First Culture and Development Roundtable held in Seoul

The Korean National Commission for UNESCO (KNCU) organized the first of three Culture and Development Roundtables on 22 June in Seoul in partnership with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea.

The first roundtable, which focused on the relationship between cultural diversity and sustainable development, was composed of a keynote speech by the former and the first Minister of Culture, Dr. Lee O Young, and three presentations on local development cases that utilized culture by members of the Expert Panel.

Dr. Ryoo Jeung-Ah from the Korea Culture and Tourism Institute gave a presentation explaining how cultural assets can contribute to community development, while Dr. Ra Do Sam of the Seoul Development Institute examined the impact of culture and arts in local development. Lastly, Professor Kim Chul Won from the College of Hotel and Tourism Management at Kyunghee University discussed the role of cultural heritage and local culture in developing countries.

This year’s Culture and Development Roundtable closely involves the 30 members of the Expert Panel, who have been selected from various fields such as anthropology, economics, international relations, cultural policy, arts management and so on. Other participants include representatives from related departments and organizations and invited guests from various organizations.

The main objectives of the Culture and Development Roundtable include increasing public awareness of the global agenda on culture and development and suggesting new models of development from a culture-oriented perspective. KNCU and its partner organizations believe that these efforts will create an enabling environment for holding a UN Conference on culture and development after 2015.