International Conference on Culture Undeterred

Ottawa - September 19, 2001   In an effort to build international understanding and a more equitable and peaceful world, the International Network for Cultural Diversity (INCD) will go ahead with its conference Towards A Global Pact for Culture, September 21 to 23 in Lucerne, Switzerland.  As cultural workers we are determined to join together as a transformative counterforce to fanaticism and violence.  We extend our deep sympathy to the victims, their families and friends, and all those in the affected areas of the United States.

The tragedy last week forced the cancellation of one American speaker at our conference, a New York city video producer, and one cultural promoter from the Cote d'Ivoire with close relations in New York.

But for American Steering Committee member James Early, the conference is more important than ever:

"The multi-cultural society that is America must work in solidarity with cultures around the world to ensure a better understanding and just relations between nations and societies," said Early, who is the Director of Cultural Heritage Policy at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC.

The focus of the conference will be the creation of a global cultural pact which will encourage nations to promote the diversity of their cultures and block international institutions which limit their ability to do so.

Renowned Canadian actor R.H. Thomson will lead a dialogue between acclaimed artists from different cultures: Indian cinema director Mohan Agashe, South African television actor Japan Mthembu, Mexican video director Irma Pietrasanta, and Greek screenwriter Katarina Marinaki, President of the Federation of Scriptwriters in Europe.

The conference will include representatives of global institutions such as UNESCO and the World Trade Organization (WTO), and will report its conclusions to the network of Ministers of Culture meeting which follows immediately afterwards.  INCD organizers are optimistic that the hoped-for cultural pact will one day become a reality.

"If world leaders can create protocols to promote biodiversity, they can create an instrument to promote cultural diversity," said Megan Williams, the Director of the Secretariat of the INCD, and the National Director of the Canadian Conference of the Arts, which houses the INCD secretariat. "Such a pact would not only strengthen independent creators and cultural institutions around the world, it would ensure equitable exchanges between cultures, which might go a long way towards improving international relations in these difficult times. "

The network  thanks the Swiss Federal Ministry of Culture for their financial support of the conference, as well as the Department of Canadian Heritage and the Rockefeller Foundation for their ongoing financial support. We also thank Arts International, who with funding from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Ford Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation, subsidized many conference participants.

For further information contact Janet Creery, INCD Associate Coordinator at (613) 238-3561 ext. 15 or janet.creery@ccarts.ca; or Anita Grace, CCA Communications Manager at (613) 238-3561 ext. 11.

Visit the INCD web site at www.incd.net.