|
The International Music Council (IMC)
The International Music Council (IMC) was founded in 1949 at the request
of UNESCO as a non-governmental advisory body on musical matters devoted to the
promotion of musicians and the diffusion and conservation of all types of music
worldwide. The IMC constitutes an operative network of more than 70 national
committees and nearly 40 international organizations in all fields of music.
The purpose of the IMC is to contribute to the development and strengthening of
friendly working relations between all the musical cultures of the world on the
basis of their absolute equality, mutual respect and appreciation. The
International Music Council concerns itself with creation, education,
performance and dissemination, research and documentation, social problems of
musicians and various other aspects of musical life.
Among its
numerous projects and activities, the IMC publishes the twice-yearly periodical
Resonance interested especially in publishing articles that give insight into the
situation of music in the world, inform about international actions in support
of music, or describe local actions worthy of emulation elsewhere. Thus, issue
no. 29/2000 was devoted to the spread and use of new technologies and their
various implications for music. It addressed the effects of globalisation on
music and also gave information on some recent trends in trade in goods and
services, because these trends seem to be more visible in the transmission of
music than in any other arts.
Faced with the
challenge of globalisation, the IMC, at the meeting of its Executive Committee
in Hague (February 2000), appointed a task force on globalisation from within
its high ranks, with the aim to provide the members with adequate information
and to promote and assist projects dealing with these issues.
For more
information, please contact: International Music Council, Maison de l'UNESCO, 1, rue Miollis, 75732 Paris Cedex 15, France, tel.: +33 1 45 68 25 50; fax: +33 1 43 06 87 98; e-mail: imc_cim@compuserve.com; http://www.unesco.org/imc
The International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI)
The International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers (IFI) is the international,
non-governmental organization of the interiors profession, made up of national
associations and related bodies of interior design in forty countries on all
continents. It was established in 1963.
The strategic
objective of the IFI is to expand internationally the contribution of the
interior architecture/interior design profession to society through the
exchange and development of knowledge and experience, in education, practice
and fellowship. Specifically, this means to -
- Promote the interior architecture/interior design profession;
- Represent interior architecture/interior design professionals;
- Assist the exchange of professional and cultural information;
- Encourage international cooperation and business transactions;
- Provide information on economic, political and technical developments;
- Create an organization of service to the interior architecture/interior design profession, facilitating industry involvement;
- Liaise with other international design and related organizations.
The IFI has
undertaken numerous initiatives such as Think Tanks,
related to design in ecology, education, the profession, and universal design; Pro Vitae, using the practice of interior
architecture/design to address humanitarian issues; WING
(World Interiors for a New Generation), World
Interior Design Day, Materials Workshops, Communications.
The Continental Shift 2001 is the IFI Congress and General Assembly that will take place in
Gauteng, South Africa, 9-12 September 2001. It will present the following
subjects: The African Cultural Renaissance; Perspectives on African Design
Processes; Design, Ecology and the Developing World; The First World
Paradigm/The International Practice Design; Culture, Identity and Design;
Life-long Learning and Design Development; Design Liberation and the Old
School; and Bridging the Barriers - Universal Design in Context.
For more
information, please contact: International Federation of Interior Architects/Designers, P.O. Box
91640, Auckland Park, Johannesburg 2006, South Africa, tel.: +27 11 888 8211;
fax: +27 11 888 8212; e-mail: ifichris@uskonet.com;
http://www.ifi.co.za
International Intelligence on Culture
A new way of thinking about cultural consultancy
Interpreting the world of international culture for an international audience
1 January 2001
saw the launch of a dynamic new company - International
Intelligence on Culture (See Culturelink no.
32/November 2000, p. 20) - which will be delivering a
comprehensive range of services to the international cultural constituency. A
team of multinational experts on culture has been formed, supported by the
office in Brussels and extensive contacts throughout the world.
The team
responds to developing needs for accessible, relevant information, advice and
analysis on the international cultural sector through:
- policy intelligence and information services;
- research;
- consultancy;
- training;
- publications.
International
Intelligence on Culture is the new identity for the International Arts Bureau,
which reflects a renewed focus on policy intelligence in the broader cultural
sector.
