“Fostering International Cooperation in Culture and Sustainable Development”: Asia/Pacific Forum-Workshop Minutes

The first Asia/Pacific Forum-Workshop entitled “Fostering International Cooperation in Culture and Sustainable Development” took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 11 to 12 June 2009.

The participants of the Forum-Workshop discussed strategies and experiences relating to international cooperation in culture and sustainable development in Asia and the Pacific region, where the development cooperation is rapidly changing through growing South-South cooperation and where the region’s dynamic economic growth has been exposed to the adverse effects of the current financial and economic crisis. Through the presentation of country/agency reports and a workshop on the selected UNESCO conventions, the two-day meeting contributed to enriching the collective understanding of existing international cooperation strategies and experiences of different actors in the region. The meeting concluded by highlighting the role of UNESCO in the context of the current crisis and the importance of culture’s contribution to sustainable development as an alternative model of cooperation.