The objective of the roundtable is to invite reflection on international cultural diplomacy from the perspectives of Asia and Europe, addressing three key issues: how to adopt a cultural rights-based approach in international exchanges; how to foster collective responsibility among governments, cultural institutions, networks and civil society organizations; and how to ensure the representation of underrepresented communities in international cultural cooperation. The meeting builds on the debates of the third edition of ASEF LinkUp | Asia-Europe Cultural Diplomacy Laboratory 2025, held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, and is being developed as an official side event of the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – ​​MONDIACULT 2025.

Objectives:

The meeting seeks to open a space for reflection on three key issues:

• Adopting a cultural rights-based approach to international exchanges: What supports or hinders the participation of artists and cultural professionals on the international stage?
• Collective responsibility and cultural diplomacy: How can a diverse ecosystem of actors—governments, cultural institutions, networks, civil society organizations, independents, and others—be brought together in cross-border cooperation?
• Representation: How can we ensure that international exchanges give voice to underrepresented communities and integrate their perspectives into global cultural cooperation?

Program:

Welcome words
José Pintor, Director General of Casa Asia and Governor of ASEF for Spain
Jaume Muñoz, Director of Memory, History and Heritage, Institute of Culture, Barcelona City Council

Launch of the ASEF LinkUp 2025 report
Valentina Riccardi, Director of the Culture Department of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)

Roundtable


Moderator:
Valentina Riccardi, Director of the Culture Department of the Asia-Europe Foundation (ASEF)

Speakers:
Oming Putri (Indonesia)
Head of Organizational Development and Partnerships at Koalisi Seni, a leading arts policy advocacy network in Indonesia. Her mission is to ensure that the knowledge generated by the organization supports artists, citizens, and policymakers in favor of artistic freedom. A graduate in Communication from Brawijaya University (Malang), she began her career as a freelance writer and participated in residencies and art criticism workshops (Cemeti 2012; Ruangrupa/Jakarta Arts Council 2014). At Koalisi Seni, she promotes knowledge management as a strategic tool for cultural and political change. Her profile combines research, advocacy, and networking, with a personal interest in music and artistic creation.

Claire Wilson (Australia/Spain)
An interdisciplinary artist, poet, and researcher based in Barcelona, ​​she specializes in the relationship between perception, movement, and otherness in human and more-than-human contexts. Her work integrates video, sound, and language, exploring the everyday and the trivial from intertextual and spatial perspectives. Born in Melbourne, she has worked in Thailand and Singapore, consolidating a translocal and transcultural approach. She holds a PhD in translocal creative practice and will expand her research in 2024 with the Donald Horne Creative and Cultural Fellowship (University of Canberra). Her practice seeks to open spaces for dialogue about materiality, place, and environment, linking artistic creation with academic research and intercultural exploration.

Quan Zhou (China/Spain)
Self-taught artist, graphic novelist, and associate professor at Durham University. Born in Andalusia to a Chinese family, she offers a transnational perspective on identity, migration, and cultural hybridity. Her debut graphic novel Sweet and Sour Gazpacho (2015) was a pioneer in representing the migrant experience in Spain, followed by Andalusians around the world (2017) and People from here, people from there (2020). His most recent work, The Agridolce Vita (2023), combines memory and humor with political criticism. A finalist for the 2025 Princess of Girona Awards, he has held the Honorary Chair of Spanish Culture at NYU and has collaborated with international universities (USA, UK, China, Colombia, Canada). He also hosts the podcast Various Moves, a reference for minority voices, and prepares the transmedia project Lineage (Northwestern, 2026).

Gaëlle Patin Laloy (Spain)
Gaëlle Patin Laloy is responsible for the Diversity and Interculturality program at Casa Asia, a public diplomacy institution whose goal is to promote knowledge about Asia and the Pacific, as well as cooperation between civil societies. She is also the local director of the Confucius Institute Foundation of Barcelona, ​​dedicated to teaching Chinese language and culture.

She graduated in Art History and earned a Master of Science in Management from Boston University. She also pursued advanced studies in Chinese language and culture at East China Normal University in Shanghai and the Foreign Affairs College in Beijing. At the same time, she trained in theater for several years in Rome and Barcelona.

Questions and answers with the audience


A drink will be served in the museum's courtyard to encourage discussion and networking among participants.

Language of the event: English without translation

Previous reports from the ASEF LinkUp Cultural Diplomacy Lab:

2022: Recalibrating the compass: What Future for Asia-Europe cultural relations? | ASEF Roundtable Series | ASEF culture360

2023: ASEF LinkUp: Findings from the Asia-Europe Cultural Diplomacy Lab | ASEF culture360

2024: How Do We Navigate Cultural Diplomacy? | New Report Launched! | ASEF culture360

2025: ASEF LinkUp: Asia-Europe Cultural Diplomacy Lab | 2025 Edition in Indonesia | ASEF culture360