For more
information, please contact: International Intelligence on Culture, 4 Baden Place, Crosby Row,
London SE1 1YW, United Kingdom; tel.: +44 (0)20 7403 6454/7001; fax: +44 (0)20
7403 2009; e-mail: development@intelCULTURE.org;
http://www.intelCULTURE.org
The African Itinerant College for Culture and Development (AICCD)
TheAfrican Itinerant College for Culture and Development (AICCD) (See Culturelink no.
26/November 1998, pp. 13-14.) is a regional
coordinating and monitoring body for networks of experts and institutions involved
in research, training and capacity building, information exchange and advocacy
on issues relating to culture and development in Africa. It was established as
a Pan-African NGO due to the fact that the complexity of challenges and issues
the College had to deal with made it necessary to ascertain its intellectual
autonomy. Within its mandate and broad objectives as a think tank on culture
and development in Africa, the College will endeavour to contribute to the
discussion and debate that influences African and international public opinion.
Ultimately, the College must become a testing ground for new practices, models,
policy ideas, initiatives, and innovative approaches on culture and development
in Africa.
The AICCD
focuses particularly on building, developing and motivating a culturally
sensitive approach to development through research, training, information
dissemination and advocacy. The principal operational objectives of the AICCD
include undertaking action-oriented research, training, information dissemination
and advocacy on culture and development in Africa; promoting the integration of
scientific research findings, best practices and innovative approaches to
culture and development in the process of policy formulation, planning and
programme design and implementation, with a view to enhancing the sustainable
development of Africa's resources; stimulating the establishment of networks;
contributing to strengthening national and regional institutions in building
endogenous research, training, consultancy and advisory capabilities and
providing technical assistance to African governments and grassroots NGOs in
designing development strategies, policies, plans, programmes and projects in a
culturally sensitive approach.
A handbook
recently published by the AICCD contains, besides other useful information, the
Progress Report on the activities implemented from 1994 to 1999, as well as the
Medium-Term Prospects (2001-2005).
For more
information, please contact: Burama K. Sagnia, Coordinator, African Itinerant College for Culture
and Development, c/o IDEP, B.P. 3186, Dakar, Senegal, tel.: +221 823 4831, 823
1020; fax: +221 822 2964; e-mail: b.sagnia@idep.sn
The Regional Observatory on Financing Culture in East-Central Europe
The Budapest Observatory is a non-profit institution which functions
under the umbrella of the Foundation for the East-Central European Cultural
Observatory, registered in 1999 to be of help to those who want to know more
about the ways cultural life - cultural activities and products - are financed
in the East-Central European countries.
In spite of the
sea of words spoken and printed about the issues, successes and failures of the
dramatic transformation of cultural funding in the region, reliable first-hand
evidence is hard to find. The Budapest Observatory aims to fill this
information gap. As a resource organization, the Observatory wants to
facilitate research, collect and provide information, establish contacts in
areas that include the financing of culture, cultural policy, legislation and
statistics.
The activities
of the Budapest Observatory include the already well established projects, such
as the Best Practices in Financing Culture, the EU Observer: The Union and
(Financing) Culture in East-Central Europe, Public Grants for Projects in
Culture and Tax Incentives for Donors of Culture. Also, a newly established
project on World Trade and Culture is at the stage of preparation.
The Best Practices in Financing Culture is a project meant to
identify cases of innovative financing of culture in East-Central Europe.
Besides offering international acknowledgment for a few successful innovators,
the aim is to learn about the relevant mechanisms of financing culture via
specific cases. The process will lead to abstractions, general and theoretical
conclusions, policy suggestions after a sufficient number of cases have been
collected.
The EU Observer: The Union and (Financing) Culture in East-Central
Europe aims at monitoring planned and adopted EU regulations which (may)
have direct or indirect relevance for the prospects of culture in East-Central
Europe, with special reference to financing.
Public Grants for Projects
in Culture
initially examined certain processes by arm's length agencies of cultural
support or grants in different countries. Later on, inquiry was extended to
those places where public grants for projects in culture are distributed in the
traditional way by the ministries of culture.
Tax Incentives for Donors of
Culture is a
project designed to collect information on cultural sponsorship in East-Central
Europe, tackling the areas of Terminology, Tax Incentives, Facts and Options.
