15 culture news headlines from 6 countries in October
Armenia
UNESCO has recognised four Armenian towns—Sisian, Dilijan, Sevan, and Gyumri—among its Global Network of Learning Cities (GNLC), Panorama.am reports. The cities that become GNLC members benefit from participating in international policy dialogue, action research, capacity building and peer learning, and effective use of learning city approaches to promote lifelong learning for their citizens. Panorama.am
Petrosyan: in order to have a successful project, it is necessary to develop the right idea and to ensure proper management. Sarhat Petrosyan, the founder and the director of the “Urbanlab Yerevan” organisation, told Culture and Creativity that in order to have a successful project, it is necessary to develop the right idea and to ensure proper management. He noted that organisations which are not specialised in culture hinder the development of the cultural sector. “In order to create favourable conditions for the development of cultural and creative sectors in Armenia there are both political and economic problems as well as problems associated with abilities and thinking,” Petrosyan stressed. Culture and Creativity
Armenian producer on the High Fest multi-genre festival in Armenia. Arthur Ghukasyan, actor and producer, noted in an interview with Culture and Creativity that for such a successful project as High Fest one needs to have the right idea, and the project must be carried out by professionals. “Team is also very important since one man, even if he is a genius, is not able to do anything alone. The project should be simple, specific, evaluable, attainable, realistic and timely. Each project should contribute to the socio-cultural development of the country,” Ghukasyan emphasized. Culture and Creativity
Honesty is the key to developing a successful cultural project, Smbatyan says. In an interview with Culture and Creativity, Sergey Smbatyan, the artistic director and chief conductor of the Youth Orchestra of Armenia, said that people perfectly feel what is done sincerely and with dedication. “For a successful project, I would like to mention two secrets: honesty in work and human relations; devotion to the idea and work as far as possible. In my opinion, the rest is derived from these two important principles,” Smbatyan noted. Culture and Creativity
Azerbaijan
A workshop realised within EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Programme was held in Baku, Azertac news agency reports. Andriy Kulakov, Ukrainian media expert and a manager of media projects, worked on defining the most important issues in culture sphere with those who took part in the workshop. Azertac
The VII European Film Festival is due to be held in Baku from 3 to 12 November, Azertac news agency writes. Malena Mard, Head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan, noted that 19 European films will be screened during the event. She said there will also be an essay competition for reporters and viewers during the festival. Azertac
Belarus
Krashevskaya: new cultural projects are indispensable for an audience in Belarus. Angelika Krashevskaya, the Director of the ART Corporation Visual and Performing Arts Centre, told Culture and Creativitythat there is a new audience in Belarus for which new theatre and cinema projects are indispensable. Therefore, in her opinion, there should be also a new generation of cultural managers. “There are rules for the game that we either accept or we don’t… Bureaucracy is ubiquitous. But in our country it is complicated by the fact that we have laws that do not help, but rather make the situation in the creative environment stagnate,” Krashevskaya stressed. Culture and Creativity
Belarus and Czech Republic discussed joint activities for the upcoming events to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Francysk Skaryna's first printed book in 2017, BelTA news agency writes. The matter was discussed during a meeting between Belarus' Ambassador in Czech Republic Valery Kurdyukov and Petr Hnizdo, director of Foreign Relations Department of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic. BelTA
Georgia
Two new films by Georgian directors were shown at Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival, the largest festival of creative documentary films in Central and Eastern Europe, Agenda.ge reports. Czech festival premiered the feature-length documentary “The Things” by filmmaker Nino Gogua and “The Dazzling Light of Sunset” by director Salome Jashi. Agenda.ge
Georgia named the best at Cannes Lions International Festival. The jury of the 64th Cannes Lions International Festival recognised the achievements of Georgia in the direction of Young Lions competition as the best in the world, Georgian Journal writes. Georgia joined the festival two years ago. Young Lions festival is held annually in 89 countries of the world and thousands of people participate in it. Georgian Journal
Moldova
Moldovan publishers took part at the 68th Frankfurt Book Fair. Moldova’s stand at the Fair was organised in a cooperation between Ministry of Culture of Moldova and Moldovan publishers union with duly support of the Embassy Republic of Moldova in Berlin and the Consulate General of the Republic of Moldova in Frankfurt. Moldpres
Ukraine
Culture and Creativity Programme expert gave recommendations for financial development of culture organisations. Sarah Thelwall, British expert in culture, writer and strategist on all things Creative and Cultural Industries, spoke to Platfor.ma online journal about how culture organisations could work out the financial aspect of their activities. She noted that one should find a balance between motivation and basic financial knowledge. According to Thelwall, culture organisations should look for as many sources of financing as possible, so that it could adapt to changes. Platfor.ma
Ukrainian Government sent a law on the state support for Ukrainian filmmaking on signing to Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko. According to the draft law, state support will be conducted through Film Fund under the management of State Film Agency. The funding decisions to be made by a Film Council. The level of financing is set to 0.2% of Ukraine’s state budget. LB.ua
Swedish Gothenburg is hosting the second Scandinavian festival of Ukrainian films from 25 October till 7 November. The festival is organized by the Ukrainian community of the city of Gothenburg with the support of the municipal department of culture and in cooperation with the Ukrainian Institute in Sweden. The Day
Ukrainian expert shared tips for successful advocacy campaign. Andriy Kulakov, a media expert and a manager of media projects, shared tips for successful advocacy campaign while taking part in “Culture and Creativity” workshop organized with the support of the British Embassy in Armenia within EU-Eastern Partnership Culture and Creativity Programme. To achieve mentioned success, one should formulate the problem, define the target audience, discover its needs, and then work out a strategy based on them. Culture and Creativity
