Ithaca College

 Assistant Professor Donathan Brown of Communication Studies has been invited to be the plenary speaker at the closing session of the The International Conference on Arts, Culture, Heritage and the National Development Plan: Vision for 2030.  The meeting will take place at Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa, October 1 - 3. 

In 2011, the South African government  released its National Development Plan, a policy blueprint designed to address issues ranging from poverty to immigration.  Nine central policy challenges provide the focus for the October gathering of scholars and practitioners.

The conference is intended to provide an interdisciplinary sounding board to assist the South African government's deliberation/implementation process.   In  his plenary speech, Dr. Brown will  address the role of creative industries in economic development.  He will also serve as respondent to an earlier panel on culture, cultural policy, and development.