and Bluecoat. Two hanging digital collages questions the concept of land ownership and the true boundaries that are enforced by human-made borders. An online panel discussion was held featuring Soukaina Aboulaoula, Yasmine Benabdallah, Alice Elliot, Pablo DeSoto and Jessica El Mal. 

_What Happened in Baghdad_ was project by Kamel Saeed, an emerging UK-based Iraqi creative. Saeed presented a fascinating audio journey of discovery into the creatives that once called the Iraqi capital home. This new podcast series was exclusively launched at the festival in July. 

2 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Trustees' report continued 

_Songs from Palestine_ was held on 26 September at Liverpool Philharmonic’s Music Room. Featuring Saied Silbak solo compositions and his quintet ensemble with Palestinian singer Maha, the performance was LAAF’s only live music performance of the festival but was a near sell-out. 

_ARTISTS / IDEAS / NOW_ series returned featuring artist-led conversations exploring some of the biggest issues facing the world today. Led by leading artists, creatives and activists, this series responds to Liverpool Arab Arts Festival's 2021 theme of climate crisis and its impact in the Middle East and North Africa. The series was co-produced with Creative Destruction and consisted of three online discussions: Imagine Democracy (15 September), Our Camp on Fire (13 October) and Feminism and the Climate Crisis (23 November). 

Youcef Hadjazi’s exhibition _Trauma Then, Trauma Now_ was held at the Royal Standard, Liverpool, Thursday 21 – Saturday 30 October. The film work explored collective and transgenerational trauma in post-colonial nations by focusing on the Algerian Civil War. Hadjazi held a well-attended performance workshop on Saturday 23 October to support future development of the project. 

_Between Two Islands_ explores the relationship between Bahrain, Britain and the British Bahrainis caught with a foot on either island. Produced by Ali Al-Jamri and Taher Adel the event was held at Chapters of Us on Saturday 30 October. It was live-streamed on LAAF’s Facebook page. In the afternoon a zine-making workshop was facilitated by artist Fauziya Johnson. On the 1 October Fauziya Johnson the LAAF website held audio work _The Future: A Between Two Islands soundscape_ . 

We received Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant funding to realise two major projects: 

_Threads_ was an ambitious multidisciplinary filmed performance by 3 established female Arab artists from Syria, Lebanon and Sudan: Omeima Mudawi-Rowlings (visual art), Alia Alzougbi (storytelling) and Rihab Azar (music). Filmed at Bluecoat 23-26 October 2021 it brought together a scripted spoken word and musical performance within a mixed media installation. 

Every day between 1 – 14 November 2021 we released new rapid response pieces on LAAF’s website for _22_ ; a project capturing the hopes and fears of a generation of Arab artists and activists, to coincide with the conversations being held by world leaders at COP26 in Glasgow. Together these pieces will form a creative anthology which will serve as a time capsule of this crucial moment in history, providing insight into the perceptions and preoccupations of those living or with heritage in the Arab world. _22_ was produced by activist and producer Penny Babakhani. 

We commissioned or supported a total of 66 unique projects in the extended festival period. At the time of writing, we worked with 77 artists on the festival across four continents. 66% of the artists identified as female. 

Publications 2 commissioned publications (Eating the Copper Apple; Yemen in Conflict) 1 anthology (Between Two Islands) 

3 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Trustees' report continued 

## **Online Platforms** 

We held festival events on the following online platforms: Eventive, Zoom, Facebook Live, LAAF website, YouTube, Instagram Live and Vimeo. Eventive was our core ticket platform for digital events. We launched a new partnership with Melodic Distraction to broadcast artwork and intervciews with artists via their online radio station. ARTISTS / IDEAS / NOW was live broadcast on Howlround, a US based digital art streaming platform. 

## **Out of Festival Events** 

LAAF remains committed to creating access to Arab arts and culture throughout the year. We had a wonderful pre-festival season that offered a range of online talks, activities and literature including: Book of Ramallah in partnership with Comma Press, A Journey to Yemen a collaboration with our partners in Ireland and Paris. A fascinating and thought provoking artist conversation Resistance Rebellion Revolution and our first partnership with Milton Keynes Festival showing The Art and Culture of Yemen: Honey and Frankincense. 

