International News in July 2007
Show all of 2007
UK rejects music copyright extension
The government rejected a plea to extend copyright laws for sound recordings to beyond 50 years, prompting the music industry to accuse it of not supporting musicians and artists. more >
Goodbye to all Vat
The government is considering scrapping a controversial tax on non-resident artists performing in Ireland.
A right of resale? Indigenous art under the hammer
In light of Sotheby's auction of Indigenous art, it is surely time to re-open the policy debate in Australia as to whether Australian artists - especially Indigenous artists and their families - deserve a right of resale. more >
Black Sea State Culture Ministers meet for first time
Black Sea State Culture Ministers met in Athens to consider proposals, strategies and finances to promote cultural activities around the Black Sea. more >
China donates computers, mobile phones to Cultural Ministry
The Government of the People’s Republic of China donated 10 computers and 14 mobile phones to the Cultural Affairs Ministry last week to enhance China-Sri Lanka Cultural relations and to mark 50 years of bilateral relations between the two countries. more >
Culture easy to define
In reaction to a threatened widening of the definition of culture by the Albertan government caused by a 'stakeholder' consultation, Todd Babiak argues why Sports and Recreation aren't the same as Arts and Heritage. more >
Culture must be engaged for the good of man
Culture Week 2006, organised by the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, is a week for people to think about where they come from, what they believe and how they live. more >
Do corporate sponsorships compromise theatres?
The National's new production is brought to you by Shell: an ethical minefield or much ado about nothing? more >
Harmonious culture and cultural harmony
At the 8th Congress of Writers and Artists, President Hu Jintao, outlined the direction and position for the development of China's culture, to create a new glory of the national culture and to upgrade the soft power of the country. more >
Ibero-american culture Ministers ink declaration
The 10th Ibero-American Conference of Culture Ministers seeks to broaden the democratic access to culture and recognize the value of diversity. more >
Survey finds pirate downloads at all-time high and set to rise
llegal music downloading is at an all-time high and set to rise further, according to a report out today that urges the record industry to make legal buying easier and cheaper. more >
Art meets war in Iraq, and one loses
Desperate for cash, his dreams of an art career swept away by war, Nebil Anwar turned his knack with a paintbrush to producing portraits of U.S. soldiers' wives and children. more >
Actor laments poverty in performing arts
A Zimbabwean actor is bitter that the government is not investing enough on visual and performing arts, believing that the reason why the arts are stagnant in Botswana is because government has opted to only invest in soccer. more >
Giving Millions
Individual donors are surpassing companies as the U.K.'s biggest arts benefactors. more >
Informal Arts, Policy and Evolving Nonprofits
In a presentation from the June 2007 Americans for the Arts convention, Tom Borrup wonders about the viability of the existing cultural infrastructure, including the nonprofit arts. more >
Knowledge is nothing to be scared of
Thanks to the philosopher Roger Scruton, the debate about culture has been reopened. But are we really losing ours – and what happens if we do? more >
Seducing France into affairs of the arts
France’s new culture minister has responded with noticeable caution to the proposal to allow free access to the permanent collections of major museums, saying the initial experiment will be carefully studied. more >
Zimbabwe: 'Use Culture As Economic Development Component'
Zimbabweans should work together to use arts and culture as a special component for the country's economic development, Vice President Joice Mujuru said yesterday. more >
Europe's cultural heritage only a click away?
