Theme Forum of the 18th China Shanghai International Arts Festival launches

The theme for series of forums running from October 11 to November 3, 2016 during the 18th China Shanghai International Arts is “Diversity, Vitality, Community”. One theme forum, seven sub-forums, one roundtable seminar, one theme symposium and one workshop will be held. The theme forum focuses on the building of the arts festival cooperation and development network in countries alongside the “Belt and Road” to conduct in-depth discussions on development, exchanges and cooperation regarding the rich cultural and arts resources in countries alongside the “Belt and Road”, and tap the cultural potentials for the whole world. Series of forums will cover issues such as frontier developing trends of the arts across the globe, exploration of various arts resources in the world, sharing of practice and experience of innovative forms of arts, development of urban cultures and popularization of arts education.

The “Belt and Road” theme forum of the 18th China Shanghai International Arts is launched at the Grand Banquet Hall of the Intercontinental Hotel in Puxi, Shanghai, on October 12, 2016. Guests and representatives from 60 institutions and 30 countries alongside the “Belt and Road” are present on the forum.

Wu Xiaoming, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organizing Committee of the 18th CSIAF and  Artistic Director of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and TV

At 9:30am, Wu Xiaoming, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organizing Committee of the 18th CSIAF and  Artistic Director of Shanghai Municipal Administration of Culture, Radio, Film and TV, opens the forum by giving a speech on the significant potential and bright future of the cultural cooperation and exchanges against the backdrop of the “Belt and Road”, and expresses the hope that friends coming from countries alongside the “Belt and Road” develop an extensive network to create a bright future for cultural cooperation and exchanges alongside the “Belt and Road”.

Zhai Deyu, Member of the Organizing Committee of the 18th CSIAF and Deputy Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Culture of China

Then, Zhai Deyu, Member of the Organizing Committee of the 18th CSIAF and Deputy Director of the International Department of the Ministry of Culture of China, acknowledges the achievements of the China Shanghai International Arts Festival, sheds light upon the historical and cultural richness in countries alongside the “Belt and Road”, and conveys the wishes for in-depth exploration and cooperation in terms of culture and arts against the background of the global digital times.

Amarendra Khatua, Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)

Shahrukh Akbarov, Head of the International Relations Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Sport affairs of Uzbekistan

Pu Cunxin, Deputy Dean of Beijing People’s Art Theatre

Theodoros Terzopoulos, Co-founder and President of International Committee of the Theatre Olympics

Guests present on the theme forum also include Amarendra Khatua, Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), Shahrukh Akbarov, Head of the International Relations Development Department of the Ministry of Culture and Sport affairs of Uzbekistan, Pu Cunxin, Deputy Dean of Beijing People’s Art Theatre, and Theodoros Terzopoulos, Co-founder and President of International Committee of the Theatre Olympics. Amarendra Khatua starts with the cultural exchanges between China and India with the focus on the cultural cooperation between the two countries in the future. Shahrukh Akbarov emphasizes the importance of education, culture and arts for the people, and introduces the development of the arts festival in Uzbekistan. Pu Cunxin’s speech centers on the significance of the culture and arts for the building of the “Belt and Road”, and expresses the wishes for cross-country exchanges in culture and arts. While, Theodoros Terzopoulos focuses on the quality of the artists and the importance of exploring the traditional resources against the background of the globalization.

Scholars, experts and artists from Romania, Israel, Croatia, Lithuania, Lebanon, Poland, Estonia and the United States are also invited to conduct discussions on the values of the cultural richness in countries alongside the “Belt and Road”, and the cultural cooperation between the countries alongsie the “Belt and Road” in various perspectives.

Constantin Chiriac,Director of Sibiu International Theatre Festival and President of“Radu Stanca” National Theatre of Sibiu, puts forward his suggestions for building a shared community with diversities. Eyal Sher, Director of Israel Festival, lectured on the significance of the arts alliance against the backdrop of the “Belt and Road”. Borna Baletić, President of the Academy of Drama Zagreb, focuses on the importance of “cross-field” arts education. Chen Xinyi from the Central Academy of Drama of China also makes constructive suggestions for deepening cooperation across diverse cultures.

Gintautas Kėvišas from Vilnius Festival and Prathibha Prahlad from Prasiddha Foundation -Delhi International Arts Festival give their advices on issues such as arts work, creation, brand promotion, arts investment, services for artists and arts development etc. Ibrahim Spahic from Sarajevo International Festival Winter, Lina El Tannir from Beiteddine Art Festival, and Ekaterina Mazmishvili from the Tbilisi International Festival of Theatre conduct an in-depth discussion on new models for multilateral cultural exchanges. Adam Perry from Arts Midwest in the United States, Yao Rui from Beijing Poly Theatre, and Marcin Jacoby from Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Poland offer their solutions for cultural exchanges and cooperation. 

On the section of arts work promotion, Juri Leiten, General Manager of Eesti Kontsert in Estonia and Wang Shan, Vice President of Quanzhou Normal Universtiy in Fujian Province, both make introduction of their arts work. And on the site, performances of the arts work are also presented. Launched on the same stage are two programs with totally varied styles, one from the east and one from the west, showcasing the cultural vitalities of the arts and obtaining enthusiastic responses from the audience.