## **Projects** 

Our ongoing projects now feature as part of LAAF’s core offer. We continue to develop our community and culture education strategy focusing on creating awareness and appreciation of Arab people and their rich cultural heritage, reducing ‘othering’ of people from Arab origins and creating equality of opportunity for Arab creatives who are underrepresented in the creative industries. 

Covid-19 had restricted our engagement and reach during 2019/2020 but we have worked through and overcome many of the challenges to deliver a strong and impactful creative offer including: 

## **Generations for Change** 

LAAF was successful with an application to be one of five cultural organisations chosen to deliver a pilot project designed and funded by Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) Metro Mayor Liverpool City Region in partnership with Curious Minds. This was an exciting 6 months paid development and training opportunity for young people from Black, Asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds who are aged between 18 – 30 years and who are resident in the Liverpool City Region. 

Hilan Gully joined LAAF team in the role of Young Producer working with the festival team to plan and deliver digital and in person events. Hilan conducted a 6 month action research project and chose to explore and provoke conversations regarding Liverpool Middle Eastern communities representation in the climate movement. Hilan’s crafted her research findings into her own public exhibition _Voices._ The installation shown at OUTPUT Gallery, which ran included a film, protest boards and an interactive poll and participative workshops. 

## **Yemen in Conflict** 

We continued the development and delivery of Yemen in Conflict project in partnership with Poet/Creative Deryn Reece Jones. In May 2021 we held a Yemeni Female Poetry event online. At this digital event, the four poets had an opportunity to share their poetry and experiences and to listen to each other in front of a live audience. The featured poets Amina Atiq, Maliha Al-Asaadi, Maysoon Aleryani, moderated by BBC Special Correspondent Nawal Al-Maghafi. 

As live workshops were not possible, we conducted a series of digital workshops via Zoom throughout 2021. These workshops offered participants an opportunity to experience creative poetry and engage with the different formats related to the war in Yemen. Each workshop was led by an experienced poet who presented, facilitated, and offered creative exercises on writing and make observations for improvement. Participants took part by expressing their ideas and sharing creative writing produced in the session. 

4 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Trustees' report continued 

Poet Anthony Anaxagorou led the first workshop in English in August 2021. Yemeni poet Hamdan Dammag led an Arabic language workshop in September. A dual-language workshop was hosted in November by poets Dammag (Arabic) and Stephen Sexton (English). These digital workshops were well attended and allowed participants to creatively engage in both English and Arabic. The poems written by participants at the end of each workshop have been used (with consent) in a 48-page publication marking this project. The workshop, and this book, is a significant cultural achievement and has provided visibility for the Yemeni community, still amongst the lowest culturally engaged audiences in the UK, to create new work. 

We are delighted that Yemen in Conflict project continues to develop, with future outcomes planned throughout 2022 and beyond the lifespan of its current funding period. 

This vital project has demonstrated that there is a strong appetite for Yemeni poetry within the UK. We have seen the impact of creating safe and inclusive space to develop writing and poetry skills for the community. As an underrepresented group,  we are keen to build on the success of this project. 

## **Cultural Education Programme** 

The Cultural Education Programme has worked with 7 artists to develop workshops to be delivered in Primary and Secondary schools in the Liverpool City Region. These include poetry with Amina Atiq (Yemen/UK), Dabke Dance with Sylvia Ferreira (Syria/UK), Music with Saied Silbak (Palestine/UK), DJ with Jacques Malchance (Italy/UK) & Saliah Bryan (Lebanon/UK) and Visual Arts with Hilan Gully (Iraq/UK) & Jessica El Mal (Morocco/UK). 

At the time of writing, the project has engaged with 440 children (16 workshops, 4 days, 2 schools), all who have been introduced to Arabic language and aspects of Arab culture. Future bookings in place will take that number to 1530 (53 workshops, 16 days, 13 schools). 

The workshops have been warmly welcomed by the schools as they are pitched in a fun, friendly & creative way, introducing children to Arab culture, arts and Arabic language. The legacy documents such as room name tags in Arabic & the Alphabet sheets with phonetics have proved very popular with the schools. 

## **Maharat Project** 

We were delighted to plan and deliver a pilot programme in partnership with London based Arts Canteen. In August we launched the first edition of Maharat (Arabic for Skills), our development programme for emerging creative professionals. 

