Between 2017 and 2019, Zuni Icosahedron hosted three iterations of the Hong Kong Belt Road City to City Cultural Exchange Conferences – an arts and culture-oriented effort at organically leveraging the talents and institutionalised experience across Belt and Road countries – and beyond. On the occasion of Interrupted Dream being invited to InlanDimensions International Art Festival as the opening theatre program at Wroclaw, we gathered a number of experts and scholars with insights into cultural exchange for our first post-pandemic symposium on the future of cultural exchange.
It was always agreed at the symposium that identifying and developing young talents and leaders is essential in long-term cultural exchange. There is an urgent need for research and development – both a thorough understanding and reconceptualisation of it based on what is and is not working in the status quo, but also the dissemination and conducting of it. Without next-generation cultural exchange planners, there could be no exchange both into and for the future.
Human resource development requires, first, applied research to deeply understand and analyse our cultural environment, policies and resources; second, curriculum development and training programs for future cultural exchange leaders; and third, a concrete plan to build a sustainable and long-term platform and network.
This time, we gather again in Bangkok for another round of discussions. The conference in Bangkok will be divided into two afternoons –
On the first day, each participant will be invited to spend 5-10 minutes to share their or their institutions’ past experiences, current challenges, and plans or insights for the future related to cultural exchange and human resource development.
On the second day, we will hear from representatives from Hanoi, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo presenting their specific recommendations. We hope to gather some concrete suggestions from the participants to prepare for the future development of a specific proposal.
Through these two days of discussion, we invite the participating experts to provide valuable suggestions and work together to develop a research and development plan for 2023 and beyond, in preparation for our series of cultural exchange events, including the next Conference in Hong Kong in November 2023.
