Writer and activist, Kanak Mani Dixit is a catalyst for cultural development that transcends national boundaries in South Asia. Educated in Nepal, India and the USA, he is the founding editor (1987 to the present) of Himal Southasian, a high quality, independent, monthly journal that offers informed critical commentary on social and cultural issues. With contributors, editorial board and subscribers – intellectuals, activists, lay readers and artists – drawn from Afghanistan, India and Burma to Tibet, Pakistan and the Maldives, it is a unique regional forum for the promotion of open, analytical thought and discussion.
Alongside the journal, Dixit plays an influential role in a wide variety of cultural disciplines. He founded the Film South Asia (FSA), a documentary festival, which has become an important platform for local creativity, stimulating innovative local filmmaking on topics such as gender, child labour and water scarcity. FSA is a major cultural event in Kathmandu, travels to other places in the country and has introduced Nepalese filmmakers to the regional and international circuits. Dixit also organises public lecture series and conferences involving regional and international speakers – most recently a Cartoon Congress incorporating a South Asian cartoon competition. He promotes research, writes children’s books and co-owns a publishing house that disseminates books and translations of great value to Nepali society. He was one of the co-founders of the post-2005 Civil Society Platform, plays a key role in the pro-democracy campaign, challenges repression and promotes freedom of expression.
This first Prince Claus Award to Nepal honours Kanak Mani Dixit for his outstanding contributions to public debate, for creating platforms that enable South Asians to connect, interact and network transcending national and cultural boundaries, and for his socially engaged, multi-disciplinary approach to creativity and development.
Kanak Mani Dixit. Photo: Kiran Pandey
Cover of Himal Southasian
www.himalmag.com
www.digitalhimalaya.com
www.filmsouthasia.org
2009