The programme is designed to offer an introduction for people of Arab origin to working in the creative industries, including music, film, events, performing arts and festivals. We gave five ambitious, curious, and emerging creative professionals from Arab backgrounds, who are based in England, the opportunity to develop their craft and professionalism. 

The programme aims to support participants to make vital new professional connections through tailored mentorship and training. It will serve as a key moment in helping kick-start careers in the creative industries. The programme is taking place in two parts: a series of 5 online seminars, panel discussions, and workshops that brings some of the most influential industry experts that Arts Canteen and Liverpool Arab Arts Festival invites based on the needs of the five selected creative practitioners 2 mentorship sessions from other industry professionals, based on the practitioners’ needs and areas of interest The programme is run over five months and take place online via Zoom for the group sessions. 

5 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Trustees' report continued 

LAAF uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and from July 2021, TikTok as its primary social media channels. We also use Mailchimp for email marketing, the Eventive film channel as a marketing platform. 

The LAAF website had over 10k visitors during the course of the festival, an increase of 12% on 2020. There were over 30k website views. There was a 53% increase in Arabic speaking using the website compared with 2020. The majority of website visitors come from the UK (56%), with the US in second (10%), Yemen (5%), and Saudi Arabia (3.5%). The growth in Arabic speakers, particularly around the Arabic translated Yemen in Conflict page, provides a strong foundation for our decision to widen our website translation in 2021 / 2022 where more of our website will be dual language. 

Our social media audience grew in 2021. Facebook has 9671 Likes, Twitter has 3268 followers. Instagram 2108 followers and we had 4950 plays on TikTok. That is a combined social audience of 15k, up by over 1k in 2020. Instagram has grown significantly, largely due to our continuing work with a younger Arab audience who primarily use this platform. 

The festival’s YouTube channel continued to grow in 2021 with over 6k views and 51.8k impressions. Our digital content was watched for over 1k minutes on facebook, 367 hours on YouTube. 

## **New Income/Funding** 

Much of our increased programming and project development has been made possible by the support of existing funders Arts Council England, Culture Liverpool, Granada Foundation, Al Omar Family and QFI. We anticipated 2020/2021 would be a difficult period to generate funds. Many funders repurposed their grants for Covid-19 response and many closed their open funding application process. Despite this, we were successful in securing DCMS Culture Recovery Fund, Arts Council Lottery Project Grants and Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor funding for Generations for Change and Granada Foundation support for our cultural education project. 

## **Organisation Development and Governance** 

LAAFs dedicated board members have continued to contribute their time and expertise to developing the organisation and providing additional capacity to the operational team in response to need. 

We were saddened to see two of our much valued board members resign their positions, their decisions were due to them entering exciting periods in their careers which restricted their role in the board. We wish Joann and Diyan every success and thank them for their commitment and contribution to LAAF. 

We are excited to welcomed new members Sarah Scally and Hamdan Dammag and look forward to working collectively to inform and support LAAF going forward. 

Bi-monthly board meetings focus on organisations health and development. The development priorities have been identified during LAAFs organisation appraisal and skills audit. 

Board members have participated in three additional subgroup meetings/awaydays dedicated to reviewing and updating LAAFs mission, vision and values and updating the five year business plan. 

6 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Trustees' report continued 

## **Going Forward LAAF Aims to:** 

Pilot working from a dedicated community base to make arts and cultural activities more accessible for local communities. 

Secure multi-year funding/income streams which will enable LAAF to develop its cultural education and community arts and participation work as part of the organisations core provision. 

Continue our support for emerging artist and creatives with training and development programmes and commissioning of new work. 

LAAF will continue with its commitment to creating awareness of environmental emergency and will build a library of online resources for artists, audiences and partner organisations. 

Develop digital capacity for event programming and workshops aimed that are designed to develop creativity, widen geographical reach and make participation more accessible and meaningful. 

LAAF operates a risk register ensuring early identification of reduced funds and impact on festival cost - programmes and festival events will only be delivered when LAAF is in receipt of adequate funds. 

Funds over and above the minimum reserve are held to provide contingency funds and/or investment in organisational development agreed by the Board. 

## Statement of Directors' responsibilities 

Company law requires the directors to prepare financial accounts for each year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to: 

select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently; 

observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 

make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; 

state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements. 

prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business; 

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. 

