Strong cultural ties between Norway and Bangladesh
Last updated: 05/09/2010 //
Cultural cooperation is an important part of the bilateral relations between Norway and Bangladesh. Themes such as peace, development, human rights and gender issues are integrated in the cultural cooperation between the two countries.
Over the years Norway has supported many cultural events in Bangladesh. Norway has a long-standing cooperation with Centre for Asian Theatre (CAT). The funding provides promotion of human rights, social development and Norwegian culture through professional theatre. CAT is internationally reputed for its staging of Henrik Ibsen`s plays, and there was a big international Ibsen festival in Dhaka in 2009. During the present collaboration with Norway both classic and contemporary playwrights are staged by CAT.
For many years Norway has supported capacity-building in the area of cultural heritage in Bangladesh. One such project is the cooperation between the Embassy, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy and the Norwegian Institute for Cultural Heritage Research (NIKU) in improving national art conservation expertise. Chobi Mela is an international photo exhibition organized by South Asian Institute of Photography every second year, sponsored by the Embassy. The Norwegian photographer Morten Krogvold has conducted workshops during these melas.