SICA newsletter October 2011

In 2012, Turkey and the Netherlands will mark 400 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Both the Netherlands and Turkey are excited about this and are in full swing to prepare next year’s celebration under the flag NLTR400. The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs has established the Project Group NLTR400 to coordinate programmes, official visits and joint communication, in cooperation with the Embassy in Ankara and Consulate-General in Istanbul. The Dutch-Turkish initiative focuses on strenghtening the strategic, diplomatic, economic, social and cultural bonds between the two countries. Many activities will take place in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and some other Turkish cities and throughout the Netherlands. The launch of the programme in the Netherlands will be in April 2012. Contact: NLTR400 [at] minbuza [dot] nl.

SICA is coordinating the cultural activities in Turkey and is the contact point for the cultural sector. The Turkey Institute is the contact point for the civil society. SICA and Turkey Institute have received more than 300 ideas and project proposals. A 2012 committee is active in Turkey, too. It has received over 60 (cultural/ social) project proposals for activities in the Netherlands. For more information on the cultural programme contact SICA, l [dot] runderkamp [at] sica [dot] nl (Laurens Runderkamp) or v [dot] yuce [at] sica [dot] nl (Veysel Yuce )and visit the digital platform Cultural Exchange.

The richness of modern cultural Brazil will be on display in Amsterdam in October and November 2011. The Brasil Festival Amsterdam showcases Brazilian music, visual arts, film, dance, theatre, architecture and literature. During the launch (3 October) of the festival, Funarte director Sergio Mamberti and Carlos Augusto Calil, secretary of cultural capital São Paulo, will bring a working visit to the Netherlands. The visit is organised by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in cooperation with SICA. For more information about cultural exchange with Brazil, please visit: Cultural Exchange Brazil-the Netherlands.

A delegation from project developer Overseas Chinese Town (OCT) visited SICA from 27 to 30 September. OCT is SICA’s partner in China. In addition to a visual arts exhibition in Shanghai, SICA is now actively working with OCT to develop a cultural programme in 2012, which marks the 40^th anniversary of Dutch-Chinese relations. From 3 to 9 October, SICA welcomed two other visitors from China: Liu Gang, who is a curator and works for SICA, and Chen Wei, who is the curator of the Guangdong Museum of Modern Art and an instructor at the art academy in Xiamen. The Mondrian Foundation put together a visitor’s programme for them in cooperation with SICA. Their visit was also the impetus for an expert meeting organised together with the Chinese European Art Centre (CEAC) on 3 October to provide the visitors with an opportunity to meet with Dutch professionals to discuss the current state of affairs with respect to arts in China. Read more about this meeting on the SICAsite. For more about the cultural exchange with China, please visit: Cultural Exchange China-the Netherlands.

The preparations for Netherlands-Russia 2013 are well underway. A diverse Russian delegation visited the Netherlands during the past week. The group included the director for international cooperation from the Russian ministry of culture. The visit resulted in a constructive dialogue about the outline of the cultural programme. A number of working visits are scheduled in the months ahead, and SICA will continue to take stock of ideas and projects (so far, more than 200 ideas have been compiled). 
Together with Theater Instituut Nederland (TIN), SICA is organising a working visit with Dutch theatre companies including producers, makers, actors and directors. The official delegation will travel to Moscow and Yaroslavl this autumn. In addition, plans for a scouting trip in spring 2012 are being made in cooperation with the creative industry and design sector. For more information please contact i [dot] kouteinikova [at] sica [dot] nl (Inessa Kouteinikova).

SICA is the Europe for Citizens Point (ECP) in the Netherlands. The ECP offers advice and support to organisations that wish to participate in the EU’s Europe for Citizens Programme. The next deadline for Programme applications is 17 October 2011. Applications can be submitted for structural support for research organisations for European government policy (think tanks) and European social organisations. The deadline for applications for Citizens Meetings relating to town twinning, networks between twinned towns, and projects initiated by civil society organisations is 1 February 2012. For more information please see: www.sica.nl/ecp.

Where lies the boundary between art and photojournalism? How do you visually capture the complex reality of the Middle-East in a way that engages: using documentary photography, or a purely artistic approach? What impact do the revolutions in the Arab world have on the work of artists in the region? Journalist Chris Keulemans discusses these questions with Jewish-American photographer Judah Passow and Iranian photographer Newska Tavakolian in the next Café Mediterranée. The meeting is organised by SICA in cooperation with ZemZem magazine and Foam, photography magazine and museum of photography. More information and registration.

This year’s SICA's Europe Day will be held on 12 December 2011. Along with providing information about the EU Cultural Programme, the event will focus on the EU’s Europe for Citizens programme, the creative industry and sustainability. Find out the latest on cultural cooperation in Europe during a day filled with a variety of lectures, practical workshops about each programme, an information market and a networking reception. More details about the Europe Day schedule of events will be announced on the SICA site and in the newsletters.

SICA relocated to the Cultuurpark Westergasfabriek 1 October. You will find us on the third floor of the historic Werkplaatsen building, which formerly housed the Westerpark city district office.