From the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Member States, Thimphu was declared as the SAARC Cultural Capital for a year in May, last year. Every year, one of the eight SAARC countries is declared as the cultural capital for a year.
“Thimphu was cited as the capital city considering the logistic convenience and also for better profile and visibility of showcasing the rich cultural heritage of the SAARC regions,” Karma Weezir the Director General for Department of Culture, MoHCA, said.
Thimphu was selected to host a series of cultural programmes for a year where SAARC member states can participate and showcase their unique cultures. The country organised a participatory event such as handicraft exhibition following the declaration of Bhutan as the cultural capital. It also saw the Film Festival in Thimphu and Food festival in Punakha.
SAARC cultural capital was founded with the intention of celebrating the shared culture and heritage of the SAARC Region.
“The Culture capital is one of the key events in the calendar of activities in the SAARC cultural centre. The SAARC cultural centre in Colombo continuously works towards the promotion of regional unity within the SAARC member states and the preservation and protection of South Asia’s cultural heritage,” said Renuka EKanayake, the Director for SAARC Cultural Centre.
The first series was hosted by Bamiyan in Afghanistan in 2015. Bhutan was the second to be declared as the cultural capital.
Now, after the completion, Bhutan officially handed the cultural capital over to India for the year 2019 and 2020 yesterday.
