International News in November 2004
Show all of 2004
Welsh creative industries to benefit from £7m investment fund
Welsh musicians, film directors and computer game makers will today receive a £7m funding boost through a new investment fund for creative industries in Wales. more >
An exhibition of Angolan culture in Louisiana
The Angolan community in Baton-Rouge, Louisiana, has held its annual international exposition on Angolan culture, called Expo2004. more >
Russia and Chile establish cultural ties
Roszarubezhtsentr and Chilean organisation of compatriots, the Pushkin Cultural Corporation, have established a cultural co-operation agreement. more >
UNESCO reports on status of artists in 52 countries
The UNESCO World Observatory on the Social Status of the Artist has published data on employment regimes, statutes, legislation and social benefit systems for artists in 52 different countries around the world. more >
Brazilian foreign minister stands for cultural cooperation with Russia
Brazilian Foreign Minister Celso Amorim announced that Brazil and Russia share a common interest toward the development of mutual ties in the sphere of culture and arts. more >
Cultural heritage to be safeguarded
Pakistan Federal Minister for Sports, Culture and Youth Affairs, Ajmal Khan, has announced that his Government and UNESCO will make joint efforts to save the cultural heritage of Pakistan. more >
Disabled Artists Show Their Mettle
The Department of Culture and Youth organised a Visual and Performing Arts Festival for artists with disabilities on November 13 at Boipuso Hall in Gaborone. The event was meant to showcase the cultural and artistic productivity of people with disabilities. more >
France strengthens cultural ties to Dubai
The French Institute Alliance Française is determined to strengthen cultural ties between French-speaking residents and the multicultural community in which it is rooted. more >
High standards set for British museums
A scheme to ensure that high standards are maintained in the UK's museums was launched on Thursday. more >
Intangible Cultural Heritage to Be Listed
A three-day International Symposium on the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage started on Tuesday in Beijing. more >
New Arts Complex Helps Turn Gritty Newcastle from Coal Center to Creative Hub
The coal industry in Britain is clinically dead. And Newcastle, once the industry's gritty hub, has been forced not only to import coal but also to reinvent itself. more >
Official calls for cultural sector opening wider
The International Cultural Industry Fair Shenzhen has wound up, with a consensus that China's burgeoning cultural industry needs an edge. more >
Shenzhen emphasises cultural development
Shenzhen, the southern economic dynamo, is increasing investment in the young city's cultural sector. more >
Enhanced cultural cooperation in Asia
The three-day Asia Cultural Cooperation Forum wrapped up Wednesday afternoon, with participants agreeing that enhanced cultural exchanges and cooperation among Asian countries and regions would bring about social harmony and economic development. more >
2004 Election Report: How the Arts Fared
Americans for the Arts has released their analysis of the 2004 US election, determining that a return of a Republican to the White House and increased Republican majorities in Congress apparently will have little to no effect on arts funding and its management in Washington. more >
Ethnic minority music conference
Musicians from ethnic minorities who are struggling to find work and access information about the industry will be able to receive help and advice at a special conference this month. more >
Chinese minister calls for enhanced cultural cooperation in Asia
Speaking at the opening of the Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum, Chinese Minister of Culture Sun Jiazheng urged Asian countries and regions to step up cultural exchange and cooperation. more >
National forum on cultural heritage, culture and the arts
The Malta Tourism and Culture Ministry is to hold an annual national forum to address the important issue of the strategic plan for cultural heritage and will be open to sector-wide participation of those involved. more >
Mixed results on local-option measures around the nation
Following one of the bitterest elections in the nation's history - one in which voters not only chose a president but pondered whether to publicly fund cultural initiatives - Americans for the Arts has released a comprehensive analysis of what transpired at the polls and what the impact on culture will be. more >
Hewitt takes sabbatical to campaign for ACE’s future
Arts Council England has announced that it will release its chief executive Peter Hewitt on a fact-finding mission in an attempt to secure long-term funding and devise a future strategy for the organisation. more >
$2bn boost for the arts
Some 148 groups and individuals - comprising established and upcoming artists - will receive nearly $600 million in grants from the Zimbabwe Culture Fund Trust. more >
Conference on education for cultural heritage development opens
Vice President of Ghana, Alhaji Aliu Mahama, has called for a comprehensive programme plan of action for education in cultural heritage development in Africa. more >
WIPO and UNEP launch joint publication on benefit sharing
The World Intellectual Property Organisation and the United Nations Environment Programme have launched a joint study that explores the role of intellectual property rights and sharing benefits from the use of biological resources and associated traditional knowledge. more >
Cultural groups rally for cause
The arts are not expendable. That's the message behind the Campaign for Culture, an effort to leverage grass-roots support to encourage political candidates to take cultural groups - and their need for government funding - more seriously. more >
Deaf 'lose out' at arts attractions
A survey of arts attractions in Scotland, including the National Galleries of Scotland and Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh, has found that few are fully prepared for deaf and hard of hearing customers. more >
Edo State hosts culture, tourism summit
The Edo State Government played host to the National Council on Culture and Tourism, the highest policy generating body dealing with all matters relating to culture and tourism in the country last week. more >
Festival for disabled artists on the cards
The South African Department of Culture and Youth will host a visual performing arts festival for artists with disabilities, in line with the recognition of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Creators Day and African Decade of People with Disabilities. more >
U.S. official's visit to Iran called cultural 'outreach'
James Billington, the librarian of Congress, is in Iran this week on the first visit by a notable U.S. government official to that country in 18 years, administration officials said. more >
When artists talk . . . does anyone listen?
Though the 2004 US election turned mainly on cultural issues, as distinct from matters of economics or public policy, the vast majority of those who think of themselves as cultural professionals found themselves firmly on the losing side. more >
Arts council say cabinet must have dedicated culture minister
The Scottish Arts Council called yesterday for Scotland to have a dedicated minister for culture in the cabinet and said children should spend their first year in school indulging their creative side. more >
Luck and brass
The launch of the national lottery 10 years ago brought an unprecedented level of spending on the arts. More than £2bn has been given to British museums, theatres, artists and musicians. Has this cash transformed the cultural life of the country? Or is it, as some believe, an enormous waste? more >
Scottish arts groups submit ideas for future
The commission set up to review cultural provision across Scotland yesterday delivered its interim report to the Holyrood parliament. more >
Arts Council fears sport will hijack cash
The arts are at risk of losing funding to sport and should brace themselves for lean times ahead, Sir Christopher Frayling, the chairman of Arts Council England, warned yesterday. more >
Swiss arts play on cultural diversity
The Arts Council of Switzerland, Pro Helvetia, is launching a new programme to play up the country’s cultural diversity. The two-year project, which goes by the name of swixx, will show how different cultural identities influence the arts. more >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >