Danish Centre for Culture and Development

13/01/2017

The Danish newspaper Dagbladet Information is taking us down the CKU memory lane - with photo.circle, Nablus Circus School, Jakarta Biennale, Mc Wang Jok, Bayimba International Festival - Kampala, Uganda, Fatuma's Voice, Chris Mukasa

Majka Elan vandt World Press Photo for sin tabubrydende serie om homoseksualitet i Vietnam. Danmark støttede hendes arbejde. Nu dropper regeringen støtten til kultur i udviklingslande.

21/12/2016

The Right to Art and Culture 2013-2016.

The Danish Centre for Culture and Development is closing at the end of 2016, and an 18 years era of Danish commitment to art, culture and development has come to an end.

Support to culture and development will now have to come from other sources around the world. Hopefully, new collaborations will find their way, new projects will develop, and new partnerships will grow.

This final report offers a glimpse of the results of CKU's work with art, culture and creative industries. With this CKU acknowledges and thanks all the dedicated, loyal and inspiring individuals, institutions and organisations for all efforts to defend the right to art and culture.

Thanks

In this final report from the Centre for Culture and Development (CKU) you can read about Danish experiences with the power of art, culture and creative industries in development cooperation.

28/04/2016

"Art and culture are fundamental needs for the survival of societies. It is a basic human right as it symbolises some of the fundamental qualities of being human – such as creativity, freedom of expression, and innovation.
This was stated by Helle Nielsen, Chargé d’Affaires of the Embassy of Denmark in Pakistan while speaking at the 5th National Child Art Competition ceremony (Art Beat 2016) organised by The Little Art and co-funded by the Danish Centre for Culture and Developmente for Culture and Development (CKU).

Denmark’s Chargé d’Affaires stresses on encouraging children to enhance skills.

25/04/2016

They are not doctors, relief workers, or logisticians. Nevertheless, Nepalese artists and culture organisations responded promptly to the earthquake and the aftershocks that devastated Nepal in April and May 2015.

Artlab life Embassy of Denmark in Nepal

This is "nepal_artlab_youtube" by on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

29/03/2016

The Danish House in Palestine (DHIP) and the Centre for Culture and Development (CKU) are pleased to issue a call for proposals for temporary projects in support of production in .

Application Deadline is April 22, 2016 – 15:00 CET.

Please share.

Palestine Festival of Literature FilmLab: Palestine Nablus Circus School Palestinian Art Court - al Hoash

08/03/2016

Except for weddings and funerals many Pakistani women have few other options to gather and socialize. Across Pakistan Shirkat Gah - Women's Resource Centre supported by Danish Centre for Culture and Development creates spaces for women to meet, share and express themselves. In the women friendly spaces they play music, sing and discuss important issues.

International Women's Day Embassy of Denmark in Pakistan Women Deliver

This is "open mic Final (1)" by on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

25/11/2015

Are you curious to know more about how the arts and cultural sector meets the challenges of increasing urbanization?

On the 2nd and 3rd of December you can attend the Nordic Arts and Audiences conference 'NEW URBAN CHALLENGES 2015'.

The conference takes place at Afuk- the Academy of Untamed Creativity in Copenhagen

Arts & Globalization CKI Kunst Og Interkultur

The urban development in the Nordics has reached a level we have not seen in more than 100 years. Rapid growth of the major cities changes urban demographics and cultural composition.

24/11/2015

Artists can not bear the burden of ensuring peace in the world. But art and culture contribute to building bridges, heal traumas, offer spaces for expressing the unspeakable and creating senses of belonging and identity.

This was some of the conclusions of a two-day seminar in Jakarta about the contribution of art and culture in peace and reconciliation processes.

Scholars, art/development practitioners, and artists from Pakistan, Nepal, USA, Denmark, Australia, Afghanistan and Indonesia working in the intersection between art and peace building provided new insights and perspectives. And by offering theoretical frameworks, examples and best practices from their work, they shared important knowledge and contributed to nuanced and thorough discussions at the seminar.

Thanks to Nepal Picture Library, Photo.Circle, Word Warriors Spoken Word Nepal and Sareena Rai from Nepal, Afghan/American artist Mariam Ghani, Ngone Fall from Senegal, dancer Ronald Regang,and rock band Matajiwa from Indonesia for contributing with strong and inspiring art.

And thanks to Embassy of Denmark in Indonesia and the Jakarta Biennale for close and fruitful cooperation.

EUNIC EUNIC in Brussels UNESCO Hivos British Council Goethe-Institut - Deutsch lernen Alliance Française de Bandung Alliance Française de Singapour Culture+Conflict Peacebuilding Art for Amnesty European Commission - Development & Cooperation - EuropeAid ACP–EU development cooperation Ford Foundation Open Society Foundations Brandeis University Herstories RIKO - Rådet for International Konfliktløsning Norad Sida - Styrelsen för Internationellt Utvecklingssamarbete Alliance for the Arts Kelola Spoken Word Nepal Embassy of Sweden in Jakarta Norway Embassy Siddhartha Arts Foundation Education Initiative College of Youth Activism and Development Cyaad-Pk Ajoka Theatre Pakistan The University of Melbourne - Indonesia Office Salzburg Global Seminar

DAY 1: The 20th-21st of November, artists, scholars and development workers from more than six Asian countries meet in Jakarta to share their experiences with using art and culture in peace and reconciliation processes. The seminar took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, at the Jakarta Biennale.

