NZ to Attend 2nd Edinburgh International Culture Summit

New Zealand to Attend 2nd Edinburgh International Culture Summit

Chief Executive of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage Lewis Holden, will lead a delegation from the New Zealand government attending the Edinburgh International Culture Summit from 10 to 12 August 2014, held at the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh.
The delegation will join Culture Ministers and leading arts and culture experts from around the world to discuss substantial, global issues of mutual interest, during the largest annual celebration of arts in the world – Edinburgh’s summer festivals.
The New Zealand delegation will take part in a series of discussions and debates around the theme ‘Culture – A Currency of Trust’. This theme reflects the Summit’s belief in the capacity of the arts and culture to build bridges of understanding between nations, states and cities.
The programme features a stellar line-up of speakers including Benjamin Barber from the City University of New York, Nandi Mandela, business woman and grand-daughter of Nelson Mandela; and Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO.
Other speakers include Simon Anholt, the world’s leading authority on national image & reputation, and a world leader on ultra-wide scale human engagement. Danilo Santos de Miranda, Sao Paolo Director of Brazilian arts funding agency Serviço Social do Comércio (SESC), will talk on the success of the SESC Funding Model, and Australian-based poet, philosopher and artist Paul Carter will present on ‘Place-making and Storytelling’.
The Summit will facilitate a wide-ranging conversation across three interlinked topics:
• Values and Measurements: the principles of valuing culture and how to measure that value.
• Cities and Culture: the city as a locus of cultural innovation and participation.
• Advocacy and Identity: how culture and cultural diversity are best sustained, promoted and protected.
Speaking in advance of his visit to the 2014 Summit, Lewis Holden said:
“The Edinburgh International Culture Summit will be an opportunity to build international relationships, and to engage in worthwhile discussions that highlight the value of culture both intrinsically and in terms of its contribution to wider social and economic objectives. The Summit takes place in one of the world’s foremost cities for the arts, and we are delighted that so many New Zealand artists have been invited to participate in the Edinburgh festivals this year.”
The New Zealand at Edinburgh season will feature more than 200 New Zealand artists in seven of the Edinburgh festivals. This is the first time such a large group of leading New Zealand actors, dancers, musicians, writers, Maori performing artists, spoken word and visual artists has been invited to perform. The season, led by Creative New Zealand, aims to showcase New Zealand arts and culture on the world stage, engage with international arts practitioners and to develop new audiences, buyers and networks.
Commenting ahead of the Summit, Sir Jonathan Mills, Director of the Edinburgh International Festival and Programme Director of the Edinburgh International Culture Summit, said:
“The Edinburgh International Culture Summit is a forum in which artists and leaders come together to discuss substantial, global issues of mutual interest, during the Edinburgh International Festival. It is a great pleasure to welcome politicians and practitioners from across the globe to Edinburgh at its most diverse and dynamic – to a wonderful city, in ‘full Festival’ flow.
“The Summit exists to make the argument for culture and the arts as an essential enlargement of the circumstances in which we imagine our lives.
“I wish you well in your deliberations at the Edinburgh International Culture Summit, and hope that your time in Scotland is inspiring and rewarding.”
[NOTE: Additional partner quotes are available in Notes to Editors Below]
ENDS
Notes to Editors
1. The Summit is a collaboration between the Scottish Government, the UK Government, Scottish Parliament, the Edinburgh International Festival and British Council. It will bring together Culture Ministers with prominent artists, thinkers and others involved in developing and implementing cultural policy.
2. Plenary sessions will be broadcast live via www.scottish.parliament.uk
3. ww.culturesummit.com provides information to delegates, visitors and all those with an interest in arts and cultural policy. It will also host opinion articles from leading cultural figures from around the world, as well as live video streaming from the two-day event.
4. Additional partner quotes which are for publication:
Speaking ahead of the event, the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP, Presiding Officer, Scottish Parliament said:
“Here at the Parliament, we promote culture as a way of engaging with people on issues that matter to them. We’ve seen first-hand the positive reaction from visitors to world-class art such as that of Andy Warhol and the Great Tapestry of Scotland, which will be back at Holyrood again this summer.
“It is therefore our great pleasure to host the 2nd Edinburgh International Culture Summit, and we are delighted to offer members of the public this rare opportunity to hear from world-renowned speakers, including Nandi Mandela, as they explore the power of culture on nations.”
Fiona Hyslop, Scottish Culture Secretary said:
“The Arts and Culture Scene in Scotland is currently abuzz with energy, ideas and discussion, and this Culture Summit offers another opportunity to celebrate not only Scotland’s creativity, innovation and imagination but that of nations and countries across the globe.
“The Summit will see Culture Ministers, artists and cultural experts from around the world converge in Edinburgh.
“We believe that culture is a bridge that enables dialogue between nations and this Summit is particularly appropriate at a time when the eyes of the world are already focused on Scotland for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games and other events of 2014.”
UK Culture Minister Ed Vaizey said:
“The UK’s culture is world-renowned and this year’s summit will allow us to highlight this country’s unique and varied cultural offer, but also to bring other countries together and explore the opportunities cultural dialogue can bring, building relationships and boosting business too. The range of speakers and attendees from around the world will ensure we can strengthen both our cultural and wider relationships and I look forward to seeing everyone there.”
Chief Executive, British Council, Sir Martin Davidson KCMG noted:
"Scotland's historic capital has culture and learning at its heart and is perhaps the greatest cultural festival city in the world – and that makes Edinburgh a fitting place to stage the summit. Building on the success of the first event in 2012, this August’s summit will bring together culture ministers from every continent and especially the Commonwealth. The themes this year include the value of culture and how to measure it, and, at different ends of the spectrum, the roles of cities and international organisations. These themes matter to all countries, and I anticipate a productive exchange of knowledge and ideas while building strong international ties in the process.”
5. The full public programme is as follows, and will be broadcast live via www.scottish.parliament.uk:
Sunday August 10th

