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Outlining the Debate
Background
In May 1999 Culturelink, Creative Exchange
(UK) and Stichting CompArt (Netherlands) agreed to
collaborate on a Culturelink Special Issue 2000 on the theme of Culture and
Development. The aim of the issue was to promote better awareness and
understanding of contemporary issues in Culture and Development, to identify
and outline key trends, and to present a broad range of views from key
institutions, organizations and individuals world-wide.
Culture and Development is an increasingly popular and
broad-ranging subject. Its language, interpretation and boundaries are still
evolving, and this evolution looks likely to continue as a consequence of the
growing awareness and involvement of other intergovernmental, governmental and
non-governmental agencies.
Organizations were invited to contribute papers on a subject
within the framework outlined in the Preface to this Special Issue.
However, the process reflected - in microcosm - the very
challenges of blurred concepts and fuzzy terminology which, in proposing this
publication, we had all intended to clarify. While some of the papers
illustrated very clearly the practical impacts of cultural projects in development programmes, others dwelt on the theme of the development of culture and cultural policy (cultural development), which was not the original focus of the publication, but is an area which does have a profound impact on the long-term development of humanity.
The result is that we have changed the focus of this publication
to exploring and illustrating the differences between the two sets of
terminology - Culture and Development and Cultural Development - and to
explaining historically how these emerged and how they are evidenced by
policies, projects and activities around the world.
We are grateful to all those who have submitted contributions to
this Special Issue, and particularly to Y. Raj Isar, former Director of
UNESCO's Cultural Policies for Development Unit, who has presented an important
overview of the development of this discourse. None of the papers represents a
definitive analysis of either Culture and Development or Cultural Development,
but collectively they represent a contemporary range of views from around the
geographical and philosophical compass which help to map out the territory.
Advancing some definitions
In recent years, the terms Culture and Development and Cultural
Development have become interchangeable. In fact they are not, but represent
two frameworks not wholly isolated from one another, and at many points
contiguous and interdependent, but nevertheless with fundamentally different
aims and outcomes. This confusion of terms is not new, but is to some degree a
product of their evolution since the 1950s. There does not appear to have been
a systematic attempt in recent years to clarify what they mean. The confusion
has been compounded by international exploration of these themes over the past
fifteen years which have at various points referred to culture and development,
cultural development and cultural policies for development, apparently without
distinction between them.
Culture and Development
In general terms, Culture and Development is about the role of
culture and cultural processes in achieving development, as in issues of
poverty, human rights, gender equality, health, environmental concerns, and
associated fields. The objective of Culture and Development is development: it
is about the relationship between culture and very pragmatic and practical
issues of survival and the improvement of the human condition, and ways in
which culture can contribute to, or influence, the success of interventions in
these areas.
In his excellent paper, originally developed for the Stockholm UNESCO
intergovernmental conference on Cultural Policies for Development in 1998 (and
reprinted here), Mervyn Claxton noted: 'The concept of culture and development
concerns the interactions between the two [culture and development], and not
just the development of culture itself... the response to the problem of
describing and measuring the interactions between culture and development has
been ... to quietly sweep the development component under the carpet... and to
concentrate on the promotion of cultural policies.' (Claxton, Mervyn. Culture and Development Revisited, paper delivered at the
UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies for Development, 1998)
There are several dimensions to Culture and Development: it is
about the relationship between cultural factors - beliefs, traditions, ways of
living - and development, and the extent to which they influence one another.
This dimension of the debate (sometimes referred to as the cultural dimension
of development) has been stimulated by a growing awareness that development
programmes which fail to consider the cultural environment and cultural factors
influencing their sustainability are likely to end in failure. The papers
contributed by Mervyn Claxton, James Sengendo and Guillermo Gutiérrez represent
some fascinating viewpoints on this aspect of Culture and Development. An added
dimension to this is cultural rights, and a recognition that people's cultural
identity, beliefs and values can be a powerful ally for - as well as a barrier
to - development. This is alluded to in Kees Epskamp's paper on the ICAT
project in Costa Rica.
Culture and Development is also about the role of popular and
traditional media in promoting participation, communication and empowerment in
developing communities. Many creative forms contribute to development in this
way: theatre, dance, music, puppetry, storytelling, radio, television, video.
