The Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) and the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA) co-organised the Mini Summit on New Media Art Policy & Practice.

Since 2003, ASEF has been promoting exchange between new media artists in Asia and Europe through the Art Camp series with a different focus for each camp. This summit reflected upon the past projects, and in particular, identifyed how these artists exchanges relate with the realities of support or governmental policies towards new media practices in the different ASEM countries.

The event gathered 54 artists, researchers and policy makers from 26 countries to develop an overview of the key issues impacting on new media arts practice and to create a policy framework and some key points for action. The group represented 10 Asian countries, 12 European countries and four observer countries. Approximately 15 percent of the delegates were from government agencies.

The summit distilled key tenets of the discussions to convey policy recommendations on New Media Art. This is part of a continuous contribution to the development of a vibrant and dynamic international digital arts community endowed with opportunities and structures for international collaborations, industry partnerships and artistic expression.

In close cooperation with the International Symposium on Electronic Art (ISEA 2008), the Mini summit encompassed crucial topics such as: ambient intelligent, location- based media, iterative design cycles, academic research and creative communities, open source and open networks, the role of small independent new media labs, media education, and the relationship between media and civil society.

The public had two opportunities to interact with this project. During the Pecha Kucha style presentation evening the participating artists presented their work at TheatreWorks on 24 July and the final recommendations and conclusions were presented at ISEA 2008 on 26 July.

The publication from the Mini Summit on New Media Art Policy & Practice, is now available here below for download.The Policy Recommendations highlight current needs in local and trans-national media arts practices and frame more informed arts policies. The report collates the process and proceedings of the Mini Summit on New Media Arts Policy and Practice.

Blog for the Mini Summit