Foreign and Commonwealth Office Annual Report 2007-08 - Foreign Affairs Committee Contents


Further letter to the Chairman of the Committee from the British Council

  I am writing to advise you of the decision our India directorate has taken in consultation with the High Commission in India to close the British Libraries in Trivandrum and Bhopal which we run in partnership with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).

  We are changing the nature and the model of our work in India to focus on reaching people beyond those who can take part in activities in our physical centres. We are building up pan-India and cross-regional networks, and scaling up the impact and reach of our work through building partnerships, such as the UK India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI). This is in line with the British Council's global strategy to reduce its physical premises and traditional "bricks and mortar" presence, in order to invest more money into programmes. This is driven by the changing needs and desires of our 18-35 year old customers, many of whom no longer use libraries as a source of information.

  The public in Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram will still be able to access British Council services, particularly with regard to education and examinations. The British Council will hold seminars and briefings for prospective students in Bhopal, Indore, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram and will continue to administer IELTS tests and provide pre-test briefings to IELTS candidates.

  Our work with books and our support to writing and writers continues through a rich and varied programme. We will continue to work in close collaboration with authors, publishers and other partners in India. Our launch of William Dalrymple's "The last Mughal" was one of the events of the year in Delhi in 2007 and we will organise events around new publications wherever there is a strong link with the UK and UK—India relations. We are seeking in particular to work with publishers to showcase writing which will be of interest to young Indians. We aim to bring a mini Edinburgh International Book Festival to Kolkata in 2009 and in preparation for this organised a sell-out event for four Bangla writers at the Edinburgh International Book Fair in August 2007. Our Director in India would be pleased to answer any queries or concerns that you may have.

6 December 2007







 
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