Access to the Europe's cultural heritage should be made much easier though the creation of the European digital library, the Committee on Culture and Education says in a report. more >
Ford Foundation Launches $1.9 Million Native American Arts Initiative
The Ford Foundation has announced a $1.9 million initiative to strengthen Native American arts and cultures throughout the United States. more >
Ministry supports grants artistic training of indigenous youth
The Minister for Culture, Communication and Women’s Rights has announced that $50,000 will be provided to the Wapikoni Mobile Corporation to help train indigenous youth in remote areas. more >
Researcher: Optimal copyright term is 14 years
It's easy enough to find out how long copyrights last, but much harder to decide how long they should last—but that didn't stop Cambridge University PhD candidate Rufus Pollock from using economics formulas to answer the question. more >
Safeguarding intangible heritage at the top of the agenda of Commission for UNESCO conference
The Director-General of UNESCO has laid particular emphasis on UNESCO’s work to promote cultural diversity, highlighting both the importance of integrating culture into development policies, and the need to recognize the multiple forms through which cultural diversity is expressed. more >
Call for Application for Artist/Managers of Independent Creative Art Spaces
ASEF has released a call for Asian and European participants for an intensive five-day workshop on the role and importance of artists/managers in multi-disciplinary independent creative art spaces. more >
Cultural Priorities of the Portuguese EU presidency
Under the motto ‘A stronger Union for a better World’, the Portuguese presidency outlined its main tasks for the coming six months, including the adoption of the 'Communication on Culture' and the first Cultural Forum in September 2007. more >
News from eleventh session of the IGC available online
The decisions adopted by the Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore at its Eleventh session are now available on the WIPO website. more >
Oda announces permanent $30M increase for Canada Council
Heritage Minister Bev Oda has announced a permanent $30-million increase in annual funding for the Canada Council for the Arts. more >
Rwanda: Can Art Bring Peace?
Simon Bikindi is currently standing trial before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, facing charges for war crimes committed during the country's 1994 genocide. Bikindi is a former Rwandan pop musician whose anti-Tutsi songs were regularly broadcast over the notorious Radio Television Libre des Mille Collines. But if music can be used to incite genocide, it can also be used to create peace and a climate of reconciliation. more >
China to participate in Int'l Cervantino Festival in Mexico
China will be the guest of honor at the International Cervantino Festival, a cultural festival running this October in the central Mexican city of Guanajuato, festival director Mini Caire said Wednesday. more >
Let's start thinking outside the box
How can we build Gordon Brown's 3 million new homes and still have a green and pleasant land? The answer is to avoid the hideous mistakes of the past and replace dogma with design. more >
Aga Khan Trust for Culture
In the past decade the Aga Khan Development Network has grown into one of the largest philanthropic organisations in the world. more >
Europe to set up a culture fund for ACP states
The European Commission intends to set up a culture fund to support the distribution and production of cultural goods in the 78 African nations and the countries in the Caribbean and Pacific. more >
France to try out free museums
The French government says visitors will get free access to several museums in Paris and other towns to test out a possible nationwide program. more >
New culture policy on anvil
A new national culture policy is being drafted by Pakistan’s ministry of culture with emphasis on public-private partnerships. more >
Our cultural policy is offline for internet
The emergence of new media is rendering many Canadian content regulations irrelevant. more >
SEAL of Excellence Award given to South Africa
The World Crafts Council has given its sanction for the SEAL of Excellence Award introduction to South Africa as the pilot country for the African Continent. more >
UNESCO chair in arts and learning inaugurated
On April 24, 2007 the inauguration of the UNESCO Chair in Arts and Learning was celebrated at Queen’s University, Canada. more >
UNESCO experts meet to discuss cultural diversity
A first meeting of international experts aims at analyzing the articles of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions related to international cooperation. more >
Access is key if we're to expand theatre's audience
James Purnell's biggest test will come in persuading the new Chancellor not to impose punitive cutbacks on the swelling arts industry. more >
Film industry blooms in volatile Haiti
Even in hard times, Haitians go to the movies. Now they're also making them in record numbers; about 10 feature films a year; rivaling Cuba as the Caribbean's biggest movie producer and often outselling better-financed imports. more >
Jerusalem orchestra set to be silenced
The leading orchestra in this ancient city is living what may be its final days. A year short of its 70th anniversary, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra will close down for good on July 15 unless a solution can be found to the latest and most perilous crisis in a series of recent financial reverses. more >
Purnell promises an end to “crude” targets for the arts
Newly appointed culture secretary James Purnell has vowed to release arts organisations from the pressure of “crude targets” and instead look at how the government can empower “artists and organisations to be the best”. more >
Greece, Cyprus agree to boost cultural co-op
Top officials from Greece and Cyprus on Monday signed a memorandum of cultural cooperation between their nations and discussed protection of cultural heritage, an area they said was vitally important to both nations. more >
Singapore minister: museums as cultural gateways to foster harmony
A senior Singapore official said Tuesday the most significant role of museums today is to serve as important cultural gateways to foster peace and harmony. more >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >