International News in September 2008
Show all of 2008
Arts Groups Fret the Woes of Big Donors
With Wall Street in a shame spiral, "What's coming next?" is a question that has everyone in the arts community taking big, anxious gulps. more >
Resultados de la Reunión Binacional de Formadores en Gestión Cultural
Culminó el Encuentro del 24 de septiembre en Villa Ocampo (www.villaocampo.org), un entorno privilegiado y acogedor brindado por este inmueble administrado por UNESCO. more >
Results of the Binational Meeting of Cultural Administration Educators
The Villa Ocampo Meeting concluded in a privileged and warm environment provided by the Villa Ocampo House (www.villaocampo.org), administered by UNESCO. more >
Support to Local Arts Service Organizations Affected by Disasters
In response to the devastation in Texas and Louisiana due to recent hurricane activity, Americans for the Arts is collecting donations to its Emergency Relief Fund. more >
When it comes to culture, Canadians don’t speak the same language
This rather amusing sketch about the issue is a serious warning about the future of Canadian culture, which according to the clip, faces near-extinction. more >
Cultural Diplomats visit Scotland
August saw a visit to Scotland by 15 Cultural Diplomats, organised by Visiting Arts in partnership with the Scottish Arts Council, with additional support from British Council and DCMS. more >
Arts Council funds one million free theatre tickets for young people
A new scheme to encourage young people to experience live theatre was unveiled today by Culture Secretary Andy Burnham. A £2.5 million programme - funded by Arts Council England, who will manage the scheme - will be focused on some 95 venues all over England. more >
Culture isn't on the debate agenda
If history is any guide, we can say one thing for certain about the 2008 presidential debates, which are expected to get underway tonight in a televised performance at the University of Mississippi. There will be no discussion -- none at all -- of U.S. cultural policy. more >
OAS Culture Ministers to meet in Barbados in November
In November 2008 Culture and the Creative Industries are to take centre stage as Ministers of Culture from the region, Latin America and other nations of this hemisphere will meet in Barbados. more >
Action on work permits & visas for European performers in USA
Pearle sent a letter to Vice president Barrot regarding the difficulties for European performers to obtain a work permit and visa if they want to perform in the USA. This is a topic within a framework of actions that Pearle undertakes to facilitate mobility and to draw the attention of the EU to the particularities of the performing arts sector. more >
Latest news from the Committee on Culture and Education
The European Parliament's Committee on Culture and Education adopted in September, amongst other documents, an opinion on the 2009 budget. The committee proposed reinforcing the support for intercultural dialogue and artist mobility. more >
Museum of Russian Aggression to be established in Georgia
Nikoloz Vacheishvili, the Minister of Culture, Heritage Preservation and Sport stated that the Museum of Stalin, located in the city of Gori, will be altered to establish the Museum of Russian Aggression. more >
Parliament approves Kurdistan journalism law
Kurdistan parliament approved the journalism law in Monday's session after amending articles that had been criticized by Kurdish journalists. more >
China bans Western religious music
China's culture ministry has banned public performances of Handel's Messiah and other major works of western religious music. more >
Ministry fights intellectual, fine arts piracy
The Ministry of Culture and Information has launched a number of initiatives that will make the Kingdom a regional leader in the battle against entertainment and information piracy. more >
Ministry has rights to Soviet cartoons
The state wants to take control of the use of Soviet cartoon characters. However, Russian law does not define the owner of the rights to the cartoon characters, and the ministry will have to face the creators of those characters in court. more >
NAFEST takes search for national dress sense to Coal City
The National Council of Arts and Culture is set to initiate a major discourse on national dress in Enugu, where the stage is set for this year‘s National Festival of Arts and Culture which has the theme, Culture and the Challenges of our Time: Promoting National Dress Culture. more >
President to make keynote speech in Derry
President MARY McAleese is to give the keynote address at a conference in Derry this weekend to mark the 40th anniversary of the historic march in the city on October 5th, 1968. more >
South Korea, New Zealand sign co-production treaty
South Korea and New Zealand have signed a co-production treaty that will allow films from both countries to enjoy the same benefits for financing, incentives and support programmes. more >
Tapardjuk appointed Minister of Language
Minister of Culture, Languages, Elders and Youth Louis Tapardjuk was given a new portfolio shortly before the Legislative Assembly dissolved on Sept. 19. The new ministerial position is intended to aid in the implementation of the Inuit Language Protection Act which was passed Sept. 18. more >