The Budapest Observatory organized two conferences - European Union Support for the Arts (Budapest, 18 March 2000) and Regional Development and Culture (Budapest, 10-11 April 2000).
Detailed
information on the Budapest Observatory can be obtained from: Peter Inkei, Director, H-1251
Budapest, Pf. 27; street address: Corvin ter 8, 1011 Budapest, Hungary,
tel./fax: (361) 487 0162; e-mail: bo@budobs.org;
http://www.budobs.org
The Euro-Bulgarian Cultural Centre
The Euro-Bulgarian Cultural Centre has been established with support from the
European Union Phare Programme and under the auspices of the Ministry of
Culture of the Republic of Bulgaria. The principal objective of the
Euro-Bulgarian Cultural Centre is to support the development of cultural life
in Bulgaria through links with European structures, values and models.
The Centre
offers access to the world wide web in the Internet Centre, a database of the
Bulgarian cultural organisations and European cultural information, and other
reference materials and directories. The Centre's bookshop has a comprehensive
range of cultural publications and access to a much wider range of
international titles through its computerized cataloguing system. It also
offers the opportunity to buy publications over the Internet.
The web site www.culture-link.nat.bg provides
information on Bulgarian arts and cultural organizations, European information
contacts, European cultural institutes and representatives in Bulgaria, and the
European Commission and its cultural programmes.
Address: Euro-Bulgarian Cultural Centre, 17, Al.
Stamboliiski boulevard, 1040 Sofia, Bulgaria, tel./fax. +359 2 988 0084;
e-mail: cip@culture-link.nat.bg; http://www.culture-link.nat.bg
The Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs
The Swedish National Council for Cultural Affairs is responsible for implementing the
national cultural policy determined by the government and parliament. The
Council was established in 1974. Its goals are to promote artistic and cultural
renewal by means of grants, information, cooperation and other measures; to
promote cultural heritage and its use in various forms of art, public libraries
and museums and to broaden participation in cultural life and stimulate
individuals' creative activities; to contribute to the interplay between
national, regional and municipal efforts in order to safeguard a national
cultural policy, promote cultural diversity and equal geographic distribution
of cultural activities; to work to ensure that cultural policy aspects of
development are taken into consideration in other areas of society, and to
promote cultural policy activities as well as improve the methods for following
up and evaluating cultural policy in order to increase and spread aggregate
knowledge in the cultural field.
One of the main
tasks of the National Council for Cultural Affairs is to allocate government
grants in its areas of responsibility, which include theatre, dance, music, literature,
public libraries, arts periodicals, museums, exhibitions and visual arts.
Part of the
Council's activities is to gather and disseminate information that promotes
cultural development. Therefore, the Council publishes a large amount of
material including reports, papers and statistics in cultural areas. It also
publishes a newsletter for libraries and arranges seminars and conferences on
various current topics.
Address: Swedish National Council for
Cultural Affairs, Långa raden 4, Skeppsholmen (visiting address); P.O Box
7843, 10398 Stockholm, Sweden; tel.: +46 8 6797260; fax: +46 8 6111 349;
e-mail: statens.kulturrad@kur.se;
http://www.kur.se
The National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC)
The National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC) was founded in 1997. Before that time, there
was no arts council or any national funding structure in South Africa. It was
established with the mission to develop and promote excellence in the arts.
The vision to
promote, through the arts, the free and creative expression of South Africa's
cultures is embodied in seven disciplines: crafts, dance and choreography,
literature, multi-discipline, music and opera, music and musical theatre, and
visual arts.
The NAC has the following goals and objectives:
- Supporting
arts practice: to create and provide opportunities to achieve excellence in the
arts within a climate of freedom. The objective within this goal is to enable
the expression of the creative potential, knowledge, skills and abilities of
artists and art workers.
- Achieving
equity: to redress imbalances in the allocation of resources to the arts and
arts industries. The objective within this goal is to document the principal
consequences for art practice of past inequalities in access to cultural
resources and constraints of freedom of expression.
- Promoting
understanding: to promote and develop appreciation, understanding and enjoyment
of the arts through strategies including education, information and marketing.
The three objectives within this goal are to encourage the enhancement of human
potential through the integration of arts in the learning experience; to
document South Africa's arts through research and data collection and generate
understanding of their significance through effective and accessible
communication systems; and to create a climate of opinion conducive to the
commitment of greater public and financial support for the arts.
- Applying
the arts: to rekindle and support the function of the arts and artists as
resources in the continuing process of community cultural development. The two
objectives within this goal are to assist communities to define and undertake
projects that express their own cultures, heritage and circumstances, and to
support projects that demonstrate the community importance of the arts in
economic, social and cultural terms.
- Building
support and recognition: to enhance the support and recognition of the arts by
promoting and facilitating national and international liaison between
individuals and institutions. The objectives within this goal are to establish
working partnerships with national, provincial and local agencies for the
support of the arts, and to promote South Africa's cultural, social and economic
interests internationally through the arts.
- Establishing and recommending policy. The objectives
are to facilitate sustainable growth in the scope and quality of the arts, and to foster the expression of a national consciousness by means of the arts.
The
establishment of the NAC of South Africa was an important step in the
recognition of the black South African culture. Before that, the only artforms
recognized by the authorities were the Eurocentric artforms of ballet, opera
and theatre. By establishing the NAC, the opening of theatres, galleries and
museums in townships and rural areas has been stimulated, as the facilities in
white urban areas are now accessible to the majority of citizens.
For more
information, please contact: NAC of South Africa, PO Box 500, Newtown, Johannesburg 2113, South
Africa, tel.: 27 011 838 1383; fax: 27 011 838 6363; e-mail: info@nac.org.za; http://www.artslink.co.za/nac
Japan Foundation
The Japan Foundation was established in 1972 as a special legal entity under the auspices of
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the purpose of promoting mutual
understanding and friendship on the international scene. It was the first
specialist organization for international cultural exchange in Japan, and it
carries out a broad variety of cultural exchange programmes in such fields as
basic language and arts education, publication, audio-visual media, sports and
general life culture. Its activities are financed from operating profits on
government endowments, grants from the government (including the ODA budget),
and funding and donations from the private sector.
The Japan
Foundation runs the following types of programmes: overseas dispatch of
persons, invitations to Japan, support for Japanese language education
overseas, support for Japanese studies overseas, arts exchange, performing arts
exchange, publication exchange, audio-visual exchange, programmes for the Japan
Foundation Center for Global Partnership, programmes of the Japan Foundation
Asia Center, special programmes for Japan-Europe exchanges, and others.
The Japan
Foundation sponsors its own projects and provides assistance for cultural
exchange programmes carried out by other groups both in Japan and overseas.
For more
information, please contact: The Japan Foundation, ARK Mori Building, 1-12-32 Akasaka Minato-ku,
Tokyo 107-6021, Japan; tel.: 03 5562 3511; fax: 03 5562 3494; http://www.jpf.go.jp/
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is the federal agency that supports
the visual, literary and performing arts for the benefit of all Americans. It
was created by Congress and established in 1965 as an independent agency of the
federal government. Since then, it has awarded more than 111,000 grants to arts
organizations and artists in all 50 states and the six U.S. jurisdictions,
which makes the NEA the largest single funder of the non-profit arts sector in
the United States.
Its mission is
to serve the public good by nurturing human creativity, supporting community
spirit, and fostering appreciation of the excellence and diversity of American
artistic accomplishments. The NEA's mission is carried out through grantmaking,
leadership initiatives, partnerships with state agencies, regional art
organisations, other federal agencies and the private sector; research, and
public information.
In 2000, NEA
published a Guide with information on Endowment programmes and funding
possibilities for artists and organisations that might seek NEA support.
For more
information, please contact: National Endowment for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW,
Washington, DC 20506-0001, USA; tel.: +1 202 682 5400; fax: +1 202 682 5496; http://www.arts.gov
Conseil Québecois des Arts Médiatiques (CQAM)
The Conseil Québecois des Arts Médiatiques (CQAM) is a non-profit disciplinary
association founded in 1998 for the purpose of bringing together and
representing the interests of independent media artists and collectives in
Québec.