Approved by the Board on 16th December 2021 and signed on behalf of the directors by: 

Tahar Qassim Trustee 

7 



## Reference and Administrative Details Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Charity number 1136384 

## A Company limited by guarantee number 07184925 

The trustees, who are the directors of the company for the purposes of company law, are pleased to present their report and financial statements together with the independent examiner's report for the year ended 31 March 2021. 

|**Name**|**Position**|**Dates**|
|---|---|---|
|A Qassim|Chair||
|T Qassim MBE|||
|A Kassabian||till 1st Feb 2021|
|S Sullivan|||
|Cllr Joann Kushner||till 1st Mar 2021|
|Ms Diyan Zora||till 29 Oct 2021|
|Ms Zoe Delemere Lafferty|||
|Hamdan Dammag||appointed 16 Nov 21|
|Sarah Scally||appointed 27 May 21|
|**Method of appointment**|||
|Recruitment of new trustees is open, and focused on creating a diverse and effective Board|||
|**Registered address**|||
|The Bluecoat|||
|School Lane|||
|Liverpool|||
|L1 3BX|||
|**Bankers**|||
|HSBC|||
|99-101 Lord Street|||
|Liverpool|||
|L2 2AH|||
|**Independent examiner**|||
|**Jane Williams MAAT**|||
|**Greater Merseyside Community Accountancy Service**|||
|Beacon Building|||
|College Street|||
|St Helens|||
|WA10 1TF|||



## **Governing document** 

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 10th March 2010 as Liverpool Arabic Arts Festival and registered as a Charity on 16th June 2010. 

The company was renamed Liverpool Arab Arts Festival on 21st February 2013. The governing instruments under which the charitable company operates comprise the Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 9th February 2010 together with the policies made from time to time by the Trustees. 

Trustees  provide governance of the organisation as unpaid volunteers.  The board of trustees meets bimonthly and administers the charity the board approve policy that is then implemented by the Director and the rest of the team. In addition to bimonthly meetings LAAF trustees provide voluntary support to the operational team which enables the organisation to fulfil its aims and objectives. 

LAAF values volunteer support and ensues the festival offers opportunities for people to gain experience in Volunteers are given the opportunity to gain experience in festival  management, events production and marketing. translation, finance and general events administration. 

## **Objects of the organisation** 

The objects of the charity are to advance the education of the public in Arabic arts but not exclusively by the promotion and staging of regular Arabic arts festivals and events in Liverpool and; 

the advancement of the arts culture and heritage through the support encouragement and showcasing of Arabic artists and artisans. 

In setting objectives and policies to achieve them, the Board give due consideration to guidance issued by the Charities Commission to ensure that such policies achieve the requirement to give public benefit. 

8 



## Reference and Administrative Details 

## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Charity number 1136384 A Company limited by guarantee number 07184925 

**Accountant Jane Williams Greater Merseyside Community Accountancy Service** Beacon Building College Street St Helens WA10 1TF 

## **Approval** 

This report, which has been prepared in accordance with the provisions in the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies, was approved by the trustees on 16th December 2021 and signed on their behalf by: 

9 



## Independent Examiner's report to the trustees of Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

I report on the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2021 set out on pages 11 to 20 

## **Respective responsibilities of the Trustees and examiner** 

The charity's trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144(2) of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an independent examination is needed. Having satisfied myself that the charity is not subject to audit under company law and is eligible for independent examination, it is my responsibility to: 

q examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act; 

q to follow the procedures laid down in the general directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act; and 

q state whether particular matters have come to my attention. 

## **Basis of Independent examiner's statement** 

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a 'true and fair view' and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. 

## **Independent examiner's statement** 

In connection with my examination, no matter has come to my attention: 

1) which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements: 

q to keep accounting records in accordance with section 386 of the Companies Act 2006; and 

q to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and to comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 and with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice:  Accounting and Reporting by Charities 

have not been met; or 

2) to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. 