This has also been referred to as arts for development, traditional and popular
(folk) media for development, popular communications and culture in
development.
Cultural projects like the examples in boxes 1 and 2 are
increasingly seen as a useful route to sustainable development: they build
social capital, can raise awareness about key issues such as health and human
rights, are a valuable tool for community dialogue and governance processes,
and play a role in conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction.
Development agencies and intergovernmental agencies are increasingly looking
towards policies to manage this cultural aspect of development work.
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Box 1: Culture & Development in India
Katha is an organisation working with women and children in the
poorest districts of Delhi, India, which is using cultural approaches
(literature, storytelling, performance, craftwork, etc.) to change the lives of
families in their local slum cluster. It has had a huge impact over a decade
and has affected thousands of people. It has not only given them new skills and
literacy, but empowered them to take action on broader social issues, such as
education and sanitation.
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Box 2: Culture & Development in Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, a radio soap opera called New Home, New Life, has
played a critical role in informing and mobilizing the public on all sorts of
issues: health and immunization, mine clearance, humanitarian relief - it has
even prompted a cease-fire between the warring factions to allow immunization
to take place.
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Unless cultural projects, policies and activities have a
practical impact on wider sustainable development and unless they are based on
well-established needs articulated by local people and founded upon their own
development priorities, they are not Culture and Development initiatives.
This dimension of Culture and Development is exemplified by the
papers from the Centre for the Arts in Development Communication, Arts Access
Aotearoa and Art for Social Change, and by François Matarasso's paper
documenting evaluation processes for cultural projects addressing social
issues.
Cultural Development
Cultural Development focuses on the development of cultures and
cultural capacities. This terminology encompasses a vast range of issues
appertaining to cultural policy, cultural industry and socio-cultural
development. The objective of Cultural Development is culture - as a
sociological dynamic in which society grows and changes; as a powerful sector
of the economy; as a professional environment inhabited by skilled creators,
artists and craftspeople; as a transmitter of aesthetic expression, ideas and
values.
Resolutions from the 1976 UNESCO General Conference appear to
endorse this definition, since cultural development personnel were seen as
'serving as a connecting link between the public, the work of art, and the
artist, and between the public and cultural institutions.' Furthermore, when
the World Decade for Cultural Development was conceived in 1982, its primary
objectives were promoting cultural development, cultural identity,
participation in cultural life and international cultural cooperation.
Cultural initiatives which harness the indigenous skills and
cultures of communities, like those outlined in boxes 3 and 4, can be powerful
drivers for social or economic growth, the promotion of global cultural
diversity, and engender a sense of cultural self-confidence - all of which can
have positive impacts on the broader development of a community, country or
region. Over the long-term, such projects may have an indirect influence on
issues related to the survival and well-being of the community, but in the
short-term the benefits are largely cultural rather than developmental.
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Box 3: Craft development in north Africa
The World Bank and NGOs have financed the development of an
Internet marketplace for craft makers from north Africa to sell their products
to international markets. Artisans have doubled their incomes, and the project
has strengthened the development of cultural infrastructures in three countries
by promoting training, skills development and networking between craft makers.
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Box 4: Restoration of cultural sites in Nepal
The German Development Ministry has supported the restoration of
monuments and historic sites in Bhaktapur, Nepal. The town is historically
significant as a trading centre, but has degenerated following the loss of
independence, a major earthquake in the 1930s and the collapse of cross border
trade. German funding has helped restore 130 buildings, which has promoted the
growth of tourism and strengthened the awareness of local history.
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The theme of cultural development is particularly well
illustrated by Kazimierz Krzysztofek and Raina Cherneva in exploring the
transitional societies of Eastern Europe. A slightly different but fascinating
dimension of the debate is represented by Tiao Rocha's paper on the social
indicators of cultural change.
This comparative matrix analyzes some of the differences between
the aims, objects and systems of support and delivery for Culture and
Development and Cultural Development.
