Meeting of the Sub-Committee on Cultural Diversity held in Seoul
Seoul, August 22 2008

Meeting of the APA Sub-Committee on Protecting and Respecting Cultural Diversity in Asia took place in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on 21-22 August 2008. This meeting was hosted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea and delegates from Afghanistan, Bahrain, Cyprus, Iran, Jordan, Korea (Republic of), Kuwait and Syria participated in it.

The delegates deliberated on the Report of the Secretary-General to the Sub-Committee and agreed on a Meeting Report in which they recommended a draft resolution to the first meeting of APA Executive Council in 2008, which is due to meet in Tehran on 8-9 October 2008. In this draft resolution, the Sub-Committee recommended the following policies and measures:

1. Promoting respect for cultural diversity by exchanging relevant information, best practices and joint programs in Asia, including through identification of focal points in the executive branch of each Member Parliament and defining a networking scheme among them.

2. Relying on the spiritual heritage of Asian civilizations to further contribute to the global vision to counter the negative impact of globalization on cultural diversity.

3. Strengthening coordination between APA and international and regional organizations such as UNESCO, ISESCO and relevant NGOs active in this field, to both exchange experience and provide technical support for the implementation of APA Plan of Action on Protecting and Respecting Cultural Diversity.

4. Holding two regional workshops in 2009 and … to study the most appropriate relationship between economic development and culture, and to accord priority to this subject in the 2009 meeting of the Sub-Committee.

5. Promoting interfaith dialogue among Asian religions including through greater participation of Member Parliaments in the meetings of “Asian Conference of Religions for Peace.”

6. Developing and promoting adoption of a common legislation among Member Parliaments to combat smuggling of cultural items in Asia.

7. Encouraging relevant government agencies to facilitate consular services for citizens of Asian countries to allow for greater people-to-people interaction.

8. Establishing an award to be presented annually to an Asian artist; author, poet, film maker, painter, etc, who best conveys the APA message of Asian cooperation and integration, and in this context.

9. Considering establishment of an Asian Cultural Foundation (ACF) as a non-governmental organization to strengthen coordination of cultural activities at the continent level, taking into account the Asian and international organizations that already exist and deal with the issue of cultural diversity.