The Lisbon Treaty – a Culture Action Europe perspective
In June 2008 the Irish voted ‘No’ to the Lisbon Treaty by 53 to 47%, a very convincing margin. Culture Action Europe provide an overview of the current situation. more >
Completion of establishing Rosetta museum at a cost of L.E. 4 million
The Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has finalized setting up the first national museum for the antiquities of Rosetta city in Beheira Governorate, as well as the completion of renovation of the antiquities of the historical city. more >
Fire destroys Egypt’s National Theater, two workers arrested
Egyptian firefighters put out the fire at the burning building of the Egyptian National Theater in downtown Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, Sept. 27, 2008. A fire destroyed the main hall of Egypt's National Theater in the heart of the downtown Cairo, wounding three firefighters. more >
Junta Amends Historical Commission Law
Burma’s military government has amended the Myanmar [Burmese] Historical Commission Law, transferring authority for historical research from the ministry of education to the ministry of culture, according to an announcement in the state-run New Light of Myanmar on September 25. more >
Renewed Web Site of the Asia-Pacific Regional Center of Culturelink
The newly revamped website features International Standard Setting Instruments, National Policies of Asia-Pacific Countries, Articles and Research Papers, Cultural Statistics, On-going Cultural Events and Projects and Web Links within and beyond the Asia-Pacific region. more >
Culture Minister highlights music contest importance
Angola's minister of Culture, Boaventura Cardoso, on Thursday here said the holding of musical contests is an important element for the promotion and divulgence of new artistic values. more >
European programs mix arts with the economy
Alternatives to Canada PM's feud with artists found in Europe. more >
Govt should not fund single community’s festivals: Culture Minister
Minister for Culture and State Restructuring Gopal Kirati Saturday said that the government should not provide funds to selected communities to celebrate their festivals. Alluding to the funds that the government provides for the animal sacrifice and other purpose during Dashain, Minister Kirati said that it is unfair to support a community only.
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Korea and New Zealand to sign film pact
South Korea and New Zealand will sign a film co-production treaty next week, 15 months after producers from both countries began the process. more >
Leonardo da Vinci drawings displayed in US
The Birmingham Museum of Art is hosting a collection of Leonardo da Vinci drawings that are being shown as a group outside of Italy for the first time. more >
Norwegians a step nearer to Nordic UIGEA
Proposed legislation seeks to disrupt financial transactions with online gambling companies. If the proposal is accepted by Parliament, the Minister for Culture and Church Affairs, Trond Giske, will have achieved something of a Nordic equivalent to the highly controversial American Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. more >
Obama on the Arts
Barack Obama has assembled a National Arts Policy Committee of 33 arts leaders (approximately half are women), and with their help he has drafted a two-page platform in support of the arts. more >
We need more Sacred Defence books
The director of the literature department of the Foundation for the Preservation and Publication of Sacred Defence Works and Values said that only 6500 Sacred Defence books have been published over the past 25 years, a number that is not sufficient. more >
Licensing process for staging a theatrical performance in licensed premises in Delhi simplified
Licensing process for staging a theatrical performance in any licensed premises in Delhi has been simplified. This has been done by the Ministry of Home Affairs and Delhi Police at the initiative of the Ministry of Culture. more >
Yanar Dagh State Reserve devolved on Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism
Azerbaijan’s Cabinet has passed a decision to devolve Yanar Dagh State Historical and Monumental Reserve to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Yanar Dagh (Burning Mountain) is a mountain that has been continuously on fire for one thousand years. Prior to this, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources was responsible for the reserve. more >
Frankfurt backs Turkey decision
The Frankfurt Book Fair has stood by its decision to make Turkey the guest of honour this year, despite an increase in the number of arrests under the country's censorship laws and a planned boycott by some Turkish writers. more >
Contest attracts over 43,000 writings on Japan culture
Over 43,000 texts have been sent to a contest on Japanese culture, which has recently been held by the Vietnam Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Embassy of Japan in Hanoi. more >
China officials to be punished for dance hall blaze
