BRICS Culture Ministers Adopt Bhopal Declaration to Strengthen Cultural Cooperation

Source: The Hindu | Original Published At: 2026-08-09 00:12:00 UTC

Key Points

• BRICS Culture Ministers adopted the Bhopal Declaration in Bhopal on August 8, 2026, under India’s presidency.
• The meeting brought together 10 BRICS member countries and four partner countries, following three Culture Working Group meetings.
• The declaration promotes creative industries, professional networking and artists’ access to markets through digital tools.
• It calls for transparency and fair remuneration for the use of copyright-protected works in AI systems.
• Heritage priorities include provenance research, restitution of cultural property, potential AI tracing tools and cooperation on UNESCO multinational nominations.
• The declaration supports traditional knowledge and cooperation among museums, libraries and archives on digitisation and conservation.
• India announced a pilot Voluntary Artist Registry to facilitate cultural exchanges and strengthen professional networks across BRICS.