G20 meetings helped placing culture at heart of policymaking: Pralhad Joshi

The G20 working group meetings have progressed from identifying and deliberating on four key priorities to seek consensus on action-oriented recommendations that would be a significant step in placing culture at the heart of policymaking, Union minister Pralhad Joshi said on Monday.

Welcoming delegates at the G20 working group meeting that began here on Sunday, Joshi said the grouping strives to build consensus on the ministerial declaration containing the four priority areas, which are cornerstones in the vision of an inclusive and sustainable future.

The four priorities set for the meeting are -- Protection and Restitution of Cultural Property; Harnessing Living Heritage for a Sustainable Future; Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy; and Leveraging Digital Technologies for the Protection and Promotion of Culture.

Joshi said each of these priorities showcases a world that is culturally diverse yet unified.

"We have progressed from identifying and deliberating the four priorities to seek consensus on the action-oriented recommendations that would be a significant step in placing culture at the heart of policymaking," Joshi said.

In a world teeming with diversity, the shared cultural heritage of G20 nations is the thread that binds them together, he said.

"It allows us to acknowledge and respect our differences while celebrating our shared humanity. Culture is the unique and vibrant expression of our shared human experience, comprising the customs, values, languages, and arts that define us," Joshi said.

Addressing media, Culture Ministry Secretary Govind Mohan said the third CWG meeting will now try to achieve a consensus on the recommendations and best practices shared pertaining to the four priorities of the CWG.

Briefing on the third theme of 'Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy', he said there is a thrust on creating mechanisms to understand what kind of cultural footprints are getting created at cultural monuments, cultural places and to create a creative economy through that understanding.

He also said an exhibition titled "Woven Narratives" is being organised as part of the third G20 CWG meeting at Hampi. The exhibition's theme focuses on the third priority outlined by the CWG -- 'Promotion of Cultural and Creative Industries and Creative Economy'.

This exhibition brings into focus the role of hand weaving across India's creative and geographical contexts by drawing attention to their distinct ecologies of manufacture, trade and use, he said.

The third Culture Working Group meeting under India's G20 presidency began in Hampi on Sunday and will go on till July 12.

The delegates from G20 member countries, guest countries and international organisations are part of the deliberations.