China's Ministry of Culture orders a national safety sweep on all cultural and performance facilities following a fire at an illegal dance club in southern China, just across the border from Hong Kong, which killed 43 mostly young people and injured 88. more >
Georgian cultural heritage sites located in the conflict zone are under threat
The Georgian government demands urgent implementation of a UNESCO mission in South Ossetia, with the aim of studying and assessing the condition of the monuments damaged by the conflict. more >
Lawmakers accuse government of attack on an ancient culture and tradition
Lawmakers belonging to various political parties have accused the government of attacking an ancient culture and tradition by not allocating budget for traditional jatras (religious festivals) observed in Kathmandu Valley. more >
Layton and Duceppe protest culture cuts in Montreal
NDP Leader Jack Layton and Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe joined the audience at a Tuesday night concert in Montreal organized by artists protesting $45 million in cuts to culture funding announced by the Conservative government last August. more >
No winners of Miss Vietnam 2008 picked for Miss World
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s Inspectorate last weekend found the organizing board of Miss Vietnam 2008 violated the rules and requested a reconsideration of Tran Thi Thuy Dung’s Miss Vietnam 2008 crown. more >
Public media to be liquidated?
The Polish government is currently working on a draft bill that would do away with state-owned television firm TVP and Polish Radio, along with their regional divisions, establishing new companies in their place. more >
Why public funding of arts matters to all of us
An article by Jan Ghomeshi in the National Post makes the case for the arts. Despite the best attempts by the PM and others to suggest that Canadian art is for a small elite, it's not, and he goes on to explain why. more >
Youths observe international day of peace
The festivities marking the celebration of the 2008 edition of the International Day of Peace took place this Sunday in Bissau, under the theme "Youth says yes to peace" and in the presence of Secretary General of the Ministry of Culture representing the country’s government. more >
A home for art in Belfast's stained soul
The Royal Uster Academy of Arts Annual Exhibition '08 runs until Oct 19 at the Titanic Drawing Offices, Belfast. Campaigners hope that the North's new Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, Gregory Campbell MLA, of the DUP, will be open to a more permanent arrangement. more >
Is it the job of our schools to create an appreciative audience for higher culture?
A new Rand study concludes that schools must expand arts education to build a new audience, which raises the question: Is it the job of schools to create market demand for arts or any other endeavor? more >
Wall Street Woes Endanger Funding for the Arts
The turmoil on Wall Street will affect a wide swath of New York City's cultural institutions, hurting corporate and individual donations at a time when these organizations are facing what one philanthropist called a "perfect storm" of economic pressures. more >
Binational Meeting of Cultural Administration Educators
Topics include the current state of education in cultural administration in Argentina and Chile; and cultural administration job opportunities. more >
6 million cultural visits to Liverpool
Liverpool’s tenure as European Capital of Culture 2008 reaches its finale quarter with the news it has attracted an amazing 6 million cultural visits to date. Here are a few facts..more >
Americans for the Arts Action Fund PAC Issues Congressional Report Card on the Arts
The entire Report Card containing letter grades and numerical scores of every Member of Congress based on his or her voting record on arts issues can be found online. more >
Encuentro Binacional de Formadores en Gestión Cultural
Los temos incluyen el Estado de la formación en Argentina y Chile; y las perspectivas del mercado laboral de la gestión cultural. more >
IETM Satellite meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia postponed
In the light of the latest events in Georgia, IETM have decided to postpone the Satellite Meeting on the theme “Neighbour to Neighbour”, which was planned to take place in the capital city. more >
New Graduate Program in Cultural Industries
The National University of the Third of February (UNTREF) recently opened a Graduate Program in Cultural Industries coordinated by Stella Puente and directed by an academic committee formed by Octavio Getino, Hernán Gullo and Mariana Markowiecki. more >
Portuguese government passes changes to the Art Support Model
The Council of Ministers of Portugal passed a change to the public support to the arts regime in order to guarantee more equity in contest processes, broadening the number of entities that may receive support and guarantying more transparency and equality in the request of credit. more >
Postgrado en Industrias Culturales
La UNTREF (Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero) acaba de lanzar un Postgrado en Industrias Culturales, con la coordinación de Stella Puente y un Comité Académico integrado además por Octavio Getino, Hernán Gullo y Mariana Markowiecki. more >
