‘UK2K12’ was launched at the Japanese Matsuri event in London in September 2010. This ‘brand name’ will act as a focus for the development of our programme in the build up to the Olympics & into the legacy period beyond. This identity is central to our mission of creatively ‘Connecting Cultures and Communities’. In one sense UK2K12 is primarily a publishing & promotional identity for web and print. It will be fed and supported through the activities generated by our key projects & ongoing activities, in turn presenting a unified account of how they link together. However, it is also much more than that - it marks out a place for people to come together, enter dialogue, build relationships and collaborate through arts and cultural activities.

Charnwood will be the main hub for Olympic training in the East Midlands, hosting Japanese & British Olympic teams. While not currently in receipt of specific funding related to the Olympiad we have engaged with funded projects & have been active in documenting them regionally & supporting local participation. We are in close contact with Loughborough University & other agencies planning events/programmes.

We plan to create a coherent & recognisable development programme to complement the one off events, emphasizing:

• Welcome, friendship, artistic collaborations & connections we extend to the world – promoting intercultural cohesion & interaction locally & on a world stage through participatory work.

• Creating dialogue & interaction between artists & creative practitioners on the web & through live events.

• Enabling inter-cultural skill & knowledge sharing at all levels – to explore creatively & foster social innovation through the arts.

• A vibrant & active legacy of cultural & creative connections that we can continue to build over the next ten years.

From 2011-12 our main programmes will operate through approaches & projects that link to developing UK2K12 themes. The UK2K12 brand and logo will act as a unifying and identifiable trademark for the work of CA & its commitment to culturally specific & cross cultural themes reflecting the diversity of Charnwood & the region. It will also serve to create an identity for our international link work through the period of the Cultural Olympiad into the legacy period beyond (e.g. UK2K12 becomes UK2K13 etc.).