We are currently updating the IFACCA Directory, the most comprehensive listing of national government arts support agencies. The Directory contains contact details for each country’s main arts support agency, and, in some cases, the special features of the agency and its perceived strengths and challenges. A printed copy of the Directory will be distributed at the World Summit in June. If you have been contacted by us to confirm your country's details and have not yet responded, please make sure you reply by Friday 5th May 2006 (email [email protected]).

We are delighted to welcome three national ministries of culture as new members of IFACCA (listed below). With the joining of these ministries, IFACCA's national membership has reached fifty countries.Ministry of Culture, Spain.Ministry of Culture & Tourism, Indonesia.Ministry of Culture, Arts & Heritage, Malaysia.

Registrations for the World Summit in NewcastleGateshead are reaching capacity. With numbers strictly limited to 500 delegates, register online now to ensure your place.

There has been a steady growth in the number of experts on ConnectCP, the online 'Who's Who' of cultural policy experts being developed by IFACCA and the Boekman Foundation. Thanks to the tireless work of ConnectCP Coordinator Diane Dodd, there are now 135 profiles live, with another 272 being finalised. Among the distinguished experts in cultural policy already profiled on ConnectCP are Chris Smith and Mark Schuster, two internationally renowned experts in cultural policy.A former Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in the UK, Lord Smith of Finsbury is currently Director of the Clore Leadership Programme and holds a number of leadership positions in the UK including Board Member of the National Theatre, Advisory Council member of the London Symphony Orchestra. Visiting Professor in Culture, Chair of the London Cultural Consortium and member of the House of Lords.J. Mark Schuster, whose research and analysis concentrates on mapping the cultural policy landscape, is Professor of Urban Cultural policy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. In a research program that has spanned more than twenty years Professor Schuster has penned many seminal works on cultural policy, including his recent cross-country analysis 'Informing Cultural Policy: The Research and Information Infrastructure.' He is Joint Editor of the Journal of Cultural Economics and a member of the editorial board of the International Journal of Cultural Policy, and has undertaken visiting professorships at the University of Chicago and the Universitat de Barcelona, Centre d’Estudis de Planificació.More details on these two distinguished experts can be found on their ConnectCP profiles. We also invite you to to explore the many other expert profiles currently available at the ConnectCP website, especially if you are organising a conference, seminar or workshop and are looking for expert speakers.

A new brochure containing the latest information on the World Summit, including details of keynote sessions, workshops, tours and the cultural programme, can be downloaded as a PDF. Just click here.

We are delighted to announce that IFACCA has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Observatory of Cultural Policies in Africa (OCPA). The Observatory was created in 2002 with the support of the African Union, UNESCO and the Institute for Cultural Enterprise, with assistance from the Ford Foundation. OCPA aims to enhance the development of national cultural policies in Africa, and the integration of cultural policies in human development strategies through advocacy, information exchange, research, capacity building and cooperation at the regional and international level. The OCPA website contains a wealth of resources on cultural policy issues across Africa, and their newsletter, OCPA News, is an invaluable source of news on cultural policies in Africa. Under the reciprocal agreement OCPA becomes an affiliate member of IFACCA.