Jane Williams MAAT **Greater Merseyside Community Accountancy Service** Beacon Building College Street St Helens WA10 1TF 

16 December 2021 

10 



Liverpool Arab Arts Festival Statement of Financial Activities (Including Income & Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31 March 2021 

|Notes<br>2021<br>Unrestricted<br>funds<br>£<br>**Income from:**<br>Donations and legacies<br>(4)<br>684<br>Income from charitable activities<br>(5)<br>124,024<br>Other incoming resources<br>(6)<br>1,000<br>Investment Income<br>(7)<br>1<br>**Total incoming resources**<br>125,709<br>**Resources expended**<br>Charitable activities<br>(8)<br>105,948<br>**Net incoming / (outgoing) resources**<br>19,761<br>**Transfers between funds**<br>(31)<br>**Net movement in funds**<br>19,730<br>**Reconciliation of funds**<br>**Total funds as at 1 April 2020**<br>37,036<br>**Total funds as at 31 March 2021**<br>(8a)<br>56,766|2021<br>Restricted<br>funds<br>£<br>-<br>37,829<br>-<br>-<br>37,829<br>17,825<br>20,004<br>31<br>20,035<br>24,698<br>44,733|2021<br>Total<br>funds<br>£<br>684<br>161,853<br>1,000<br>1<br>163,538<br>123,773<br>39,765<br>-<br>39,765<br>61,734<br>101,499|2020<br>Total<br>funds<br>£<br>10,720<br>161,240<br>-<br>1|
|---|---|---|---|
||||171,961|
||||157,157|
||||14,804<br>-|
||||14,804<br>46,930|
||||61,734|



The above statement includes all gains and loses recognised during the year. All activities are regarded as continuing. 

Comparative figures for the previous year by fund type are shown in Note 15. The Notes on pages 14 to 20 form an integral part of these accounts. 

11 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Charity number 1136384 

## A Company limited by guarantee number 07184925 Balance sheet 

## as at 31 March 2021 

|2021<br>Unrestricted<br>**Current Assets**<br>£<br>Debtors and prepayments<br>(11)<br>24,117<br>Cash at bank and in hand<br>(12)<br>37,577<br>**Total current assets**<br>61,694<br>**Current liabilities:**<br>**amounts falling due within one year**<br>Creditors (due within one year)<br>(13)<br>4,928<br>**Total current liabilities**<br>4,928<br>**Net Assets**<br>56,766<br>**Funds of the charity**<br>Restricted Funds<br>-<br>Unrestricted funds<br>56,766<br>**Total Funds**<br>56,766|2021<br>Restricted<br>£<br>-<br>44,733<br>44,733<br>-<br>-<br>44,733<br>44,733<br>-<br>44,733|2021<br>Total<br>£<br>24,117<br>82,310<br>106,427<br>4,928<br>4,928<br>101,499<br>44,733<br>56,766<br>101,499|2020<br>Total<br>£<br>14,314<br>49,789|
|---|---|---|---|
||||64,103|
||||2,369|
||||2,369|
|||||
||||61,734|
||||24,698<br>37,036|
||||61,734|



The trustees (who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of company law) confirm that for the year ended 31 March 2021 

the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, and 

the members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in . accordance with section 476 of the Act 

the trustees acknowledge their responsiblities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts 

The notes on pages 14 to 20 form an integral part of these accounts. 

These accounts, which have been prepared in accordance with the provisions in the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies, were approved by the trustees on 16 December 2021 and signed on their behalf by: 

Afrah Qassim Chair 

12 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS 

## FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 March 2021 

|**Cash flows from operating activities:**<br>Net income/(expenditure) per SOFA<br>Depreciation<br>Investment income<br>(Increase)/decrease in debtors<br>(5)<br>Increase/(decrease) in creditors<br>**Cash flows from investing activities**<br>Investment income<br>(6)<br>**Net increase/(decrease in cash:**<br>**Total cash as at 1 April 2020**<br>**Total cash as at 31 March 2021**|2021<br>Total<br>£<br>39,765<br>-<br>-<br>(9,803)<br>2,559<br>32,521<br>-<br>32,521<br>49,789<br>82,310|2020<br>Total<br>£<br>14,804<br>-<br>-<br>94<br>651|
|---|---|---|
|||15,549|
|||-|
|||15,549<br>34,240|
|||49,789|



The notes on pages 14 to 20 form an integral part of these accounts. 

13 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Notes to the accounts 

## for the year ended 31 March 2021 

## **1 Basis of preparation** 

These accounts (financial statements) have been prepared under the historical cost convention, 

- **1.1** with items recognised at cost or transaction value, unless otherwise stated in the relevant note(s), in accordance with: 

   - (a)    The Charities Act 2011 

   - (b)    The Companies Act 2006 

   - (c) The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland: FRS 102 

   - (d) Accounting & Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (Charities SORP FRS 102) (effective January 2015) 

- **1.2** The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102 

- **1.3**[The][trustees][consider][that][there][are][not][material][uncertainties][about][the][charity's][ability][to] continue as a going concern. 