Its main
objectives are to bring together and represent independent media artists and
independent media art access centres and collectives; to promote and encourage
synergy and dialogue within the media arts community, notably through the
pooling of existing resource and the organisation of joint projects; to
actively work towards the recognition of media arts as a distinct artistic
discipline in Québec via exhibitions, performances, conferences, workshops,
master class activities, and via the organisation of national and
international meetings and symposia; to further public education and better
understanding of media arts through educational programmes, public
presentations, and by whatever means which are deemed appropriate; to further
the development of a national and international network with other associations
and organisations; and to support and defend media arts creators' intellectual
property rights.
For more
information, please contact: CQAM, 4550 rue Garnier, 2e étage, Montréal, Québec H2J 3S7, Canada,
tel.: 1 514 527 5116; fax: 1 514 522 8011; e-mail: info@cqam.org
(Source: Visiting Arts, no. 44/2000)
The Musa Heritage Gallery
The Musa Heritage Gallery, Cameroon, seeks Museums and Art Galleries for Twinning and Individuals/Organisations as Supporting Friends.
The Musa
Heritage Gallery is very much interested in developing links with museums and
art galleries world-wide with the aim of twinning. The Musa Heritage Gallery
believes that such twinning will benefit both itself and the prospective
partner(s), as it will help to establish friendship, encourage joint projects,
provide opportunities for learning from each other, and serve as a platform for
cultural/artistic exchange, thereby promoting the concept of cultural diversity
in today's globalising society.
The Musa
Heritage Gallery was established in December 1996. The museum focuses on the
arts and crafts of the western grassfields of Cameroon. The museum has a
diverse collection of over 400 objects, mainly done during the last three
decades of the just ended twentieth century and continues to acquire
contemporary Cameroonian art.
Individuals and
organisations interested in becoming supporting friends of the museum are also
invited to contact the director. Since very few visitors come to the museum, it
is very difficult to sustain this institution. The museum, however, is
struggling to educate the local population about museums as custodians of
cultural/artistic heritage and to encourage them to cultivate the habit of
visiting the museum. The challenge is enormous. Unless the Musa Heritage
Gallery finds some dedicated individuals and organisations who can help to
sustain the museum, this artistic and cultural institution might not be able to
last for long.
Interested
museums, art galleries, individuals and organisations should contact: Peter Musa, Director, Musa Heritage
Gallery, P.O. Box 21, Kumbo-Nso, N.W.P., Cameroon, tel.: +237 48 16 42; e-mail:
musart_gallery@bamenda.org; http://www.btinternet.com/~mulamba/musa2.html
The Banff Television Foundation
Innovation Excellence Opportunity!
The Banff Television Foundation manages and produces some of the world's leading television and new
media industry events. Its mission is to inspire innovation in content
creation, celebrate excellence, and provide learning and business opportunities
for creators and other industry professionals.
As for more than
two decades, this year also, the Banff 2001 Television
Festival will take
place from 10-15 June 2001 and will feature lively sessions and debates about
new media and issues of convergence, in addition to the latest trends in the
world of conventional television. As a celebration of excellence, the Banff
Television Festival administers the Banff Rockie Awards competition for the
world's best television programmes and webcasts. The Festival schedule features
more than 50 hours of workshops, plenary sessions, master classes, and other
inventively formatted meetings designed to appeal both to the most
sophisticated and experienced practitioners and to emerging new players.
The Banff
Television Foundation managed the World Congress of
Science Producers,
which took place in Sydney, Australia, in December 2000, as well as the World
Congress of History Producers that will take place in Boston, USA, from 19-22
October 2001. The congress will feature about 20 sessions devoted to the
special genre of history programming on television and online.
The Alliance Atlantis Banff Television Executive Program is a
leadership programme created especially for senior professionals in television
and new media, focusing on the development of entrepreneurial, leadership, and
management skills to equip the participants for the challenges of the evolving
global marketplace. It blends a disciplined analysis of industry trends and
practices presented by television and new media experts with senior level
leadership and management training provided by the Banff Centre for Management.
To find out
more about the rich Banff TV Foundation programme, please contact: Banff Television Foundation, 1516
Railway Avenue, Canmore, Alberta, Canada, T1W 1P6, tel.: 1 403 678 9260; fax: 1
403 678 9269;e-mail: info@banfftvfest.com;
http://www.banff2001.com
| 
