| Indian Cultural Centres and Chairs Abroad
In order to promote awareness and appreciation of India's composite cultural heritage abroad, the Council is maintaining Cultural Centres in Cairo (Egypt), Berlin (Germany), Port Louis (Mauritius), Paramaribo (Suriname), Georgetown (Guyana), Jakarta (Indonesia) with a sub-Centre in Bali, Moscow (Russian Federation), London (UK), Almaty (Kazakhstan), Tashkent (Uzbekistan), Durban and Johannesburg (South Africa), Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago), Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dushanbe (Tajikstan), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) and Suva (Fiji) with a sub-Centre in Lautoko. The Council is also funding Music and Dance Academy at Dhaka (Bangladesh).
As part of its ongoing process to fill the vacant posts the Council has deputed dance/yoga teachers to ICCs Paramaribo, Jakarta and Bali and Hindi Professors to man the Chairs at the University of Romania and Silpakorn University, Bangkok.
The activities of the Cultural Centres reflect the cultural needs of the local population. The Centres organize talks, lectures, exhibitions of visual arts, essay competitions, performances of dance and music, staging of plays, screening of Indian films, publication of news bulletins, seminars on current issues etc. Regular teaching classes of Indian music, dance, tabla, yoga and Hindi are conducted at some of these Centres. The Centres also maintain Libraries, Reading Rooms and Audio-Video Libraries for the visitors. Apart from organizing their own activities, these Cultural Centres also provide a supportive role to the respective Indian Missions for coordinating various cultural activities. The Centres develop and maintain contacts with the local citizens particularly students, teachers, academicians, opinion-makers and cultural personalities to project a holistic picture of India's rich and diverse cultural heritage.
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