ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) organised more than 500 cultural programmes and shows during last four years at a cost of Rs 500 million. An official of the council said that PNCA aimed to build a robust system to promote the arts. “The council is structured into two major divisions: the Visual Arts Division and the Performing Arts Division. Its focuses on four key strategic thrusts: nurturing and developing the arts; stimulating broader and sophisticated demands by audience; developing capacity and resources; and facilitating internationalisation and enhancing global connectivity,” he said. “Such cultural programming activities are the explicit indicators of the growth of economy. PNCA has efficiently and effectively discharged its responsibilities,” he said. The official said that dedicated teams were established to champion the performing, visual and literary art forms, adding that these teams worked on the entire value chain from seeding arts start-ups, grooming talent, developing arts groups and arts businesses, to internationalisation. He said in developing artistic talent, the council provided complete support through grants, training, arts housing, commissioning of work and overseas touring. “Major festivals and arts shows were organised to showcase the best of local and international artists. New talent is identified and developed through music and writing competitions. Annual awards are given to artists in recognition of their achievements and to patterns for arts sponsorship,” the official said. To build new audience and broaden arts participation, the council engages the wider community in the arts through outreach programmes targeted at different sectors of the population. It also endorses arts education programmes for artists and arts groups. The state cultural policy for the promotion of the arts clearly identifies avenues of actions, the more salient of which are to encourage creative individual talent and develop art and cultural institutions, he said. Workshop: A three-day workshop on ‘drama writing’ will start at Conference Hall of Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) from Tuesday. Ali Akbar Abbas will conduct this workshop. At the end of the workshops, the participants will be awarded certificates. PAL Chairman Prof Dr Muhammad Qasim Bughio said that the training workshops would definitely be a source of encouragement and guidance for new emerging writers. The emerging writers from other cities can also participate in the workshops. The timing of the workshop will be from 10 am to 5 pm. Writing drama explores the mechanisms of dramatic story telling. The author makes a clear distinction between what is written to be seen or heard (theater, cinema, television, radio, opera and to a lesser extent comic books) and what is written to be read (literature). Lok Virsa: The National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage (Lok Virsa) has the schedule of events for the month of August, 2017. According to the schedule issued by Lok Virsa, ceremonies will be held to mark the start of computerised library catalogues, folk band concert and 70th Independence Day celebrations during the month. Lok Virsa Executive Director Dr Fuzia Saeed said that the events would promote cultural heritage of the country and highlight the sacrifices rendered by our forefathers for the independence of the country. “Lok Virsa is making efforts to inculcate knowledge about our culture and music in the younger generation, who are the future of the country,” she said. Published in Daily Times, July 25th 2017.