Testimony to Museums and Libraries’ Role in Strengthening Communities
Director Radice of the Institute of Museum and Library Services testifies on Museums and Libraries’ role in strengthening communities more >
UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists
The UNESCO-Aschberg Bursaries for Artists promote the mobility of young artists in order to enrich their personal perspectives, to enable them to engage in an intercultural dialogue and expose them to cultural diversity. more >
URBACT Culture report on line
The recent report by URBACT Culture examines the impact of cultural activities and creative industries on cities. more >
Cultural Theme Planned for 2012 Olympics in London
The London Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) announced on Thursday that it would launch a four-year program of cultural events to lead up to the 2012 Olympic Games. more >
Free Speech Groups Urge Passage of Libel Tourism Bill
The president of American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression said the so-called practice of “libel tourism” “is a serious threat to American writers and publishers who face the nightmare of defending themselves before unfriendly courts where their books were never published. more >
NZSO brand move strikes a bum note
Highly strung old Wellington-based granny the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra has decided a rebranding exercise is the way to prove it is better than its stroppy young Auckland rival, the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. more >
The cultural challenge of climate change
On 25 September, a 40 strong crew of artists and scientists will set sail on Cape Farewell’s Disko Bay expedition to the west coast of Greenland. more >
The royalty treatment
Tough legislation will guarantee artists a fair dividend when their work is resold. more >
Theatre pollution threat to London revealed
London’s theatre industry pumps 50,000 tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere every year - equivalent to 10% of the city’s total bus emissions or the annual energy consumption of 9,000 homes. more >
Wanted: A Healthy Cash Infusion for Italy’s Starved Cultural Institutions
Arts institutions across Italy are reeling from a sweeping round of budget cuts adopted this summer by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s four-month-old conservative government. more >
Are Welsh arts enjoying a feast or famine?
Tony Bianchi, a writer and former Literature Director at the Arts Council of Wales asks whether artistic activity in Welsh is getting its fare share of public funds. more >
Code on child depiction in art moving closer
The Australia Council is grappling with the shape of protocols for the depiction of children in artworks. more >
Gioia to Step Down as Chairman of National Endowment for the Arts
Dana Gioia will leave the National Endowment for the Arts in January 2009. more >
Give us the plan on culture, federal leaders urged
A coalition of Toronto arts groups gathered a who's who of the cultural community at Canada's largest film festival Wednesday to launch a campaign to make the arts an issue in the federal election. more >
LabforCulture.org has a new interface
Labforculture.org have been working away to create a new and improved platform. more >
Make the case for culture to ordinary Canadians, artists told
Artists should stop assuming they are entitled to government money and start making the case for the arts to ordinary Canadians, a panel of artists told CBC News. more >
Playing Politics: The world might be a better place if presidents still went to the theater
Senators McCain and Obama, what is the last play you saw? Which is a specific way of trying to pin down intangibles like curiosity and imagination and, as the first George Bush put it, "the vision thing." more >
Use Arts to Promote Tourism
Zimbabwe arts industry is capable of raking in foreign currency and shape the image of the country, a Jenaguru Arts Centre official has said. more >
Artists and musicians on board for Arctic project
Artists will travel to the Arctic as part of a programme bringing artists and scientists together to raise awareness of climate change. more >
Bowl full of cultural diversity
Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan has said that more could be done to promote cultural diversity and tolerance. more >
Ethics advice on arts council decisions
Randy Cohen answers the question: is it ethical for arts council members to receive arts funding? more >
Swinton and arts world join chorus of disaproval for Creative Scotland
Leading figures claim that up to £7m will be spent on bureaucracy rather than artists. more >
There's only one way to find out what art is worth
People don't know what they want until administrators provide it for them with public money. And then they do want it. This maxim of arts funding is a limited truth with undesirable outcomes. more >
Use Arts to Promote Tourism: Malunga
The Government should look at the possibility of establishing a ministry of arts and culture without the inclusion of other sectors like sport and education. more >
Announcement at last, but future is still uncertain for arts ...
