Ms Sabina SANTAROSSA, Director of Cultural Exchange, Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) elaborated ASEF’s role in international cultural cooperation in the context of the 1st World Biennial Forum. The Forum took place on 17 October 2012 in Gwangju, South Korea. The event was supported by the project Creative Encounters: Cultural Partnerships Between Asia and Europe through the Creative Encounters programme.
In a related featured interview, Ms SANTAROSSA shared her perspective on the relevance of cultural events saying, “ASEF’s mandate is to serve as a platform for creative expression, international exposure and social participation”. She encouraged the exploration of new grounds for useful cooperation. She added, “New cultural cooperation can flourish by creating dialogue and awareness based on our cultural inclinations. It will also depend on the reasons and directions of certain cultural interests, social patterns and changes. These will help in enhancing more mutual understanding between Asia and Europe by seeking the most important trends and movements in and across our societies.”
The Creative Encounters programme aims at supporting dialogue and collaboration opportunities related to creativity and arts. The programme has received over 700 proposals through open calls for its 1st and 2nd editions. It will support 6 projects in 2013 in the following countries: Austria, Czech Republic, Indonesia, Italy, Lithuania, and the Philippines.