THE DANISH CENTRE FOR CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT (CKU), the Danish Embassy in Indonesia and the Jakarta Biennale co-arranged a two-day seminar in Jakarta about the contribution of art and culture in peace and reconciliation efforts. Scholars, artists, arts and development managers from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Australia, Denmark and Indonesia gathered to share their knowledge and experiences. Inspirational examples, methods and best practices of strengthening peace processes with art and culture were thoroughly presented.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS were Professor Yudhishtir Raj Isar, Afghan/American artist Mariam Ghani and Indonesian curator Ade Darmawan. A new study commissioned by the Danish Centre for Culture and Development (CKU) and authored by PhD Ereshnee Naidu-Silverman about the role of art and culture in peace and reconciliation processes was launched and presented at the seminar. The study provides evidence, based on research and case studies, on the linkages between art and culture and their role in pre- and post-conflict interventions for participants to use in their future efforts.

PARTNERS AND PROGRAMME OFFICERS from CKU’s programmes in the Southeast Asian region including Nepal, Pakistan and Indonesia participated. Embassies, other leading donors such as the British Council and Ford Foundation and stakeholders from Indonesia in the field of art, culture and development were also among the participants.

THE EXAMPLES of how art and culture are used as tools in peace and reconciliation processes were many: Poetry-writing help victims of war to overcome trauma, film screenings open up for dialogue in conflict-affected communities, story telling legitimizes memories from war, and cultural projects bring young people new role models and alternatives to radicalization. From war-torn Afghanistan to terror-affected Pakistan, from conflict-ridden Indonesia to earthquake-devastated Nepal, art projects, methods and new ways of integrating art and culture into peace and reconciliation efforts were inspiring and uplifting.

Some of the conclusions were that art and culture can not solve the conclicts of the world, but:

- Art and culture can contribute to moving beyond the division of self and other.
- Art and culture can inspire and instill curiosity of the other.
- Creative projects generate knowledge, are educating and give new tools for thinking about the world
- Art can re-humanise victims as well as perpetrators
- Cultural activities bring people together and promote mutual understanding and tolerance
- Cultural heritage can be recovered and revisited to shed light on the past and build new narratives
- Art and culture can inspire change and create spaces where speaking the unspeakable are possible.

Interested in knowning more: subscribe to our newsletter: httpa//eepurl.com/bBFM1n:::http://eepurl.com/bBFM1n

23/11/2015

DAY 2: The seminar programme included a guided tour at the Jakarta Biennale around the theme of peace and reconciliation.

The seminar programme also provided networking opportunities; participatory workshops; sessions on art and culture and their linkages to peace and reconciliation; artist performances; inspirational talks and and photo exhibition by Nepal Picture Library.

23/11/2015

DAY 1: The 20th-21st of November, artists, scholars and development workers from more than six Asian countries meet in Jakarta to share their experiences with using art and culture in peace and reconciliation processes. The seminar took place in Jakarta, Indonesia, at the Jakarta Biennale.

THE DANISH CENTRE FOR CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT (CKU), the Danish Embassy in Indonesia and the Jakarta Biennale co-arranged a two-day seminar in Jakarta about the contribution of art and culture in peace and reconciliation efforts. Scholars, artists, arts and development managers from Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Australia, Denmark and Indonesia gathered to share their knowledge and experiences. Inspirational examples, methods and best practices of strengthening peace processes with art and culture were thoroughly presented.

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS were Professor Yudhishtir Raj Isar, Afghan/American artist Mariam Ghani and Indonesian curator Ade Darmawan. A new study commissioned by the Danish Centre for Culture and Development (CKU) and authored by PhD Ereshnee Naidu-Silverman about the role of art and culture in peace and reconciliation processes was launched and presented at the seminar. The study provides evidence, based on research and case studies, on the linkages between art and culture and their role in pre- and post-conflict interventions for participants to use in their future efforts.

PARTNERS AND PROGRAMME OFFICERS from CKU’s programmes in the Southeast Asian region including Nepal, Pakistan and Indonesia participated. Embassies, other leading donors such as the British Council and Ford Foundation and stakeholders from Indonesia in the field of art, culture and development were also among the participants.

THE EXAMPLES of how art and culture are used as tools in peace and reconciliation processes were many: Poetry-writing help victims of war to overcome trauma, film screenings open up for dialogue in conflict-affected communities, story telling legitimizes memories from war, and cultural projects bring young people new role models and alternatives to radicalization. From war-torn Afghanistan to terror-affected Pakistan, from conflict-ridden Indonesia to earthquake-devastated Nepal, art projects, methods and new ways of integrating art and culture into peace and reconciliation efforts were inspiring and uplifting.

Some of the conclusions were that art and culture can not solve the conclicts of the world, but:

- Art and culture can contribute to moving beyond the division of self and other.
- Art and culture can inspire and instill curiosity of the other.
- Creative projects generate knowledge, are educating and give new tools for thinking about the world
- Art can re-humanise victims as well as perpetrators
- Cultural activities bring people together and promote mutual understanding and tolerance
- Cultural heritage can be recovered and revisited to shed light on the past and build new narratives
- Art and culture can inspire change and create spaces where speaking the unspeakable are possible.

Interested in knowning more: subscribe to our newsletter: httpa//eepurl.com/bBFM1n:::http://eepurl.com/bBFM1n

19/11/2015

UN Special Rapporteur in Cultural Rights, Farida Shaheed was one of the first to receive the study on 'The Contribution of Art and Culture in Peace and Reconciliation Processes'.

Friday the study will be officially launched in Jakarta in Indonesia during the seminar organised by the Center for kultur og Udvikling/ Danish Center for Culture and Development in close cooperation with the Embassy of Denmark in Indonesia and the Jakarta Biennale.

You can already read the report following this link: http://issuu.com/cku-centerforkulturogudvikling/docs/the_contribution_of_art_and_culture

EUNIC UNESCO Hivos British Council Ford Foundation