We are delighted to announce that IFACCA's Research Analyst, Christopher Madden, has been appointed to the editorial advisory board of the journal Cultural Trends. Edited by Professor Sara Selwood, Head of the Department of Cultural Policy and Management at City University, London, Cultural Trends has been providing in-depth analysis of cultural sector statistics since 1989. The journal focuses on key trends in material culture, media, performing arts and the historic environment, and includes coverage of issues which impact on the sector as a whole, such as the internet, poverty and access to the arts, and funding. Cultural Trends is based on the assumption that cultural policy should be based on empirical evidence and it champions the need for better statistical information on the cultural sector. It aims to: stimulate analysis and understanding of the arts and wider cultural sector based on relevant and reliable statistical data; provide a critique of the empirical evidence upon which arts and wider cultural policy may be formed, implemented, evaluated and developed; examine the soundness of measures of the performance of government and public sector bodies in the arts and wider cultural sector; and encourage improvements in the coverage, timeliness and accessibility of statistical information on the arts and wider cultural sector. Cultural Trends has the same rigorous writing process as any academic journal. Articles are commissioned from leading authorities in the relevant field, and all are peer reviewed. Many chapters are appended by expert commentaries, which further explore and analyse the subjects covered. The journal is widely read and referred to by arts funders, sponsors and administrative bodies; by local and central government officials; by broadcasting and arts organisations; by researchers, consultants and academics; and by those concerned with the promotion and development of the arts and creative industries. Special Issues for 2005 will focus on long term trends in museums and audiences. Key articles will include: Still Popular: Museums and their Visitors 1994 - 2004, Stuart Davies. Forty Years On, Adrian Babbidge. Measuring Creative Industry: A Case Study in the Designer Fashion Sector, Anne Creigh-Tyte. For a FREE online sample copy, visit http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/09548963.asp

The New Zealand Government has approved nearly $2 million to safeguard works by the country’s leading 20th and 21st century decorative artists.

Every parent knows what I'm talking about. Your little darling can be five, 15 or 25, but the instinct to nurture and protect them, to throw oneself in the way of harm, does not expire. What about when the beloved child is an entire culture? Is there a time to let go and allow our books, films, music and television shows to make their way in the world without further protection?

At the 2005 Qantas Media Awards held in Auckland on 20th May, broadcast journalists were acknowledged for their contribution to New Zealand arts journalism.

At its meeting in London on 4 April 2005, the IFACCA board was delighted to welcome the National Institute of Culture of Belize as a member of IFACCA. The Institute comprises four main branches: Institute for the Creative Arts; Museums and Houses of Culture; Institute of Archaeology; and Institute for Social and Cultural Research. You can view ACORNS stories from Belize here

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