7th Asia-Europe Culture Ministers' Meeting kicks off in Gwangju

• Report rights infringement
• published: 23 Jun 2016
• views: 10

제7차 아셈문화장관회의... 이를 통해 보는 문화와 창조경제 Cultural leaders from over 50 nations and regional organizations convened in Korea to discuss and share ways of promoting a creative economy through culture... ahead of the 11th Asia-Europe Meeting summit next month. Lee Ji-won takes us to the opening ceremony of the first ASEM culture minister's meeting held in Korea. Cultural leaders from Asia and Europe are gathered in Korea's southwestern city of Gwangju for the 7th Asia-Europe Culture Ministers' Meeting. "I am honored to hold the 7th ASEM Culture Ministers' Meeting in Gwangju,... a hub city for Asian culture and the home of culture and arts in Korea." During the three-day event that runs through Friday, culture ministers from the ASEM members will present their countries' action plans and policies under the theme "Culture and Creative Economy." The topic has been brought up a number of times during the past culture ministers' meetings, as leaders have been seeking to boost culture-based economic growth by supporting creative industries. As the value of the creative economy rises, Asian and European nations have been pouring more effort into it,... adding extra spice to this year's event. The culture ministers are not only sharing and learning about other countries' policies and programs, they are reaffirming international cooperation for cultivating creative industries. "I'm sure that due to the dynamics of the city and the dynamics of the ASEM process, we will have a new impulse for Asia-Europe cooperation, and also, given the fact that Gwangju and Leipzig are two cities working together, perhaps also, new stimulus for cooperation between the city of Gwangju and the city of Leipzig." To work on this issue at the base level, an institute under ASEM, the Asia-Europe Foundation, hosted a policy panel on Wednesday. Officials gathered prior to the ministers' meeting to allow a more enriched and enhanced dialogue between the ministers. The foundation's deputy executive director emphasized the importance of culture in the creative economy. "You have to innovate. Innovation comes from creativity, creativity is the soul of culture. Without culture, you will not have economic growth in the future. It is actually becoming a growing factor in the future of creative economies in most countries." "The event also includes an announcement of the host for the next meeting in 2018, and a number of special programs such as a tour of Gwangju for the visitors to enjoy the city's rich cultural heritage, also known as the cultural hub of Asia. Lee Ji-won, Arirang News, Gwangju." Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): http://www.facebook.com/newsarirang Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/arirangtv Twitter: http://twitter.com/arirangworld Instagram: http://instagram.com/arirangworld