The Power of Culture

In Ethiopia, the circus is more than performing feats. Street children and AIDS orphans there are trained as performers, and their songs deal with topics including AIDS and children's rights.

From 11 to 14 March, the European cultural Foundation (ECF) organised the conference Almost Real in Utrecht. Some one hundred and fifty visitors from Europe and the rest of the world participated in workshops and debates about art and social changes. The high point of the conference was a presentation by Okwui Enwezor titled The Artist as Producer in Times of Crisis.

During the conference with the theme Claiming Artistic Freedom, eight artists discussed their personal situations. HIVOS organized the conference in cooperation with the Winternachten festival..

Some 140 participants from 45 countries met in Amsterdam to discuss their experience with sports projects as an instrument for sustainable development.

Is a cultural boycott useful or does it in fact do just the opposite of what it is intended to do? This question was the focus of a panel discussion during the WOMEX World Music Fair.

Nigerian professor Amina Mama (1958) will hold the Prince Claus chair in 2003/2004.

Leïla Ben Ali, wife of the Tunisian president, opened The Tunisian Woman, partner with equal rights conference in August.

The internationally known singer Cesária Évora from Africa has been appointed Food Ambassador for the United Nations.

In the United States educational materials are subjected to strict censorship. Diane Ravitch, former Secretary of Education and renowned researcher, describes how this works in her book The Language Police.