A two-day gathering of heads and representatives of academies formed in federal as well as various municipalities of the country concluded on Tuesday in Bharatpur with the issuance of a 13-point declaration.

The first point of the declaration mentions the addition of the word "Academy" to the end of the name to maintain uniformity among academies at the local level and the creation of an organizational structure with a presidential system.

Academies formed in municipalities have also been holding positions like chancellor and vice-chancellor. The gathering made this announcement based on the suggestion that it would be better not to have such positions, said Balkrishna Thapaliya, member-secretary of Bharatpur Metropolitan Academy. The gathering was organized by Bharatpur Metropolitan Academy. Participants from 14 academies formed in various municipalities attended the gathering.

The manifesto states that Pragya Pratishthan will be opened at all local levels, departments will be formed covering language, literature, fine arts, music, drama, folklore, and knowledge science, and that all three Pragya Pratishthans at the federal level will collect details of Pragya Pratishthans and institutions related to fine arts, music, drama, etc. across the country within their jurisdiction and manage the Pragya Information System.

The gathering has demanded that arrangements be made to link art with education and education with production, that honors, awards, and taxes related to academic work be removed to encourage creators, that the creator identity card be implemented and that arrangements for dignity and social security be made based on that. An appeal has been made to formulate a policy to open at least one cultural village in every municipality.

The manifesto states that theorizing, protecting and promoting all languages, cultures, fine arts, music, philosophy, indigenous knowledge, skills, etc., tangible and intangible (material and immaterial) heritages, should be included in the plans of all three levels of government, while embracing the diversity, originality and beauty of the country. It has been said that initiatives will be taken to make the activities of the academies modern and technology-friendly.

The gathering has demanded that all three federal academies prepare their own research methodology frameworks to bring uniformity in research on literature, art and culture, motivate youth and children to engage in it for the transmission of creativity, and develop a system to regulate the distortions seen in writing, singing, dancing, acting, social harmony and moral conduct.

The gathering has demanded that the relevant institutions include the existing original and indigenous knowledge traditions in the fields of language, literature, fine arts, drama, music, etc. in the curricula of schools and universities. Nepal Academy of Music and Drama, Nepal Academy of Fine Arts, Bharatpur Metropolitan Academy, and 17 other institutions participated in the gathering.

The current status of the institutions and their future roadmap were discussed in detail at the gathering, said Indra Prasad Regmi, chairman of the organizer Bharatpur Metropolitan Academy. He informed that the group discussed the question of what would be good for the protection, research, and promotion of language, original art, literature, fine arts, music, drama, epistemology, folklore, and culture.