“Asia-Pacific: Changing the World”
Under the heading “Asia-Pacific: Changing the World”, the 2007 Asia-Pacific Weeks, now celebrating their 10th anniversary, will not be focusing on an individual country, but on the influence of the Asian-Pacific region on the western world, in particular on large cities.
More and more Asian goods are sold on our markets. Asia has outstripped the American continent as our most important trading partner, and for quite a while now we have been buying more than just clothes, electronic equipment, and supplier products from the Far East. Japanese and Korean firms like Toyota, Hyundai, Kia, Sony, Toshiba, and Samsung have long been successful in global markets with their own brands of top-quality high-tech products. Chinese and Indian companies are following suit and successfully investing in Europe and the United States. Asian leaders, such as Dr. Margaret Chan, Secretary General of the WHO, and the new UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon from Korea, exert major influence on global politics. The influence of the Asian-Pacific region can be felt most strongly in large cities, the engines of economic, cultural and societal developments.
The 2007 APW want to draw the attention of business, politics and the public to these developments and aim at strengthening cooperation in the areas of creative industries and the sustainable development of urban infrastructure. This is where mutual influence becomes most visible; these areas are thus ideal candidates for intensive dialogue between the large cities of the Asian-Pacific region and Berlin in the context of the 2007 APW events.
If they do not want to be plunged into chaos, large cities have to tackle complicated infrastructure problems that are vital to their existence. They have to develop economically and offer their inhabitants decent living conditions. With the complexity of the challenges in the fields of urban planning, traffic and transport, waste, the environment, water, and energy increasing, cooperation and the exchange of experience with other cities is becoming ever more important. Berlin boasts strong expertise in all of these areas, both in terms of technical know-how and experience with international cooperation. The “Urban Sustainability Conference” of the 2007 APW being organized by the Asia-Pacific Forum Berlin will focus on these areas, always with a view to sustainable development.
The mutual influence of East and West can be seen very clearly in all the sectors of the creative industries - in fashion, design, film, music, architecture, and the new media. Here it becomes apparent that the usual line drawn between culture, science, and business no longer makes sense. A more holistic approach is needed, which is exactly what the Asia-Pacific Weeks have always done. As a “City of Design” in the UNESCO “Creative Cities Network”, Berlin has become a popular partner for worldwide cooperation in these areas.
Our everyday life, too, has long been shaped by Asian influence: Thai, Indian, and Chinese restaurants are just as integral a part of our cityscapes as Japanese game consoles are in our living rooms. Yoga, feng shui, acupuncture, ayurveda, and Chinese medicinal herbs help us to maintain inner balance. Chinese art and fashion design, Indian pop music and literature, Korean and Indian films, Japanese architecture, and Indian dance are changing our western cultures.
This multi-faceted influence is a result of migration and globalization. Once exotic characters in secluded Chinatowns, Asian citizens have become an integral part of western metropolises. They shape the cityscapes and societies of Paris, London, and Sao Paolo, as well as of Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Vancouver. However, many of the new immigrants maintain the connection to their country of origin and take part in the cultural life of both their new and their old home countries. They develop and influence both cultures and build bridges between them.
The cultural program of the APW points to these developments and will be looking at Asian artists outside Asia and their connections to and impact on their countries of origin in different areas. Apart from outstanding examples of contemporary art and culture, the cultural program will also focus on popular art and everyday life, as well as on art produced by second-generation Asians in Germany and in Berlin. On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Congress Hall, the House of World Cultures (HKW) will present a program on Asian influence in New York entitled “States of New York: usAsia”.
What was true for earlier Asia-Pacific Weeks also holds true for the 2007 APW: “Berlin is your gateway to Asia.” The Governing Mayor of Berlin and the strategic partners of the APW, the Asia-Pacific Forum Berlin (responsible for coordinating the business and science program) and the House of World Cultures (responsible for coordinating the cultural program), invite you to explore the role of Asian and Pacific political and social players in a global network of culture, business, and science.