South Asia Festivals Academy

British Council in partnership with Edinburgh Napier University is delighted to offer the second edition of the South Asia Festivals Academy, Intermediate course, which aims to develop and strengthen the festivals sector across South Asia through capacity building. The programme is a UK accredited online ‘distance learning’ programme between South Asia and the UK in Arts Management practice for Festival Managers and Arts Leaders. 

The course is open to applications from festival practitioners based in Bangladesh India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

This 10-week immersive, structured, skills development course, delivered online by experts from the UK and South Asia (Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and India) festivals sector. 

The Intermediate Course starts on 17 January 2022.

Participants will learn about festival governance, finance, operations, audience development and engagement, artistic policy and programming, sustainable operation of festivals and events and associated themes on risk management and health and safety. 

In 2019, we led a series of professional development residency courses with access to international arts management and creative opportunity working with various festival partners in Goa and Guwahati followed by a successful digital edition of the Festivals Academy Intermediate Course (January 2021) and the delivery of the South Asia Festivals Academy 2021 Beginners course (Sept-Dec 2021).

#FestivalsForFuture

Course date, time and fees

 

Date and time Enrolment Fee
(to be paid by selected applicant)

Online sessions each Monday from 17 January 2022 for a 10-week period.

Sessions will take place each Monday afternoon for three hours.

 Enrolment Fee (to be paid by selected applicant): £250 

Eligibility

This course is open to festival directors, founders, entrepreneurs, and senior managers of arts and cultural festivals across South Asia. Applicants will be able to demonstrate active festival experience in a senior leadership role and have 5-10 years’ experience of working within the arts and cultural sector. Applicant’s backgrounds can range from artistic leadership to organisational management, business development, marketing, fundraising, HR etc.

What are the course areas and modules?

The course is structured around the development of a festival business plan, which participants will create and develop over the duration of the course. The key elements of the festival business plan include artistic and creative festival development; governance; strategic approaches to marketing and audience development; income generation; and financial/project management.

What are the learning outcomes?

The course is targeted at participants who wish to develop their business skills further and take their festival and/or their career to the next level. Networking and peer-learning is a key aspect of the course and you will be expected to share your own practical experiences with others on the module and learn from each other on how festival management theory can be applied in practice.

Here is what one of the participants from the past cohort had to share

“My challenge during the pandemic was to host my festival with a positive revenue stream. The intermediate course equipped me with an opportunity to learn and network. I have developed policies that helped arrest financial loss, uplift the team's confidence and gain industry reputation.”

 Shubhankar Mazumdar, Festival Director, Calcutta International Short Film Festival

Deadline for applications is before midnight (GMT) 7 December 2021

If you have any questions about the course, please contact –

• Sankalita Chakraborty, British Council on Sankalita.Chakraborty@in.britishcouncil.org

• Dr Gary Kerr, Edinburgh Napier University on G.Kerr@napier.ac.uk

For more information refer to South Asia Festival Academy - Intermediate Level (napier.ac.uk)

External links

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