International News in October 2003
Show all of 2003
Can the arts cash in on cities' creativity buzz?
Sniffing the political breeze, the Canadian arts community has caught a whiff of the urban-renewal agenda and is hot on the scent. If anybody is negotiating a new deal for cities, the arts want to be at the table. more >
Controversy over cultural exchange between Cuba and Puerto Rico
The Cuban Chamber for Books has condemned ‘new aggression’ by the US government against the culture of Cuba. more >
Confronting the culture wars
The 'thrust' of a controversial review of the National Museum of Australia has been endorsed by its council and staff, the museum's chairman, Tony Staley, said yesterday. more >
Cubans mark cultural day in Abuja
Cubans in Nigeria marked their country's national cultural day in Abuja with an exhibition of the paintings of some of the country's outstanding painters and writers. more >
First cultural event for Endorois
The Endorois of Baringo District in Kenya held their first cultural day on Friday. The occasion was witnessed by Assistant Minister Alicen Chelaite. more >
International Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted
Oral traditions and expressions will now benefit from an international legal instrument to safeguard intangible heritage, following a meeting of the Member States attending the UNESCO General Conference at Headquarters in Paris recently. more >
Making culture dynamic is the sure route to development
A commentary on African cultures, Ghanaian cultural activities, and the cultural policy of the Ghana National Commission on Culture. more >
Meeting to discuss city image update
A meeting attended by representatives from eight different countries will be held in New York on October 29-30, addressing the issue that the image of cities as hotbeds of pollution, stress, poverty and crime needs an update. more >
National Culture and Arts Award to be reformulated
Angolan Minister of Culture Boaventura Cardoso said today in Luanda that the National Award of Culture and Arts will undergo some changes to adjust it to the new working environment of his sector. more >
Participants from 23 countries discuss Information Literacy
Inequities among nations and individuals in today’s Information Society were targeted at a historic, 'first-of-its-kind' meeting recently held in Prague, Czech Republic. Forty participants from 23 different countries, representing all seven major geographic regions of the world, met to discuss Information Literacy. more >
Performing Arts Festival concludes
The World Performing Arts Festival, a major annual cultural activity in the city of Lahore, ended on the weekend. The carnival began on October 17 and enthralled audiences for ten days. The festival featured local and foreign performances. more >
Universal Forum of Cultures to take place in Barcelona
The first Universal Forum of Cultures will be held in Barcelona, Spain, from May 9 to September 26 in 2004, and expects to attract more than five million visitors to its events. more >
Govt should not veto arts festival, Minister says
The Victorian Government is dismissing suggestions that it should take control of the program for the Melbourne International Arts Festival. more >
The arts deserve city funding too
For some, grants to arts organisations are bad just because they are grants. For others, it is the arts themselves that are unworthy of having taxpayers' money lavished upon them. more >
Al-Assad and King Carlos visit National Museum
President Bashar al-Assad, his wife Asmaa al-Assad, King of Spain, Juan Carlos and wife Queen Sofia visited the National Museum in Damascus where an exhibition for the Spanish artist Alberto Carathone was opened. more >
Arts Minister unveils first projects for Culture Online
Scottish Arts Minister Estelle Morris has set out details of the first seven projects to be commissioned under the new government arts and education initiative, Culture Online. more >
Bridging the arts and the masses
For years, Philippine art has had the negative reputation of being elitist. It has since been included in the list of things the masses cannot afford to appreciate and enjoy. more >
Treaty targets Hollywood's homogenisation of culture
Talks are starting on a United Nations treaty designed to help countries protect their native cultures in the face of what many characterise as the homogenising effect of Hollywood. more >
A-Ha! A Hakka culture and arts festival
The 2003 Hakka Culture and Arts Festival, A-Ha! Hakka, will features 76 cultural groups giving 182 performances in 16 cities across Chinese Taiwan. more >
Dance and opera open Shanghai International Arts Festival
Dances and dramas, including the global success of Ireland's 'River dance' and China's folk dance drama 'Farewell My Concubine', kicked off the fifth China Shanghai International Arts Festival on Saturday. more >
US artists reaching out to rebuild Iraq culture
Getting the music playing may not seem to be as high a priority as turning the lights back on, but in the eyes of some, US officials and arts groups restoring Iraq's cultural institutions are just as important to the country's rebuilding process. more >
Minister seeks more arts access
Arts Minister Estelle Morris has denied plans to cut funding for national museums and galleries because they were too 'elitist' and 'middle class'. more >
After CORA's arts festival...
The Committee for Relevant Arts has organised a book and culture fair in the art city of Lagos, Nigeria. more >
Culture on the agenda at environment summit
The 15th National Environment Institute of Australia and New Zealand Conference will have a cultural twist this year, with the formal launch of the Regional Cultural Alliance. more >
Mandela congratulates JM Coetzee
Former South African president Nelson Mandela congratulated South Africa's latest Nobel prize winner, author J. M Coetzee. more >
Morocco among countries to benefit from French 'co-development' policy
Morocco is among four African countries to benefit from the 'co-development' policy initiated by the French government to help foreign communities settled in France invest in their native countries. more >
Mrs Mubarak opens German Cultural Festival
Egypt's First Lady, Suzanne Mubarak, opened the German Cultural Festival 2003, which is hosted by Cairo and Alexandria from October 2-23 with the aim of boosting bridges of cultural dialogue between Egypt and Germany. more >
Postponed national art festival rescheduled
The seventh China Art Festival, the top art festival in the country, will be held on September 10, 2004 in this capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, the organising committee has announced. more >
Survey launched to preserve traditional paper art
The first ever China-wide survey of the traditional folk art of paper-cutting has been launched as part of a 'Chinese folk culture salvation project'. more >
Art forms enhance cultural identity
Senator Datuk Mohammad Omar Bledram said all forms of drawings, sculpture, dances and traditional games should be valued by all, and those skilled in these art forms should improve. more >
Asean arts and culture forum to debut
A meeting to discuss the promotion of culture and arts in the Asean region and among the group's 'plus three' partners will be held in Kuala Lumpar on October 13 and 14. more >
MOEA awards medal to artist
Chinese Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday conferred a 'Friend of Foreign Service' medal on renowned artist Li Chi-mao for his long-term devotions to the promotion of international cultural exchanges. more >
Government to preserve arts in 3D images
China's Education, Science and Technology Ministry plans to produce and preserve 3D digital images of historical structures, traditional performing arts and other government-designated cultural assets, according to ministry sources. more >
Kuala Lumpur to host inaugural Asean culture and arts ministers meeting
Kuala Lumpur will host the inaugural meeting of culture and arts ministers of Asean and Asean+3 on October 13 and 14. more >
Culture seeping into premiers' offices
Taxes, jobs, health care and education... you don't expect the provincial politicians who pay your doctors and build your schools to start discussing art appreciation or heritage conservation in the midst of an election. more >
RP dot-com supports arts in online ticketing
Internet portal and online community Yehey! and the Cultural Center of the Philippines have forged an agreement to offer an online channel for the distribution and marketing of tickets in CCP presentations via the web. more >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >