GUWAHATI, Sept 10 - The British Council in partnership with the Department of Cultural Affairs, Assam today announced the �Festivals for the Future�, a programme on the development and upskilling of the vast number of festivals sector professionals in India. It is the British Council�s new arts programme focused on supporting the long-term development and economic empowerment of the country�s emerging festivals sector.
The initiative aims to enable the future of festivals in India and provide India�s festival sector professionals with an opportunity to work in a more open and global environment and learn from their global counterparts.
The programme has two primary parts � Festivals Academy and Festival Connections.
The Festivals Connections provides a first-of-its-kind platform for festival practitioners to network, explore their festival�s creative vision, share knowledge and expertise, and discuss challenges relevant to the growing festival sector in the country. Festivals Academy facilitates access to international methodology and resources for festival management enabling partnership links with the UK�s cultural festivals.
The Festivals Academy will include three levels � Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced. The Beginner�s course is being organised in the city from September 9 to 12, which will train 24 participants from across the country.
The course is facilitated by leading UK experts � David Micklem, cultural leader and former director and CEO of Battersea Arts Centre and co-founder 64 Million Artists, Angela McSherry, arts producer and former executive director, London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) and Divya Bhatia, independent arts consultant and former festival director of the Rajasthan International Folk Festival.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Debanjan Chakrabarti, Director East and North East India, British Council, said, �A part of the Festivals for the Future programme, this initiative will connect and support the professionalisation of the burgeoning festivals sector in India and the UK. There are over 150 festivals in the UK and India, and the creative industries have grown by 18 per cent since 2017. This underlines the economic and employment opportunities in this vibrant sector.�
