LONDON.- On the 8th and 9th July 2009 26 cultural leaders from the UK, Western Europe, North America, and the Middle East will come together in London to develop their skills and professional networks as part of a two day British Council run programme to launch the British Council’s Cultural Leadership International programme (CLI).

CLI aims at helping future cultural leaders develop their skills and talent in order to cultivate international partnerships and collaborations modelled on UK cultural leadership expertise. The project will generate opportunities for the international exchange of knowledge, experiences and ideas, and support people in fulfilling their potential and realising their aspirations.

CLI is aimed at young professionals who are already actively engaged in the cultural sector and who want to play a key role in its future. Chosen participants have demonstrated a level of achievement and commitment to their work, self-development and a desire to share these experiences with others internationally.

UK participants are Jean Cameron, producer of the Glasgow International Festival of Contemporary Visual Art; Sarah Ichioka, Director of the Architecture Foundation, the UK’s leading independent architecture centre; Hakeem Onibudo, a dance choreographer and director who has worked with artists including The Pet Shop Boys and Asian Dub Foundation; David Pope, an award winning film maker, CEO of the New Producers Alliance and Advance Films; Emma Posey, founder and Director of Bloc- a Wales based organisation advocating on behalf of creatives involved in new technology; Steve Slater, senior producer at the arts venue Tramway in Glasgow; and Amberlea Taylor, manager at PLACE Architecture and Built Environment in Belfast.

The two day event is an opportunity for all of our selected participants to come together as a group and discuss and analyse their Development Plans. The event will also mark the formation of the international cultural network. CLI will be the first network of its kind, bringing together a diverse group of cultural leaders and speakers from around the world.

Paul De Quincey, CLI project director, British Council, commented: “This meeting – the first to bring all the 2009/10 CLI participants together from across Europe, North America, the Near and Middle East and North Africa - represents a fantastic opportunity to explore the nature and demands of cultural leadership in important but different geographical regions. I look forward to a fascinating and lively debate that will go some way towards creating a better understanding of the complexities of cultural leadership in an international context and the potential difference that good leadership of cultural organisations can make to our societies. “