Expert network established for national public cultural service system
Well-recieved by the local people, a troupe of Wu Opera gave an excellent performance in a country of Zhejiang Province.
On December 5th the Ministry of Culture of the People’s Republic of China announced the establishment of an expert network for the ministry’s national public cultural service system. Launched in Beijing, the network counts 151 experts from top institutions and universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University and Remin University of China among its initial membership.
Yu Qun, director of the Department of Community Culture within the Ministry of Culture, indicated that the establishment of such a network is necessary for the continued development of public cultural service system. He expressed his hope that the network could become a vehicle for enabling expertise and talent to influence and participate in cultural policy decisions, guide practice, and promote legislation.
According to Li Guoxin, the deputy director of the Expert Commitee for the National Cultural Service System and a professor at Peking University, in recent years, about 50,000 public museums, galleries, libraries and cultural centers have made completely free for the general public. Free access to the community service system is a milestone for the development of Chinese community cultural services, and shows that these services are moving toward becoming truly “public”.
In March of 2011, the Ministry of Culture established the Expert Committee for the National Community Cultural Service System, which became the basis of the expert network. Zhang Yongxin, deputy director of Community Culture Department of the Ministry of Culture, detailed that the network is divided into six categories to increase functionality: public policy, community library projects, cultural center establishment, mass cultural activities, community digital culture, and minority culture. Members of the expert network are responsible for participating in the design and implementation of the National Public Culture Service System.
The Chinese version appeared in Chinese Social Sciences Today, No.390. Dec.10. 2012.
Translated by Yang Lu