Highlights from the Partner South East Asia 2021 event

Partner South East Asia was a series of online forums presented by the British Council which provided more than 800 participants across four days with a better understanding and knowledge of the arts and culture ecosystems of Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Viet Nam.

Providing opportunities, contents, and contexts to make new connections between South East Asian and UK arts and culture stakeholders, Partner South East Asia featured the following through the external platform Hopin:

Opening session including a keynote speech on the potential of South East Asia’s creative economy followed by an artist panel discussion (75 mins)
Five dedicated country briefing sessions (90 mins each)
Three thematic sessions covering the creative economy, arts and inclusion and climate change and cultural rights (60 mins each)
Dedicated networking functions for meeting counterparts for future collaborations (throughout the event)
Showreels of artistic collaborations between artists and creative professionals from the UK and South East Asia
Over 70 inspiring speakers from the UK and South East Asia

Below are videos, resources, and highlights from the Partner South East Asia event that we hope can help you learn more about contemporary South East Asia-UK arts and cultural exchanges.

Opening Session: Partner South East Asia: Arts and Culture Matters

The Opening Session provides participants with an understanding of the context and dynamism of the arts and culture ecosystem across the South East Asia region. The keynote speech by Duong Bích Hạnh, Chief Culture Unit, UNESCO Bangkok presents a recent publication, Backstage: Managing Creativity and the Arts in South-East Asia which draws on the findings of a recent study of the creative sector in the South East Asian region. Angela Chan moderates a panel discussion inviting artists, creative practitioners and academics from across the UK and South East Asia to share their own personal and professional experiences of UK-SEA collaborations.

Opening Session Report

Thematic 1: Creative Economy: How Networks Shape Creative Ecosystems

This session demonstrates the significance of networks in building stronger and more inclusive creative economies – with a twist! Set as an imagined dinner party, the conversations are about stories of impact generated through networks, from the points of view of creative hubs, creative entrepreneurs, and cities.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS54EwHIgVM&list=PLDr5dWFIdpvaqGL8zpXdOIYKDJQWYhMtr

Creative Economy report

Thematic 2: Climate Change: What Does it Mean for Arts and Cultural Rights?

The session unpacks the impact of climate change on our cultural rights, asking questions such as what is at stake and what role can arts and culture play in the fight against climate change? We will listen to artists and activists’ voices from diverse backgrounds and discuss how sustainability is reflected through their artistic practice.

We share projects and case studies of artistic collaborations that will demonstrate the role and place of the arts in the fight against climate change.

Watch here: https://youtu.be/LGMH_gN01jo

Climate Change report

Thematic 3: Arts for All?

The session focuses on the Arts and Inclusion agenda under the concept “Arts for All?”, which is to question and challenge the current status of Arts and Inclusion in South East Asia. It will start with a broad overview by a keynote speaker to be followed by presentations from South East Asian speakers who will reflect on their inclusion journey, looking at issues, success stories, and challenges. The speakers will later engage in a panel discussion led by Dr Alice Fox to explore what needs to be improved in order to make arts more inclusive for South East Asia.

Watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVSsH8R_CYM

Arts for All report