The British Council yesterday hosted the Hubs for Good regional forum in Kuala Lumpur to raise awareness of creative hubs, create positive impact through advocacy, and spark the adoption of new national policies.
Creative hubs are places, either physical or virtual, which bring creative people together. They provide space and support for networking, business development, and community engagement within the creative, cultural and tech sectors.
‘The Hubs for Good regional forum supports the development of creative hubs to be key drivers and catalysts to transform communities and cities in the region,’ said Katelijn Verstraete, Regional Arts Director East Asia. ‘The forum aims to increase and enhance the capacity of hubs to function more efficiently and strengthen the positive impact and well-being of communities.’
Sarah Deverall, Director Malaysia, said: ‘We’re delighted to host this third regional forum alongside the 8th World Summit on Arts and Culture in Kuala Lumpur organised by the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA).’
The summit brings together leading policy makers, researchers, managers and practitioners from the arts and culture sector from around the world to actively lead change in a time of profound transformation. The British Council supports the summit through creative exchange by contributing UK and regional expertise in arts and creative hubs to lead this change. Speakers invited by the British Council include creative hub leaders from across South East Asia, UK hub leaders, and academics.
Florence Lambert, Head of Arts and Creative Industries, said: ‘We aim to connect hubs and hub managers to local stakeholders who, in Malaysia remain largely unaware of the positive impact hubs create on communities. We also want to create advocacy pathways for the development and support of creative hubs, resulting in the adoption of new national policies.’
Advancing the professional development of creative hub managers will allow them to better support hundreds of creative entrepreneurs and artists in Malaysia, contributing to inclusive growth and development in cities and communities.
The Hubs for Good regional forum is part of the British Council’s Creative Hubs for Good programme, which covers five countries in South East Asia.
The British Council’s work in arts creates new relationships between artists, organisations and audiences to develop stronger creative sectors around the world. It also helps artists to break new ground, support creativity and innovation, increase capacity by building skills to support livelihoods and cultural enterprise, extend safe spaces for creative exchange and contribute to research and policy.