The World Culture Forum (WCF) was held on Nov. 24 at the Indonesian resort island of Bali. The event, with the theme "The Power of Culture in Sustainable Development," saw its maiden forum attended by government officials, experts, and non-government organizations from over 30 nations, including China, Turkey, Japan, Brazil and India. Chinese Minister of Culture Cai Wu attended the forum and gave a keynote speech.

During his speech, Minister Cai Wu described China’s understanding of the position and role of culture in its sustainable development, and discussed the achievements and concepts behind the development of Chinese culture. He pointed out that the Chinese government has complied the requirements of the times, putting cultural construction and development at the national strategic level, attaching equal attention to cultural endeavors and cultural industries, and adhering to inheritance and innovation simultaneously, thus promoting both cultural development and prosperity. He called on all countries to maintain the diversity of world culture, to actively carry out cultural exchanges and cooperation, to conduct mutual exchanges on the basis of mutual respect, and to jointly seek out a harmonious development and happy life.

During the forum, Minister Cai Wu attended the roundtable meeting of culture ministers. He talked with 14 culture ministers from South Africa, Poland, Indonesia, Malaysia and government officials from other countries and exchanged views and opinions on cultural development, cultural policy and relationship between culture and development along with other major issues.

The forum was started by Indonesia's President Susilo. Furthermore, Indonesia plans to build such forums on cultural topics once every two years, similar to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

Other than the opening ceremony, group meetings, and work-themed meetings, the forum also included a series of peripheral activities involving culture and film, along with art contests and a carnival.

The World Culture Forum (WCF) concluded last Tuesday afternoon with a joint commitment “Bali Promise” that called for measurable, effective roles and an integration of culture at all levels for the post-2015 development agenda.

Edited and translated by Wen Yi

We recommend:

Guqin: Instrument of the sages	Artist bridges Chinese and Western styles through his paintings	Huishan clay figurine master Xia Zheng