MEETING BETWEEN PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR CULTURE AND AFRICAN AMBASSADORS TO THE HOLY SEE

Vatican City, 22 March 2012 (VIS) - The Pontifical Council for Culture is organising a meeting of ambassadors to the Holy See from Africa. The event, due to be held in Rome on 26 March, aims to promote cooperation between the council and countries that are geographically distant from the Vatican. This is the second initiative of its kind, a similar meeting was held last year with ambassadors to the Holy See from Asia.

The programme of the event is divided into several parts and will be held at more than one venue. The first part of the day will be devoted to a detailed presentation of the Pontifical Council for Culture by Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi and Bishop Barthelemy Adoukonou, respectively president and secretary of that dicastery. The ambassadors will also have a chance to intervene and make proposals for collaboration. The session will be moderated by Fr. Theodore Mascarenhas S.F.X., head of the department for cultures in Africa.

Participants will then move on to the Temple of Hadrian where they will be welcomed by Giancarlo Cremonesi, president of Rome's Chamber of Commerce who will describe the activities of the organisation he heads. There will also be a detailed cultural introduction to the historical and present day aspects of the temple. The day will end with a visit to Rome's "Parco della Musica" Auditorium.

According to an English-language note released today, "the Pontifical Council for Culture has been receiving very active collaboration from different embassies. The event intends to strengthen further the ties between the embassies and the dicastery and to evolve new ways for cultural cooperation. Twenty-three Embassies have confirmed their participation".