Copps to Host International Meeting on Culture

OTTAWA, June 2, 1998 - - Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps today announced she will host an international meeting on cultural policy June 29 and 30 in Ottawa. Ministers responsible for culture from some 20 countries, representing several regions of the world, will participate in a forum to discuss the importance of sustaining national cultures in an increasingly globalized world and to promote cooperation on common cultural objectives.

"This meeting is a great opportunity for participants to discover that many nations share the same cultural objectives. I'm convinced this forum will allow us also to broaden our respective cultural horizons," said Minister Copps.

The Ottawa meeting is a follow-up to the UNESCO-sponsored Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development, held in Stockholm in March, where Minister Copps headed the Canadian delegation.

"Our views on cultural diversity and the need for balanced policies are shared with many other countries around the world. It is appropriate that the forum should take place in the year of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was drafted by a Canadian, John Peters Humphrey, and adopted by the United Nations in 1948. Cultural diversity is also about preservation and celebration of all modes of national expression," added Copps.

Information
Jacques Lefebvre
Senior Communications Advisor
Office of the Minister of Canadian Heritage
(819) 997-7788