Figure 1. Comparative analysis of Culture and Development and
Cultural Development
Focus |
Culture and Development |
Cultural Development |
Primary aim |
Social change/growth |
Cultural change/growth |
Relationship to development |
Concerned with the influence of cultures on development processes |
Concerned with promoting cultural growth as an aspect of development |
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Concerned with the use of cultural forms and traditional/popular media as mechanisms for development |
Concerned with preserving and supporting the development of cultural forms, traditions, heritage and cultural infrastructures
|
Relationship to culture |
Concerned with personal and community growth, awareness, education and empowerment and the fulfilment of practical needs |
Concerned with the fulfilment of aesthetic and cultural needs |
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Concerned with creative and cultural activities as mechanisms for non-formal education, popular communication and participation in development processes |
Concerned with creative and cultural activities as a means of individual or community expression |
Target audiences |
Communities, youth/children, women, minorities, socially disadvantaged groups |
Arts audiences, visitors, consumers, buyers |
Institutional partnerships |
Public and civil society agencies concerned with development, community change, social services, governance, health, economic development |
Public and civil society agencies and private sector concerned with culture, economic development, employment, trade, tourism and leisure |
Support structures |
Development policies, social service systems, human rights instruments, governance and democracy system |
Cultural policies, economic policies, intellectual property rights, cultural markets, private sector |
Practitioners |
Development workers, community activists, specialist cultural workers |
Artists and creators, professional cultural managers and administrators |
Development of expertise |
Specialist training in development fields, peer exchange, comparative analysis of methods and practices, evaluation of impact on target groups |
Specialist professional training at cultural institutions, peer exchange/tuition and comparative analysis of art forms and audiences |
History
With the benefit of hindsight, it is easy to see how the
confusion in terminology has arisen. Culture and Development and Cultural
Development have followed parallel growth trajectories since the 1950s.
Cultural Development
A series of UNESCO intergovernmental conferences on Cultural
Development in the 1970s explored the development of cultural policies and
infrastructures on a regional and continental basis. The catalyst for these
conferences was the growing acknowledgement of the role of 'cultural animators'
during the 1950s and 1960s. Cultural animators were viewed as a bridge between
artists and 'high' culture and the ordinary citizen. Their role was to
democratize culture and make it more accessible at community level, to build
'shared experience and participation in a creative process.' (Moulinier,
Pierre. UNESCO Cultural Development Documentary Dossier 18-19, Cultural Animateurs, UNESCO, Paris, 1977)
While a small element of cultural animation was socio-cultural,
with the content focusing on 'civic and social life...economic,
education...sexuality, hygiene, birth control,' the overwhelming aim was to
promote and stimulate mass involvement in cultural life, which, as a
'cultivating' influence, would improve their 'adaptability, powers of communication, personality and independence.' (Ibid.)
These explorations of cultural animation gave way to the
discourse on cultural development which was, according to the report of the
Bogota conference - Americacult in 1978 - the first effort to organize and
mobilize 'different fields of the preservation, creation, dissemination,
administration and organization of culture' into a more comprehensive notion of
cultural policy. (Ibid.)
Culture and Development
At the same time as the discourse on cultural development was
evolving, field workers and community activists were experimenting with the use
of popular theatre and other folk media to promote a community participation in
problem solving for development. This so-called 'socio-cultural animation' was
related to cultural democracy, and closely allied to community development, the
growth of popular education and mass communication programmes. In developing
countries, it was the foundation for holistic human development, which was
based on the premise that economic growth was not sufficient to promote human
progress.
In 1972 UNESCO funded an expert meeting followed by a series of
publications exploring the use of folk and traditional media in development
communications. In 1985, the Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO
organized an international symposium to discuss the need for sensitization of
development planners to cultural aspects of the development process and analyse
the impact of cultural projects which contribute to development processes
(Uhlenbeck, G.C. (Editor),The Cultural Dimension of
Development. Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO, The
Hague, The Netherlands, 1985). A whole raft of texts published in the 1970s and
1980s explored the use and impact of different media and popular cultural forms
in development programmes. One outstanding review is Penina Mlama's 1991
publication, Culture and Development (Mlama, Penina Muhando.The Popular Theatre Approach in Africa. Scandinavian
Institute of African Studies (Nordiska Africainstitutet), Uppsala, 1991), which
explored the role of popular theatre in development programmes in Africa.
The term Culture and Development has subsequently been used to
describe a broad range of cultural issues and challenges in developing
countries. In the 1990s the World Bank started exploring these themes, using
Culture and Development to refer more narrowly to the relationship between
development and the protection and preservation of tangible and intangible
cultural heritage.
