The Executive Director of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), Sarah Gardner, today unveiled the prototype of a major new initiative, WorldCP, an international database of cultural policies. WorldCP, www.worldcp.org, will be a new central, web-based and continuously updated database of country-specific profiles of cultural policies modelled on the Council of Europe/ERICarts Compendium of Cultural Policies and Trends in Europe. The prototype WorldCP website, currently operating for demonstration purposes, holds profiles of 12 countries in five continents: Algeria, Australia, Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Egypt, Italy, Malta, Serbia, South Korea and Zimbabwe. IFACCA anticipates that another six to ten profiles will be added to the database in the coming 12 months including Viet Nam and Tunisia. These will supplement the profiles for a further 35 European countries that are accessible through the Compendium at www.culturalpolicies.net and will eventually be available on WorldCP. Speaking at IFACCA’s 4th General Assembly held in Melbourne, Australia, in conjunction with the 5th World Summit on Arts and Culture, Ms Gardner acknowledged the founders of the Compendium project, the Council of Europe and the ERICarts Institute, and said that in order to fulfil WorldCP’s potential IFACCA will be working with a range of national and international partners to develop profiles for countries in different regions. One of the partners is the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF), which will be engaged in the development of cultural policy profiles of Asian countries in the framework of WorldCP-Asia. “The Asia-Europe Foundation is delighted to be part of the WorldCP project, as it will also serve as an instrumental platform to stimulate dialogue and exchange between governments and civil society of Asia and Europe,” said Sabina Santarossa, ASEF’s Director of Cultural Exchange. The WorldCP project has a 10-year horizon and builds on the framework refined over the last 12 years by the Compendium’s community of experts, the Council of Europe and ERICarts. These two institutions were represented at the launch by the President of the ERICarts Board of Governors, Ritva Mitchell, whose participation was supported by the Asia-Europe Foundation. IFACCA is also working with the European Cultural Foundation, Egypt’s Al Mawred Al Thaqafy and the Boekmanstichting on publishing profiles of additional Arab countries. The World Summit provides a unique opportunity for IFACCA to meet with a number of other regional partners in Africa, the Pacific and Arab countries, and the next Summit will help build links in Latin America. The WorldCP profiles are compiled using a consistent format that covers key issues in arts and cultural policy including historical developments; decision-making processes; main objectives; current policy issues; legal frameworks; cultural institutions and partnerships; funding provisions; and support to creativity and participation. IFACCA is the global network of arts councils and ministries of culture (see www.ifacca.org). For further information please visit: www.worldcp.org.