Culture Asia: Connecting Asian Cultural Actors

This intensive, interactive conference brought together for the first time about 80 stakeholders from Asian arts and culture organizations and civil society groups. The conference included artists, cultural theorists and activists, and national and international donor agencies active in Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, and Tajikistan) South and Southeast Asia (India, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka). The primary aim of the conference was to generate new initiatives for strengthening the arts and culture sector in these parts of Asia. It also articulated and disseminated productive strategies of cultural activism and work towards building a civil society in Asia that would advance pluralism, participation, equality, and justice.

The conference was organized by Hivos (Humanist Institute for Cooperation with Developing Countries) and the Arts and Culture Network Program of the Open Society Institute, in cooperation with the Center for the Study of Culture and Society from Bangalore, India.

For more information, see www.cultureasia2008.org.