The 8th ASEF Public Forum on Creative Cities in Asia and Europe - Cities: Living Labs for Culture? will take place in Gwangju, Korea, on 24 November 2015. The event will provide a platform to discuss the role of the arts and culture in shaping sustainable, balanced and inclusive zones and to undertake a deeper analysis of the urban policies and their potential for nurturing the development of "creative cities" and the communities therein. The Public Forum is organised by the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF) in partnership with Gwangju Metropolitan City and the Asia Culture Forum (ACF) and with the support of Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, the Asia Culture Center (ACC), Gwangju Convention & Visitors Bureau and Chonnam National University (CNU). Panellists include Fionnuala Croke, Director, Chester Beatty Library and Chair, ASEMUS; Catherine Cullen, Chair, Committee on Culture, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG); Mark Dunhill, Dean, School of Arts, Central Saint Martins College of Arts; Arundhati Ghosh, Director, India Foundation for the Arts; Ridwan Kamil, Mayor of Bandung, Indonesia; Yusaku Imamura, Director, Tokyo Wonder Site; Hanna Jedras, Chief Expert, Responsible for European Capital of Culture 2016 Wroclaw, Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, Poland; Yasmine Ostendorf, Author, Creative Responses to Sustainability (Korea Guide); Phloeun Prim, Executive Director, Cambodian Living Arts; Jae-Han Ryu, Chairperson of Executive Committee, Asia Culture Forum; Susanna Seidl-Fox, Program Director, Culture and the Arts, Salzburg Global Seminar; Joe Sidek, Artistic Director, Georgetown Festival, Malaysia; Martin Venkzy-Stalling, Representative of Creative Chiang Mai & South East Asian Creative City Network (SEACCN); and Karsten Xuereb, Executive Director, Valletta 2018 Foundation. The speakers will share their experiences and ideas, and address key issues faced by cities in Asia and Europe:

• What role for cultural institutions in shaping creative cities?
• Culture and policymaking in the city: how to make culture accessible to all?
• The Capital of Culture model: a catalyst for the cultural development in the city?
• Cities: leadership and creativity incubator?

The 8th ASEF Public Forum is part of a long-running dialogue series on policy issues of mutual interest and common relevance for Asia and Europe. Past Experts' Meetings and Public Forums have taken place in Amsterdam, Netherlands (2014), Hanoi, Viet Nam (2013), Yangon, Myanmar (2013), Yogyakarta, Indonesia (2012), Melbourne, Australia (2011), Seoul, Korea (2011) and Amsterdam, Netherlands (2010). For additional information about the 8th ASEF Public Forum, please visit http://asef.org/projects/themes/culture/3469-ASEFPublicForum8