Yesterday's announcement about Scotland's new funding body for the arts posed as many questions as answers. more >
Archer slams 'profit-driven' policies
The concept of 'cultural industries' is threatening to engulf the arts and diminish their importance. more >
Culture-Cuba: The Debate Continues
After an interruption of over a year, the Criterios theoretical-cultural centre has resumed a series of lectures analysing the impact of the Cuban government's cultural policy on the arts, one of the tangible outcomes of the debate that shook society here in early 2007. more >
Endowment Fund for Arts
The Federal Government yesterday said it has plans to set up an endowment fund in support of development of the country's arts sector. more >
Failed culture plans resurrected
Scottish ministers will press ahead with plans for a new national arts agency, despite the proposals having been thrown out of parliament. more >
Machakos proposed to host arts district
An arts district to be implemented under a Nairobi cultural strategy to enhance the creative economy’s contribution to the regional and national output. more >
Minister keen to succeed
Alun Ffred Jones is Wales’ third cultural minister in just over a year. more >
Minister of Culture and Tourism criticizes employees of cultural institutions of Baku
The collegium of the Azerbaijan's Ministry of Culture and Tourism held a session with participation of heads of the institutions of culture and tourism of Baku. more >
Nigeria to host arts summit, exhibition in Abuja
Nigeria will host the first African Regional Summit and Exhibition on Visual Arts, part of efforts towards achieving rapid cultural and economic development as envisioned in the New Partnership for African Development. more >
Presidential Candidates on Federal Funding for the Arts
The NEA's current budget is a little less than fifty cents per American per year. America can afford to support the arts financially. This article provides a few reasons why our government should want to support the arts. more >
Severe Lack of Funding Threatens Italian Arts Institutions
Arts institutions across Italy are struggling with a severe lack of funding after extensive budget cuts instituted by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government. more >
Celebrate cultural diversity report
Cultural diversity in New Zealand should be taken advantage of and celebrated, instead of being seen as a negative. more >
Minister Eyes Cultural Hub
The Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism has announced that the new administration will spur South Korea into a first-rate cultural hub by funding pan-regional projects among others. more >
Networking aiming to promote the analysis, evaluation or impact assessment of cultural policies
Support can be given for groups of organisations to exchange and compare existing data and evaluation methodologies at national/local levels and produce new methodologies or data on cultural policies as well as to maximise the impact and have an EU wide reporting and dissemination of the results. more >
Opinion: Arts Council Korea Chairman
At a session evaluating the first-term board members early last month, outsiders voiced sharp criticism of the council`s ideologically biased policy, pork-barrel appropriations and favoritism committed by the first-term council. more >
Peace Environment Boosts Cultural Events
The achievement of peace in 2002 has opened the way for more funds from the government for cultural activities. more >
Government to restructure NCF
With a "highly successful" 2008 Crop-Over behind it, the Thompson Administration is pushing full steam ahead with its plan to restructure the National Cultural Foundation (NCF). more >
Heritage department takes aim at religious radicals
The federal culture department wants to fight religious radicalization in Canada. more >
The international who's who in cultural policy, planning and research >