## **2 Accounting Policies** 

## **2.1 Fund accounting** 

(a)   Unrestricted funds are those that can be expended at the discretion of the trustees in the furtherance of the objects of the charity. 

(b)   Restricted funds are those that may only be used for specific purposes.  Restrictions arise when specified by the donor, or when funds are raised for specific purposes. 

(c)   The purposes of the funds are shown in Note 8a. 

## **2.2 Income** 

- (a) Income is recognised and included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity becomes entitled to the income; receipt is probable; and the monetary value can be measured with sufficient reliability. 

(b) Where income has related expenditure (e.g. projects), the income and related expenditure are reported gross in the SOFA. 

(c)   Bank interest is recognised when credited to the account. 

- (d) Gift Aid, where appropriate, is recognised in the same accounting period as the donation to which it relates. 

- (e)   Income, which is subject to conditions that the charity has yet to fulfil, or which is specifically for use in a future accounting period, is treated as deferred income. 

## **2.3 Expenditure and liabilities** 

(a)   Expenditure is recognised on the accruals basis. 

(b)   The charity is not registered for VAT, thus all costs are shown inclusive of VAT charged. 

(c)   Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation to pay out resources. 

(d)   Governance costs include the costs of preparation and examination of the statutory accounts, the cost of trustee meetings and the cost of any legal advice to trustees on governance or constitutional matters. 

14 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Notes to the accounts 

## for the year ended 31 March 2021 

## **2.4 Tangible Fixed Assets** 

(a)   Tangible fixed assets are capitalised if they can be used for more than one year and cost at least £250.  They are valued at cost or, if gifted, at their value on receipt. 

Rates of depreciation 

Building Improvements:     20% straight line basis to nil Fixtures and fittings:          15% straight line basis to nil Equipment:                         20% straight line basis to nil 

## **2.5 Debtors** 

(a)   Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due. 

- (b)   Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. 

## **2.6 Cash** 

(a)   Cash comprises bank deposits repayable on demand and any short-term highly liquid investments with a maturity date of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account. 

## **2.7 Creditors** 

(a)   Creditors are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.  Creditors are normally recognised at their settlement amount, usually the invoice amount. 

(b)   Accrued charges are normally valued at their settlement amount. 

## **2.8 Taxation** 

The charity is not liable to income tax or capital gains tax on its charitable activities. 

## **3 Transactions with trustees and related parties** 

One trustee received payment for the delivery of a complex project following the departure of the project co-ordinator (note 13) during the accounting period. 

Owing to the nature of the charity's activities and the composition of the board of trustees (being drawn from local statutory and voluntary organisation), it is inevitable that transactions will take place with organisations in which a trustee may have an interest. All transactions in which a trustee may have an interest are conducted at arm's length and in accordance with the charity's financial regulations and expenditure procedures. No transactions were indentified which should be disclosed under FRS 102. 

15 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Notes to the accounts 

## for the year ended 31 March 2021 

|**4**<br>**Donations and legacies**<br>Donations<br>**5**<br>**Income from charitable activities**<br>Arts Council Funding<br>Box Office Income<br>Culture Liverpool Investment<br>LCRCA: Generations for Change<br>Yeman In Conflict<br>Liverpool City Council: COVID Support Grant<br>University of Liverpool<br>Granada Foundation<br>Qatar Foundation International<br>**6**<br>**Other Incoming resources from**<br>**charitable activities**<br>Training<br>**7**<br>**Investment Income**<br>Bank Interest Received|2021<br>Unrestricted<br>funds<br>£<br>684<br>684<br>2021<br>Unrestricted<br>funds<br>£<br>112,024<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>2,000<br>10,000<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>124,024<br>Unrestricted<br>funds<br>£<br>1,000<br>1,000<br>Unrestricted<br>funds<br>£<br>1<br>1|2021<br>Restricted<br>funds<br>£<br>-<br>-<br>2021<br>Restricted<br>funds<br>£<br>-<br>-<br>14,250<br>16,879<br>-<br>-<br>6,700<br>-<br>-<br>37,829<br>Restricted<br>funds<br>£<br>-<br>-<br>Restricted<br>funds<br>£<br>-<br>-|2021<br>Total<br>funds<br>£<br>684<br>684<br>2021<br>Total<br>funds<br>£<br>112,024<br>-<br>14,250<br>16,879<br>2,000<br>10,000<br>6,700<br>-<br>-<br>161,853<br>Total<br>funds<br>£<br>1,000<br>1,000<br>Total<br>funds<br>£<br>1<br>1|2020<br>Total<br>funds<br>£<br>10,720|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||10,720|
|||||2020<br>Total<br>funds<br>£<br>110,000<br>2,076<br>15,000<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>13,164<br>2,000<br>19,000|
|||||161,240|
|||||Total<br>funds<br>£<br>-|
|||||-|
|||||Total<br>funds<br>£<br>1|
|||||1|



