Culture360.org is a web portal initiated by the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) managed by the Cultural Exchange Department at the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF). Culture360.org aims to stimulate the cultural engagement between Asia and Europe and enhance greater understanding between the two regions. Created for and fuelled by artists, cultural practitioners and policy makers, culture360.org is your platform to inform, collaborate, interact and exchange ideas with the arts and cultural communities across Asia and Europe. As a reference tool, and a place for dialogue, this exciting portal takes cultural cooperation between Asia and Europe to a whole new level. The idea to create a multidisciplinary Asia-Europe cultural portal was planted during the 1st ASEM Conference on Culture and Civilisations (Culture Ministers’ Meeting) in December 2003. The first version of the site was launched at the 3rd ASEM Cultural Ministers meeting in Malaysia in 2008 and the re-designed site was launched in April 2010. The development of culture360.org is part of a process of stimulating cultural engagement between Asia and Europe, and not an end in itself. For this to be achieved, face-to-face meetings of practitioners, seminars and debates between policy makers and other offline collaborations will help to better mutual understanding between Asia and Europe. In a recent interview on 14 June 2010, Kathrin Deventer, Secretary General of the European Festivals Association, spoke about the challenges and opportunities of collaboration between European and Asian festivals. The interview is the first of a two-part series on the role and importance of festivals in a global world with this conversation focusing on Europe. The interview was conducted by Florentina Bratfanof, a journalist writing for Culture360.org. Related links: • Culture360.org • Interview Kathrin Deventer, Secretary General of the European Festivals Association