The International Centre Goa (ICG) is a non-profit autonomous society founded in June 1987, under the Societies Registration Act, 1860. It was inaugurated by His Excellency, the former President of India, late Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, on 18th June 1996. The Centre was conceived as a forum to bring together thinkers, scholars, academics, achievers, sociologists, industrialists and creative people from India and around the world. Since inception, ICG has emerged as the hub of socio-cultural activities, political dialogue, economic debates and a variety of programmes ranging from film festivals, exhibitions, workshops, concerts, plays, to quiz, painting competitions and even social evenings. A minimum of 20,000 people annually visit the Centre for various reasons keeping the ambiance vibrant and lively. What keeps ICG going is the diversity of the programmes organised on a regular basis. Talks and workshops on Journalism, Global Terrorism, Women’s Reservation Bill, Good Governance, Pottery & Origami Workshops, Art Camps & Exhibits, Waste Management, Acting and Scriptwriting and National and International Seminars on subjects like Right to Information, Human Development, Coastal Regulation Zone Draft Policy, Goa Regional Plan, Women in Media, and The South Asia Media Summits are organised throughout. Promoting culture is one of the Centre’s priorities and the reason for organizing the Goa Arts and Literary Festival. Unlike any other festival of its kind in India, the Goa festival has a strong local component, which showcases the rich art, music and literature of the state. Beyond the Goa focus, the festival seeks to highlight creative excellence across India’s literary landscape, the Goan Diaspora spread across the world with an emphasis on the newest emerging generations of writers and artists. The other cultural events organized in the past were the Dastkaari Haat Exhibition, Japanese Kite festival, Italian film and food festival etc. Under its initiative ‘Clean Goa for Green Goa’, and ‘I Care for Goa’, ICG organizes activities and talks on environment, waste management, organic farming etc. Recycling units for waste management and a rainwater harvesting and groundwater recharging unit have also been set up in the Centre’s premises. ICG further plans to install Wind-Solar hybrid systems, to cater to most of the electrical power needs of the Centre.