Ministry of Tourism to organise the SCO Millets Food Festival from 13th -19th April 2023 in Mumbai

Ministry of Tourism, Government of India will organise the 4th and last event SCO Millets Food Festival from 13th -19th April 2023 in Mumbai at Taj Mahal Palace where Chefs from SCO member countries ( Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Uzbekistan and Russia) and will attend the 9 day event and showcase their various cuisines and offer to the guest at the hotel. Taj Mahal Palace will be hosting the SCO Millet Food Festival to commemorate the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). This festival will feature a selection of organic meals made with millets that have been hand-selected by our SCO Member Chefs. From 14th to 19th of April the festival will be open to public for lunch and dinner at Shamiana Restaurant, Taj Mahal palace Hotel, Mumbai.

The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) is an Intergovernmental Organization comprising eight Member States China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, four Observer States and fourteen “Dialogue Partners”

India is hosting presidency of SCO for the year 2023, the Ministry of Tourism Government of India has successfully completed SCO Tourism Mart from 9th - 11th February 2023, SCO Expert Level Tourism Working Group Meeting and SCO Tourism Minister's Meeting in Kashi (Varanasi) from 13th - 18th March 2023 during the meeting discussed the Joint Action Plan for implementing the Agreement between the Governments of the SCO Member States on the Development of Cooperation in Tourism. The Experts from the member countries of SCO prioritised various activities under areas of cooperation such as Promotion of the SCO tourism brand, Promotion of the cultural heritage of the SCO Member States in tourism, Sharing and Exchange of information and digital technology in tourism, Promotion of mutual cooperation in medical and health tourism, Improving the quality of services.

The SCO countries have a diverse mix of cultures and traditions, which is aptly reflected in their cuisines. The cuisine of SCO countries will offer unique delights to food lovers. With the aim to create awareness and increase the production & consumption of millets, United Nations had declared 2023 the International Year of Millets. The idea behind the international year is to promote millets as they are climate resilient and consuming them can help the world meet at least six United Nations-mandated sustainable development goals.

Spearheaded by the Prime Minister, the Government of India sponsored the proposal for International Year of Millets (IYM) 2023 which was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The declaration has been instrumental for the Government of India to be at the forefront in celebrating the IYM. The PM of India, Shri Narendra Modi has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a ‘People’s Movement’ alongside positioning India as the ‘Global Hub for Millets’.

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Audrey Diwan, the director of "Happening," will preside over the jury during Cannes Critics Week.

Audrey Diwan. The director of "Happening," which won the 2021 Venice Golden Lion, has been named jury president of the 62nd annual Critics Week.

Swati Bhat

Portuguese photographer Rui Poças ("Tabu," "Zama"), German actor, choreographer, and dancer Franz Rogowski ("A Hidden Life"), Indian journalist Meenakshi Shedde, curator and Berlinale programming advisor, and Sundance programming director Kim Yutani are among the jury members.

The Cannes Film Festival's Critics Week sidebar, which concentrates on first- and second-run movies, runs concurrently. Last year's jury was presided over by Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania ("The Man who Sold his Skin").

Former journalist Diwan makes her music debut in 2019 with "Losing It." Two years later, the director won the top award at the Venice Film Festival for her second film, the heartbreaking abortion drama "Happening," which IFC Films acquired for distribution. After Chloe Zhao, the director of "Nomadland" in 2020, she became just the second woman to win the Golden Lion since Agnès Varda won it in 1985 for "Vagabond."

According to press releases from Critics Week, Diwan is a member of a "new generation of female filmmakers whose sharpness and formal freedom are reinventing the codes and redefining the boundaries of international cinema."

The Diwan jury will present the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for best actor and actress, the Leitz Ciné Discovery Prize for best short film, the Jury's French Touch Prize, the Critics Week Grand Prize for best feature film, and the Critics Week Grand Prize for best feature film.

In the 2022 competition, Andrés Ramrez Pulido's "La Jaura" won the Grand Prize, and Charlotte Wells' "Aftersun," whose co-star Paul Mescal later received his first Oscar nomination, won the French Touch Prize. In other news, Zelda Samson received the Louis Roederer Foundation Rising Star Award for "Love according to Dalva" by Emmanuelle Nicot, and Joo Gonzalez's "Ice Merchants" won the Leitz Cine Discovery Prize.

Program dates are May 17–25.

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CWG under India’s G20 Presidency to organise the second webinar for a Sustainable Future

On 13th April, as a part of the series of Global Thematic Webinars being organised by The Culture Working Group (CWG) under India’s G20 Presidency and facilitated by UNESCO (Paris), as the knowledge partner, the second webinar on the topic “Harnessing Living Heritage for a Sustainable Future”, is scheduled for 13 April 2023, from 12.30 pm to 8.30 pm (IST).

The webinar will reflect on the importance of living heritage and on its role towards sustainability, bringing together experts from 29 countries including G20 members and guest nations, as well as several international organizations.

The objective of this webinar is to foster an inclusive dialogue and facilitate an in-depth discussion from an expert driven perspective on harnessing living heritage for a sustainable future. It seeks to promote knowledge sharing; capitalize on the best practices and experiences; identify gaps, needs, and opportunities in harnessing living heritage practices. The webinar will also inform the reflection of the G20 membership in formulating tangible and action-oriented outcomes.

It will have three speaking segments and experts will be distributed across these segments based on their respective time zones. The webinar will be moderated successively by representatives from Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) with expertise on the topic. It will be live streamed on the YouTube channel of UNESCO (Paris).

Living heritage is an embodiment of social practices, traditions, and knowledge passed down through generations that reflect a community's history, identity, and values. It serves as social capital for communities, providing a sense of shared identity, fostering social cohesion, and promoting cultural continuity across generations. Many of these practices prioritize the use and reuse of natural resources, contributing to waste reduction and maintenance of a balance between social, economic, and environmental factors, thus contributing to sustainability. However, these traditional practices face the threat of misuse and of cultural appropriation of elements, design or knowledge of indigenous communities by transnational companies. Further, owing to limited research in the area, as well as due to the absence of community groups' participation, the significance of these practices and knowledge systems has not been fully acknowledged.

The following global thematic webinars on priority three and four are scheduled for 19th and 20th April respectively.

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