The Australian Federal Government has committed one
million Australian dollars and raised a couple of million more for Oz
Fest 2012, which aims to project contemporary Australia to Indian
audiences. Australia’s Minister for the Arts Simon Crean said that the
Festival, which will be formally launched on September 25, would
showcase Australian culture through shows and exhibitions in theatre,
music, dance, cinema and art in a number of Indian cities over a few
months.
Speaking to a group of three journalists
invited by the Australian government, Mr. Crean said events such as the
Oz Fest and the increasing importance that Australia is attaching to
cultural diplomacy are signs of Australia’s growing economic confidence
and part of a push to usher in greater people-to-people contacts,
particularly among countries in Asia.
He expressed
himself in favour of the idea of Australia having a separate cultural
organisation on the lines of Alliance Francaise and the Goethe Institut.
Asked whether this would be reflected in
Australia’s white paper on foreign policy, expected to be made public
next month, he declined to comment.
However, he said
he has been arguing very strongly that Australia needs to go in the
direction of developing a cultural institute on the lines that some
European countries have. “We could strengthen that Australia
International Cultural Council, which is jointly chaired by the Foreign
Minister and the Arts Minister, into something like this.”
The
details about the Oz Fest programme are likely to be announced when
Australia’s Prime Minister Julia Gillard visits India in mid-October.
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