About

The 4th World Summit took place from 22–26 September 2009 in Johannesburg, South Africa co-hosted by the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) and the National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC).

The 4th World Summit on Arts and Culture brought together leading policy makers, researchers, managers and practitioners from the arts and culture sector around the world to explore the theme Meeting of Cultures: Creating Meaning through the Arts. The programme considered the post-9/11 context, with increasingly divided by values, beliefs, religion, traditions and worldviews (that is, culture); addressed the role of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions as an instrument to affirm diversity in the face of rapid globalisation and economic integration; and explored the opportunity for the arts to create bridges between cultures; as non-threatening points of entry into understanding other people, and as facilitators of intercultural dialogue and cultural diplomacy.

About the National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC)

The National Arts Council of South Africa (NAC) was established in April, 1997 through an act of parliament (Act no.56 of 1997). The vision of the NAC is to promote, through the arts, the free expression of South Africa’s cultures. Its vision is for a vibrant, sustainable arts community that enriches lives through the free and creative expression of South Africa’s cultures / through strengthening artistic and cultural creation; and its mission is to leverage energy, partnerships and resources to develop, support, promote and advance the arts.