New Delhi: The fourth meeting of the G20 Culture Working Group, which aims to arrive at “actionable outcomes” while positioning culture at the heart of policy-making, will begin in Varanasi Wednesday, officials said.
Besides, a performance by the G20 Global Orchestra, titled ‘Sur Vasudha’, celebrating the rich musical knowledge and heritage of the member nations of the bloc and invitee countries will be presented in the temple town, they said.
“The fourth G20 Culture Working Group (CWG) Meeting will begin tomorrow in Varanasi culminating with the Culture Ministers’ Meeting (CMM) August 26. Delegates from G20 member nations, invitee countries, and various international organisations will attend the meeting,” the culture ministry said in a statement Tuesday.
Building upon the success of the previous three CWG meetings in Khajuraho, Bhubaneswar and Hampi, as well as the four global thematic webinars, the last CWG meeting in Varanasi from August 23-25, “aims to arrive at actionable outcomes while positioning culture at the heart of policy-making,” it said.
The Culture Ministers’ Meeting in Varanasi “will aim to catalyse collective actions for accelerating progress” on the four priority areas for culture, articulated under India’s Presidency — protection and restitution of cultural property, harnessing living heritage for a sustainable future, promotion of cultural and creative industries and creative economy, and leveraging digital technologies for the protection and promotion of culture, the ministry said.
The insights and recommendations from the expert-driven global thematic webinars on the priority areas of the CWG have been collated in a comprehensive report titled “G20 Culture: Shaping the Global Narrative for Inclusive Growth”.
This report by the Culture Working Group, will be launched in Varanasi as a part of the Culture Ministers’ Meeting, officials said.
“The CWG, under India’s G20 presidency, had launched the ‘Culture Unites All’ campaign to highlight India’s unwavering belief in multilateralism based on peaceful coexistence among diverse cultures and communities,” the statement said.
The CWG will release a special stamp to commemorate the campaign August 26. The ‘Culture Unites All’ postage stamp has been crafted as a “distinctive emblem combining the ideas of connectivity, communication, and journey representing a cultural exchange and establishing cultural context”, it added.
During the meet, the delegates will have the opportunity to experience world-renowned ‘Ganga Aarti’ on the banks of the river and explore the beautiful history of the lion capital of Sarnath.
The delegates will also witness cultural performances, including Indian classical music and dance forms, in Varanasi.
In 2020, under the Saudi Arabian Presidency, the culture ministers met for the first time on the sidelines of the G20, the statement said.
In 2021, culture was formalised as a working group during Italy’s presidency of the bloc, leading to the inaugural G20 Culture Ministers’ Meeting and the consequential ‘Rome Culture Ministers’ Declaration’, it said.
The ‘Bali Declaration’ of 2022 under Indonesia’s presidency of the G20 further stressed the role of culture in sustainable development, according to the statement.
This would be the fourth time that the culture ministers of the G20 members and invitee countries would be meeting, in Varanasi, it said.
PTI
