Representatives from the 44 ASEM member countries participate in the plenary session at the seventh Asia-Europe Culture Ministers’ Meeting at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju on June 23.
Representatives from the 44 ASEM member countries held in-depth discussions about ways to enhance cooperation on culture and the creative industries at the seventh Asia-Europe Culture Ministers’ Meeting on June 23 in Gwangju.
Meeting participants engaged in a plenary session and a three-part session where they shared their opinions on the main theme, “Culture and the Creative Economy,” and other related themes, such as the “Future of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and the Creative Industries,” “Traditional Cultural Heritage and the Creative Economy” and “International Cooperation for Vitalizing the Creative Industries.”
In the plenary session, participants shared the culture- and creative industry-related policies of their governments, and presented successful case studies from their domestic creative industries. The first session was jointly led by Marjan Hammersma, director-general of culture and media at the Ministry of Education in the Netherlands, and by Felipe M. de Leon, Jr., chairman of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts in the Philippines. Led by the two chairs, meeting participants discussed what effects the development of new technologies would bring to society, and what added value could be made if the creative industries and new technologies were to be combined.
In the second session, chaired by Bangladeshi Minister of Cultural Affairs Asaduzzaman Noor and Piotr Gliński, deputy prime minister and minister for culture and national heritage in Poland, the ASEM government representatives took a close look at traditional cultural heritage as one possible new resource for the creative industries.
The Bangladeshi culture minister spoke about the successful experiences that many creative industries have had in his country, such as the combination of traditional textile dying with Western-style fashion, one case where mixing traditional economic activity with modern creativity created a new culture and new art forms. Also, in order to pursue this creative economy vision, Minister Noor emphasized the importance of strengthened copyright protection systems to prevent illegal copying.
In the third session, led by Thai Minister of Culture Vira Rojpojchanarat and Aristeidis Nikolaos Dimitrios Baltas, minister for culture, education and religious affairs in Greece, ASEM government representatives shared their opinions on the globalization of the creative industries and the need to cooperation among themselves in this regard.
Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok (second from left) chairs the plenary session at the seventh Asia-Europe Culture Ministers’ Meeting at the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju on June 23.
In a special session, meanwhile, the Korean government introduced its “Culture and Creativity Fusion Belt,” a cluster of media and arts businesses organized by the Korean government last year in an attempt to boost the content industry, one of the government’s core industries in the realization of its vision for the overall creative economies.
After the discussion sessions, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok had one-on-one meetings with Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Culture & National Heritage Piotr Gliński, Dutch vice minister of culture, Marjan Hammersma, with Chinese Vice Minister of Culture Ding Wei, and with Japanese Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Ryohei Miyata. They discussed measures to boost cooperation on all forms of culture and on the creative industries. Minister Kim will announce the official chair’s statement on June 24.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Jeon Han Korea.net Photographer, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism
arete@korea.kr
Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Culture & National Heritage Piotr Gliński (left) and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok hold a meeting on June 23 in Gwangju.
Dutch Director-General of Culture & Media and Minister of Education Marjan Hammersma (left) and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok pose for a photo during their meeting on June 23.
Chinese Ministry of Culture Ding Wei (left) and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok hold talks on June 23 in Gwangju.
Japanese Commissioner for Cultural Affairs Ryohei Miyata (left) and Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Kim Jongdeok discuss cooperation measures on June 23 in Gwangju.
