The Asia Cultural Cooperation Forum 2006 opened in
Hong Kong on
Wednesday with a Chinese delegations' closed meeting.
The meeting, entitled Opportunities for Culture and Creative
industries under Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement between
Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland, was attended by government
officials from Hong Kong and the mainland.
When delivering a welcoming speech at the meeting, Hong Kong
Secretary for Home Affairs Patrick Ho said that the theme of this
year's Forum was "Asian Arts, Culture and Modernity" through
which participants are expected to discuss the Asian modernization
process of modernization and the characteristics of Asian modern
art.
Ho said that since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th
century, Asia had lagged behind western countries in aspects like
culture and art. But with the Asian economy trail-blazing, the
development pattern of Asian culture has become a hot topic.
The Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum 2006 was organized by the
Home Affairs Bureau of the Hong Kong government. Participants from
different parts of the world discuss their experiences in the
process of modernization, particularly reflected in culture and the
arts, and explore the idea of an Asian concept of modernity.
The five-day forum features a Chinese delegations' meeting and
an Asian cultural ministers' meeting and a series of 12 open forums
around six thematic programs -- "Cultural Ecologies: Communicating
Contemporary Art in the 21st Century", "Measuring Creativity,
Happiness and Well Being", "Creative Education Summit", "Media Arts
in the Contemporary Society", "Experiencing Architecture" and
"Asian Arts, Culture and Modernity".
Cultural ministers or their representatives from Asian countries
and regions, including Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, the
Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Vietnam, as well as a
large delegation of senior cultural officials from the Ministry of
Culture and from 15 provinces joined the forum.
The Asia Cultural Cooperation Forum was initiated by the Home
Affairs Bureau in 2003. It aims to foster and enhance partnership
between governments, to facilitate and promote private sector
initiatives in cultural and creative industries, and enhance as
Hong Kong's profile as Asia’s leading cultural and creative
hub.
(Xinhua News Agency November 9, 2006)