Twin tracks: different destinations
In the 1970s, it was clear that Culture and Development and
Cultural Development were moving on closely allied but separate tracks. While
socio-cultural animators existed to develop 'community life and cure social
ills' (Moulinier, Pierre. UNESCO Cultural Development
Documentary Dossier 18-19, Cultural Animateurs, UNESCO, Paris, 1977),
cultural animators existed to bring art to the people. Their objectives
appeared to be contradictory: the former was viewed as 'a militant of social
change' who was concerned with encouraging people to challenge the economic,
social and cultural order, whereas the latter was concerned with popularising
the arts among an increasingly large audience, thus reinforcing the influence
of the existing cultural order.
In his 1977 study of training needs, Pierre Moulinier noted that
distinct socio-cultural networks had emerged which were independent of existing
networks of professional cultural workers who ran museums, libraries, theatres,
art galleries, cultural ministries and other institutions. He also noted
different training needs for each of these sectors.
In his bibliography and review of popular performing arts and
social change in developing countries (Kidd, Ross. The popular
performing arts, non formal education and social change in the Third World: A
bibliography and review essay. CESO, The Hague, Netherlands, 1982.),
Ross Kidd noted that there existed a wide range of arts activity related to
education and organizing among popular groups, but not all involved deliberate
and conscious use of the arts to bring about 'social change, changes in
self-concept, attitude, awareness, skill or behaviour.' Thus he drew a defining
line between arts activity which was conceived as entertainment, performance or
traditional ritual, and defined the focus as 'attempts to prepare people a) to
understand and change their existing situation, or b) to understand and deal
with changes in their lives produced by external influences.'
From confusion, towards coexistence
Some people may feel that the confusion and blurring of the
Culture and Development and Cultural Development agendas is inconsequential.
However, where it has begun to cause particular problems, is in
the execution of projects and programmes in the Culture and Development sphere,
where projects with a genuine development impact are having to compete for
funds with projects which, while exploring some fascinating cultural issues,
contribute little to the urgent challenges of development. If the expectation
is that these projects will deliver a tangible result in development terms, and
none is evident, the confidence of stakeholders outside the cultural sector,
particularly in the development field, may be eroded.
Correspondingly, if all issues of cultural development are to be
related to the broader concept of development, there is a danger that the
spiritual and aesthetic worth of culture may be devalued unless it can
demonstrate a social impact. Though their work may be a unique and insightful
reflection on social issues and human concerns, not all creators and cultural
organizations are able to contribute to social change in a practical way.
Forcing all artists to become social agents benefits no-one: not the
beneficiaries, and not the artists. If Michaelangelo was forced to justify his
creations in the context of Culture and Development, his Sistine masterpiece
may not exist today.
For the benefit of both, we should therefore acknowledge and
retain the boundaries between Culture and Development and Cultural Development.
From time to time these agendas cross, and it is entirely
possible that in the future growth trajectory of both these fields the aims of
development and culture may become more closely entwined. The fact that this
dialogue is occurring, and has been evolving over fifty years, is certainly an
acknowledgement that both sides are progressively broadening their agendas.
Development currently prioritizes poverty, health, gender as
urgent issues. Culture and development is therefore tied to the same critical
agendas. In the long term, however, development is not simply about ensuring
that people can survive, but that they have quality of life.
In 1984, the author, poet and dramatist Ariel Dorfman visited six
Latin American countries for the Inter-American Foundation, to explore the link
between culture and survival. He returned with the conviction that the benefits
of culture in development did not come down to mere statistics: 'The real
advantage consists in having made some people feel more human. How do you
measure the amount of dignity that people accumulate? How do you quantify the
disappearance of apathy? With what machines do you evaluate someone's
rediscovered identity, the power that they now feel to set their own goals and
not merely take what others are willing to hand down?' (Dorfman, Ariel. Grassroots development, vol. 8, no. 2, Inter-American
Foundation, Rosslyn, Virginia, USA, 1984)
In practical terms, it will take many years of sustained
improvement in quality of life, the reduction of poverty and improvement of
universal human rights before the development sector can broaden its horizons
to fully embrace culture and cultural development, simply because in a world of
such extreme poverty and injustice, they are not a priority. Where culture is
actively addressing and contributing to development, however, a valid case can
be made.