16 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Notes to the accounts 

## for the year ended 31 March 2021 

8 **Expenditure of charitable activities** 

|**Incoming Resources**<br>Grants<br>Contributions<br>Donations<br>Interest<br>**Total Incoming Resources**<br>**_Direct Charitable Expenditure_**<br>Wages & Salaries<br>Artist Expenses<br>Equipment<br>Activities<br>Freelance<br>Advertising, Publicity & Marketing<br>Website Development<br>Volunteer Expenses<br>**_Support & Governance costs_**<br>Staff salary costs<br>Office costs<br>Running costs<br>Research and development<br>Refreshments and hospitality<br>Insurance<br>Training<br>Travel and subsistence expenses<br>Staff and board expenses<br>Subscriptions<br>Consultancy fees<br>Professional fees<br>Bank Charges<br>Sundry expenses<br>Bad debts written off<br>Payroll fees<br>Book-keeping<br>Accountancy|**Arts**<br>**Council**<br>112,024<br>112,024<br>57,706<br>13,968<br>24,255<br>3,308<br>305<br>90<br>28<br>2,518<br>229<br>2,169<br>53<br>654<br>30<br>340<br>295|**LCRCA**<br>16,879<br>16,879|**Culture**<br>**Liverpool**<br>14,250<br>14,250<br>10,059<br>1,400<br>385<br>75<br>42|**Donations**<br>1,684<br>1,684|**Granada**<br>**Foundation**<br>-<br>614|**Yeman In**<br>**Conflict**<br>2,000<br>2,000|**Qatar**<br>**Fdtn**<br>**Internatio**<br>**nal**<br>-|**COVID**<br>**Support**<br>**Grant**<br>10,000<br>10,000|**University**<br>**of**<br>**Liverpool**<br>6,700<br>6,700<br>5,250|**Total 2021**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||||||||161,853<br>-<br>1,684<br>-|
|||||||||||163,537<br>57,706<br>29,891<br>-<br>24,255<br>-<br>4,708<br>305<br>-<br>-<br>475<br>-<br>-<br>28<br>2,518<br>-<br>229<br>-<br>75<br>2,169<br>53<br>654<br>72<br>0<br>340<br>-<br>295|
|**Total outgoing resources**<br>**Total expenditure**<br>**Income / expenditure**<br>**Balance c/fwd @ 31st March 2021**|**105,948**<br>**6,076**|**-**<br>**16,879**|**11,961**<br>**2,289**|**-**<br>**1,684**|**614**<br>**(614)**|**-**<br>**2,000**|**-**<br>**0**|**-**<br>**10,000**|**5,250**<br>**1,450**|**123,773**|
|||||||||||**39,764**|
|||||||||||**39,764**|



17 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Notes to the accounts 

## for the year ended 31 March 2021 

|**8a Restricted funds summary**<br>Balance b/f<br>£<br>Culture Liverpool Investment<br>(161)<br>Granada Foundation<br>2,000<br>LCRCA: Generations for change<br>-<br>LCVS<br>(14)<br>Qatar Fdtn International<br>19,000<br>Trusthouse Charitable Fund<br>(17)<br>University of Liverpool<br>3,890<br>24,698|Incoming<br>£<br>14,250<br>-<br>16,879<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>6,700<br>37,829|Outgoing<br>£<br>11,961<br>614<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>5,250<br>17,825|Transfers<br>£<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>14<br>-<br>17<br>-<br>31|Balance c/f<br>£<br>2,128<br>1,386<br>16,879<br>-<br>19,000<br>-<br>5,340|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||44,733|



