World Culture Forum in Indonesia

World Culture Forum in Indonesia.

The World Culture Forum (WCF) opened in Bali, Indonesia, on Thursday, October 13, with the presence of the Iranian Minister of Culture and Islamic Guidance Ali Jannati and over 900 delegates from 47 countries.
Former Indonesian president Megawati Soekarnoputri inaugurated the forum standing in for President Joko Widodo, who had been slated to open the four-day event, Honaronline reported.
In her address, Megawati highlighted the contribution of culture to creating peace, preserving nature and breaking down boundaries in global relations, which are marred with conflicts.
"Tradition and culture can help us shape the national identity, particularly amid modernization and globalization. Culture plays a fundamental role in bringing clarity, peace, solidarity, and social justice, which eventually will make this world a better place to live in," she said.
Also speaking at the five-day event, Jannati stressed that with the help of its long-standing culture and civilization, Iran has always insisted on the principle of dialogue. "Developing a dialogue with religions and cultures with the aim of institutionalizing peace, tolerance and mutual respect is on Iran's agenda."
Explaining the role of culture in all individual and social acts, Jannati said, "Culture teaches and warns of good and evil, and shapes all our behaviors, including political."
He pointed to the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) summit in Thailand (Oct. 8-10) attended by President Hassan Rouhani, and called it an opportunity from which the WCF can and should benefit.
The ACD is a continent-wide forum, the first of its kind in Asia, which aims to consolidate Asian strengths and fortify Asia's competitiveness by promoting positive thinking and respect for diversity through dialogue and joint projects.
"Iran is in charge of cultural cooperation projects at the ACD and has a series of cultural activities and policies in hand and can be the link between the WCF and ACD for creating closer ties among Asian countries through cultural collaboration," said Jannati.

Culture in Regional Development
The Director General of UNESCO Irina Bokova also took part in the ceremony through a video conference. "In recent decades, the role of culture ironically had been denied. Now, it all has changed. In the near future, UNESCO will launch a global report on culture and sustainable regional development in order for culture to be incorporated into the regional development policy and regulations," she said.
On the sidelines of the forum, Jannati met with the Indonesian Minister of Education and Culture Muhadjir Effendy. The two sides agreed to foster cooperation in education by holding joint activities every three years, including student exchanges, joint research and development of libraries.
The WCF is an effort to encourage and promote culture as a driver and enabler of sustainable development. The central theme of the WCF 2016 is "Culture for an Inclusive Sustainable Planet".
The participants include ministers of culture, Nobel laureates, top experts and academics, policymakers and cultural personalities. The event features ministerial forum, youth forum and a cultural tour of some villages in Bali, a world famous holiday resort.