Correspondingly, cultural policy is no longer just about the
arts, cultural products and audiences; it is not just about artists and their
vision for humanity, but the wider creative vision of the whole of humanity. It
is not just about nurturing the cultural community, but nurturing the community
through culture - it is about carving out a practical and useful presence for
culture in achieving human development goals.
This shift in the cultural policy agenda was envisioned as a next
step by the World Commission on Culture and Development (Our Cultural Diversity. Report of the World Commission on Culture
and Development. Paris, UNESCO, 1995). However, again in practical
terms, the cultural policy sphere is still too entrenched in elitism,
aesthetics and consumerism, and it will take many more years yet of evolution
before the cultural sector can become unselfish enough to consider its value to
others before its own self-interest.
Distinct though the aims of Culture and Development and Cultural
Development are, they are nevertheless of the same body. As the Romanian
Cultural Minister, Ion Carimitrou, remarked at a recent World Bank conference
on Culture and Development: 'Maybe this body will have more hands than a human
being.' (Culture Counts - Financing, Resources and
the Economics of Culture in Sustainable Development. The International
Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, Washington D.C., USA,
2000.) The starting point for the next stage in the evolution of this
discussion, we would argue, is better understanding and recognition of the
relative strengths and weaknesses of these two particular hands of culture, and
ultimately better partnership between them.
Kees Epskamp, Stichting CompArt
Helen Gould, Creative Exchange
Biographical Information
Culturelink
Special Issue Coordinator: Daniela Angelina Jelinčić, Research fellow
Culturelink, the Network of Networks for
Research and Cooperation in Cultural Development, gathers about 1,000 networks
and institutions from around 100 countries in all parts of the world which deal
with, and are interested in, cultural development, cultural policies and
cooperation.
The aim of the Network is to strengthen communication among its
members, to collect, process and disseminate information on world-wide cultural
development, cultural life and policies, and to encourage regional,
interregional and international joint research projects and cultural
cooperation. Besides research, activities of the Culturelink network include development of the Cultural Development Data Bank and publication of the review Culturelink, Culturelink Directory Series and Culturelink Joint Publication Series.
Daniela Angelina Jelinčić, a research fellow in the Culturelink team, has for years worked on the development of cultural policy profiles. Her research subject is cultural tourism - the impact of culture on tourist activities and vice versa. She holds a Master's degree in Cultural Heritage and Tourism.
Creative Exchange
Special Issue Contact: Helen Gould, Coordinator
Creative Exchange is a network and
alliance of more than 100 organizations and individuals who are using culture
and creativity in development and empowerment internationally. Its partners
range from UN agencies and international development agencies to small
grassroots community organizations, academics and cultural workers. It is a
registered charity in the UK, with a mission to promote education in the arts
and culture for the relief of need. It provides information development, advice
and training in Culture and Development worldwide. It supplies electronic
information to around 500 contacts worldwide, arranges networking opportunities
and skill-sharing for professional development, offers advice, contacts and
support to those planning or implementing arts/creative media projects in
development, and is spearheading standards development for creative activities
in several key areas, including conflict and emergencies and child rights/child
protection.
The Creative Exchange Coordinator, Helen Gould, worked for almost
a decade as a journalist and editor in the cultural policy sector before
becoming a researcher, consultant and author in Culture and Development. She
co-founded Creative Exchange in 1997. She sits on the Culture Committee of the
UK UNESCO National Commission as a Culture and Development specialist and has
worked as Culture and Development Consultant to the British Council.
Stichting CompArt
Special Issue Contact: Kees Epskamp
Stichting CompArt(CompArt
Foundation) is a Dutch non-governmental organization aiming to promote,
monitor, implement and/or make accessible (the results of) research in
(performing) arts in Western and non-Western cultures and to produce and
stimulate publications and/or media productions in relation to this subject.
CompArt coordinator, Kees Epskamp, worked for many years with the Centre for
the Study of Education in Developing Countries (CESO). He is currently employed
by the Netherlands National Commission for UNESCO in The Hague, where he is
responsible for public relations and the coordination of World Heritage. He
co-founded Stichting CompArt (CompArt Foundation) in 1997. He is a member of
the Advisory Board of the Faculty of Theatre of the Utrecht School of the Arts
(HKU) and the PassePartout Foundation.
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