US universities’ role in promoting Indian culture, traditions has been significant: Ken Juster

US Ambassador to India Ken Juster has said that US universities have been playing a significant role in promoting Indian languages, culture and traditions.

Delivering his remarks while inaugurating the US-India Museum Curation Workshop, Juster said that US-India cultural engagement is an important part of the bilateral relations.

“The role of US universities in promoting Indian culture has also been significant. Many top US universities have innovative academic research programs on India and South Asia. Some of the most prominent US universities that focus on South Asian Studies include the University of Chicago, Duke, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Wisconsin and Yale. Other US universities, such as Columbia, George Washington, Stanford and the University of Washington have been at the forefront of supporting Indian and South Asian Art History,” he said.

“For more than 60 years, the American Institute of Indian Studies has contributed significantly to the promotion of Indian studies and culture, both in the US and within India, by supporting academic research, the learning of Indian languages, and the exploration of Indian culture and traditions. The US Department of State has consistently provided funding to the institute to support language study and other academic exchanges,” he added.

“India’s Ministry of Culture has provided substantial support to the Institute’s Center for Art and Archaeology to set up the first online museum of India — the Virtual Museum of Images and Sounds — which makes its considerable archives accessible to the general public and scholars alike,” the Ambassador said.

He stated that the foundation of the US-India relationship is the people-to-people ties and shared interests in promoting stability and prosperity in the India-Pacific region and beyond.

“We now look forward to a new generation of Indian and US museum professionals working together and sharing best practices to ensure that museums continue to inform, to educate, and to entertain, thereby connecting the past with the present, as well as looking to the future,” Juster said.

He said that the US embassy supported the first “All-India Museum Summit,” which was organised by the American Institute of Indian Studies in July last year.

“The summit brought together American museum experts, who engaged with over 150 leading museum professionals, curators, directors, and conservationists from across thirteen states of India and from Bhutan to brainstorm on innovative ideas for re-imagining museums for the 21st century,” he noted.

Juster said that the workshop represents “another building block in the arc of US-India cultural relations”.
Later, the US envoy took to his Twitter and shared his experience in addressing the workshop.

“It was a pleasure to address the US-India Museum Curation Workshop and share ways to strengthen collaboration between Indian and American museum professionals,” he said.

Source: ANI