## **Purpose of restricted funds** 

Culture Liverpool contribution towards the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival. Granada Foundation provided funding towards cultural workshops in schools. LCVS Community Impact Fund contribution towards Crafting Our Culture Back. Qatar Foundation International provided funding for schools cultural development project. Trusthouse Charitable Fund costs for an Arts Sessional Worker. University of Liverpool funded our Yeman in conflict national project. 

|**9**<br>**Staff Costs**<br>Gross Wages and salaries<br>Social security costs<br>Pension contributions|2021<br>£<br>56,073<br>1,312<br>414<br>57,799|2020<br>£<br>35,375<br>692<br>-|
|---|---|---|
|||36,067|



The average number of employees during the year, calculated on the basis of full-time equivalents, was as follows: 

|2021<br>1.5|2020|
|---|---|
||1|



No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 during the year 

18 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Notes to the accounts 

## for the year ended 31 March 2021 

|**10 Debtors and prepayments**<br>Debtors<br>Prepayments<br>**11 Cash at bank and in hand**<br>Current accounts<br>Credit card<br>Reserve account<br>Cash in hand<br>**12 Creditors and accruals**<br>Creditors<br>Accruals<br>Other creditors<br>**13 Trustee remuneration and expenses**<br>Total amount paid|2021<br>£<br>24,117<br>-<br>24,117<br>2021<br>£<br>82,097<br>(534)<br>705<br>42<br>82,310<br>2021<br>£<br>4,928<br>-<br>-<br>4,928<br>2021<br>£<br>2,500|2020<br>£<br>14,314<br>-|
|---|---|---|
|||14,314|
|||2020<br>£<br>49,107<br>(65)<br>704<br>42|
|||49,789|
|||2020<br>£<br>2,369<br>-<br>-|
|||2,369|
|||2020<br>£|
|||1,643|



During the period one trustee received payment to support the delivery of a cultural engagement project following the departure of the project co-ordinator.  This was the best option for the delivery of a complex project. (2020: out of pocket expenses were paid to 6 trustees) 

## **14 Operating Lease Commitments** 

Financial commitments under non-cancellable operating leases relating to rental property lease will result in the following payments falling due at 31st March 2021, one month notice up to termination of lease agreement date 30th October 2021. 

|Within 1 year|2021<br>£<br>697|2020<br>£|
|---|---|---|
|||607|



## **15 Guarantees** 

As at 31st March 2021, 6 members had given a guarantee of £10 each in the event of the company winding-up.  Total: £60 (2020: 8 members, £80) 

19 



## Liverpool Arab Arts Festival 

## Comparative Statement of Financial Activities (Including Income & Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31 March 2021 

## **16 Comparative income and expenditure by fund type** 

|**Income from:**<br>Income from donations<br>Income from charitable activities<br>Other incoming resources<br>Investment income<br>**Total incoming resources**<br>**Expenditure on:**<br>Charitable activities<br>**Net incoming / (outgoing) resources**<br>**Transfers between funds**<br>**Net movement in funds**<br>**Reconciliation of funds**<br>**Total funds as at 1 April 2020**<br>**Total funds as at 31 March 2021**|2021<br>£<br>684<br>124,024<br>1,000<br>1<br>125,709<br>105,948<br>19,761<br>-<br>19,761<br>37,036<br>56,797<br>Unrestricted|2020<br>£<br>10,720<br>112,076<br>-<br>1<br>122,797<br>122,918<br>(121)<br>-<br>(121)<br>37,157<br>37,036<br>Funds|2021<br>2020<br>£<br>£<br>-<br>-<br>37,829<br>49,164<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>37,829<br>49,164<br>17,825<br>34,239<br>20,004<br>14,925<br>-<br>-<br>20,004<br>14,925<br>24,698<br>9,773<br>44,702<br>24,698<br>Restricted Funds|2021<br>2020<br>£<br>£<br>-<br>-<br>37,829<br>49,164<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>-<br>37,829<br>49,164<br>17,825<br>34,239<br>20,004<br>14,925<br>-<br>-<br>20,004<br>14,925<br>24,698<br>9,773<br>44,702<br>24,698<br>Restricted Funds|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||49,164|
|||||34,239|
|||||14,925<br>-|
|||||14,925<br>9,773|
|||||24,698|



20