16:00-18:00 Opening Ceremony will include welcome speeches from the Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer the Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP, Scotland’s Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop MSP, UK Secretary of State for Media, Culture and Sport Sajid Javid MP and Sir Jonathan Mills, Director of the Edinburgh International Festival.
Internationally-renowned musician Jordi Savall will play a selection of early music along with fellow musicians from Hespèrion XXI.Savall has been recognised as EU Ambassador for intercultural dialogue and advocates the use of music as a medium to achieve understanding.
Plenary One will begin with a powerful presentation from Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO - taking a long-term view on international advocacy, and Simon Anholt leading professor, thinker and practitioner on culture and influence on a global scale; followed by Saskia Sassen, writer and socialist, and Michael Power financial expert.
Monday August 11th
09:30-10:30 Plenary Two will present Benjamin Barber considering the Culture of the City; Nandi Mandela considering cultural identity as a ‘Source for Positive Change in a Global Environment’; Robyn Archer exploring what is meant by “the use of and value in the arts?” The session will be rounded to a close by choreographer Ea Sola, who will give a personal reflection on her work exploring traditional Vietnamese culture and emergence of the individual from collective thinking.
14:30-15:30 Plenary Three will pick up on the work of Basma El Husseiny who has promoted cultural exchange projects in the Arab region for over 20 years. Danilo Santos de Miranda, Sao Paulo Director of Brazilian Arts Funding Agency SESC considers the unique and hugely successful SESC model. Paul Carter explores different cultural forms, artistic practices and design to create new public ‘situations’ and Kent Larson will round the session off with his speech on new technologies for urban data observation.
Tuesday August 12th
10:00-11.30 The Summit concludes with the Closing Plenary. Rapporteurs will summarise the various presentations and discussions of the Summit with Sir Nicholas Kenyon on Values and Measurements, Dr.Louise Richardson, Principal of University of St Andrews on Cities and Culture; and Bridget McConnell on Advocacy and Identity.
There will be an opportunity for delegates and participants to respond with comments from the floor.
Sir Vernon Ellis, Chair of the British Council and Sir Jonathan Mills, Director and CEO Edinburgh International Festival will give thanks.
There will be a final artist performance from the award-winning a cappella vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, described by Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s cultural ambassadors. The Rt Hon Tricia Marwick MSP, Presiding Officer Scottish Parliament will draw the Summit to a close.
6. hotographs are available publication, from the five partner organisations quoted above, and of the Summit speakers.

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