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Newsletter June 2010 - Nov 2011

Greetings to all my friends and members of the World Crafts Council!

It has been a while since I last wrote to you in June 2010. We have been through some momentous and most rewarding experiences since then.

The highlight was the International Jewelry Summit, Abhushan—Design Dialogues in Jewelry. This was an ambitious project that brought all five regions of the World Crafts Council to Delhi in February 2011. It included a 10-day craft exchange program, where a significant number of Indian craftspeople interacted with experts from the world over. Another highlight was a three-day seminar with 20 eminent speakers from around the world. And finally, the path-breaking event was a unique curated exhibition, “Seed to Silver”. We had overwhelming support from the government, crafts community and all regions of the WCC for the summit.
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The school education program has been a wonderful success story. We saw new schools come on board with great enthusiasm. Encouraged by the response, other parts of India like Coimbatore and the state of Andhra Pradesh have started similar programs. The children, during these sessions, have been most enthusiastic and the craftspeople as eager to teach. One-day craft tours have been organized to give the children an insight into the lives of the craftspeople. We have initiated craft demonstration programs in more schools including those for children with special needs.

The WCC also took up the revival of the languishing craft of “Sungudi” in Madurai, South India. More than 30 craftspeople were trained. New designs were introduced and the technique of tying improvised to suit market needs. The WCC Members organized a one-day exhibition with the saris produced during the training period. It was a grand success with the products selling out in the first couple of hours of the exhibition.
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So much said for our achievements this year. WCC has also been privileged to attend some very important events.

In October 2010, The Borneo Beads Conference (BIBCO2010) in Miri, Sarawak, organized by Crafthub was simply amazing. The WCC offered to support The Borneo International Beads Award (BIBA) to encourage creativity and original design in the field of bead-making, bead-work and creative bead-stringing. The purpose of BIBA is to uplift the status of artisans and artists in these areas. A few of us from the WCC also attended the WCCAPR Assembly that was held in Kuching, Sarawak.

In the same month I was asked to inaugurate “Craft Revival “, an Exhibition of Dumbara Weaving organized by Lakpahana, Sri Lanka. It was a great opportunity for the WCC team to spend time with Mrs. Siva Obeyesekere, the past President of the World Crafts Council from 1992-1996.
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To bring Africa back into the WCC fold has been my passion from the time I took office in China in 2008. I am glad to report that The Handicrafts Association of Zambia, in collaboration with the World Crafts Council and in partnership with the Government of Zambia, hosted the World Crafts Council Africa Assembly in November 2010.  Not many African countries could participate; however it was an opportunity to interact with the crafts persons from Zambia and meet members of the local communities.

Along with Mrs. Sangeet Chopra (Secretary General WCC), Mrs.Vijaya Rajan (Mentor , WCC) and other members of WCC, I went to Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso in Western Africa—the area also known as Francophone Africa. We attended SIAO, a major craft fair, in Burkina Faso. We hope to use this platform to mobilize the West African Region. I had the opportunity to address representatives of different craft organizations and the members of CODEPA, a confederation of 27 African Nations who form a craft association. This meeting also brought to light that the African continent is so large that it will be imperative to organize it by regions.

In January 2011, I was happy to take part in the 20th Anniversary Celebrations of Aranya Crafts in Bangladesh.

In May 2011, I was invited to the First Rwandan Handicraft Excellence Award Program (HEAP). Rwanda is a small landlocked country that has suffered a terrible period of genocide and is aggressively trying to improve its economic status. People left single by the loss of family members have joined together in the craft initiative of “Peace Basket” that is helping them create a cohesive force. They have identified craft as a key priority export sector and are initiating a number of measures to improve the status of the craft sector. THE HEAP Program will be held annually.

Another interesting forum that I had the opportunity to attend in June 2011 was the International Symposium on Intellectual Property, organized by the Public Authority of Craft Industries (PACI) of Oman in collaboration with World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). Issues pertaining to documenting traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expressions, particularly with reference to crafts, were discussed at length during the three-day symposium.

In October this year members of WCC, WCC APR and CCI attended the Cheongju Craft Biennale and the WCC APR Assembly in Daegu Korea.

And finally, I am glad to tell you that we have determined the dates for the General Assembly and related activities to be held in Chennai from October 7-10th, 2012. I look forward to meeting all of you to discuss and strategize the future of WCC!