Commonwealth Statement
on Culture and Development
Prepared by the Commonwealth Group
on Culture and Development
Commonwealth Statement
on Culture and Development
Prepared by the Commonwealth
Group on Culture and Development
Members of the Group: Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey (Chair),
John Akomfrah, Tahmima Anam, Gregory Ch’oc, Anna Feuchtwang,
Sitharamam Kakarala, Keith Khan, Letila Mitchell, Sandy Nairne,
Éric Théroux, Professor David Throsby, Mike van Graan and
Ayeta Anne Wangusa1
1
Please see Annex 3 for full biographies of group members.
Contents
Introduction
1
Commonwealth Statement
on Culture and Development
Prepared by the Commonwealth Group
on Culture and Development
2
Annex 1
Culture and development: Practical
illustrations from the Commonwealth
Four case studies highlighting ways
in which culture and development
are being linked in practice
© 2010 Commonwealth Foundation
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data:
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN: 978-0-903850-46-9
Published by the Commonwealth Foundation
Designed by Cog Design
Edited by Andrew Firmin and Jennifer Sobol
Case study text prepared by Jeremiah Spillane
The case studies for this publication have been compiled using contributions
received from an open submission process and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Commonwealth Foundation.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any forms or by any means, electronic
or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or otherwise without the
permission of the publisher.
The citation for this publication is: Commonwealth Foundation. 2010.
Commonwealth Statement on Culture and Development. Prepared by the
Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development. 33pp.
For further information contact:
Commonwealth Foundation
Marlborough House
Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HY
United Kingdom
Tel: +44(0) 20 7930 3783
Fax: +44(0) 20 7839 8157
E-mail: [email protected]
Web: www.commonwealthfoundation.com
8
Pacific Islands: Festivals as catalysts
10
Trinidad and Tobago:
Steelpan for youth empowerment 14
Malawi: Museums save lives
18
Nigeria: Women - the salt of the nation 22
Annex 2
Messages on culture from civil society Extracts from the Port of Spain Civil Society
Statement to the 2009 Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting
Annex 3
Commonwealth Group on Culture
and Development Biographies
26
31
1
Introduction
The aim of the Commonwealth Statement on Culture
and Development is to highlight the importance of the
multiple connections between culture and development,
and the added value that can be achieved by taking greater consideration of culture in development2. By
raising awareness amongst Commonwealth Governments,
donors, civil society and wider audiences of the close
connections between culture, creativity and successful
development, the aim is to encourage more sustainable
development methods and practices, and enhance culture’s contribution to economic and social development and conflict prevention.
This Statement was prepared by the Commonwealth
Group on Culture and Development. The Group
was established in early 2009 by the Commonwealth
Foundation, following calls from civil society to take the role of culture in development more seriously.
It sought to take forward the recommendations of
the Foundation’s 2008 report, Putting Culture First,
which called for a series of activities to better support
and recognise the connections between culture and
development. The Group’s purpose was to promote
greater commitment to and action on work that integrates culture with development.
2
3
ee Annex 1 for supporting case studies, Practical Illustrations from the Commonwealth.
S
Partnering for a More Equitable and Sustainable Future: The Port of Spain Civil Society
Statement to the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. (London:
Commonwealth Foundation, 2009): 47 See: www.commonwealthfoundation.com
Members of the Group worked closely with civil society at the 2009 Commonwealth People’s Forum, the Commonwealth’s major civil society meeting, to agree on ways in which to take forward its
recommendations. Civil society expressed support for the Statement, urging governments to endorse it and
commit to follow-up, and development donors to fund
cultural projects. Messages on culture, along with other
priority areas, are included in the Port of Spain Civil
Society Statement to the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting3 and are summarised in Annex 2.
Commonwealth Heads of Government in the
subsequent Port of Spain Communiqué commended
the Commonwealth Foundation on its work in the
area of culture and development. The Foundation will
continue to dialogue with its member governments and
other stakeholders on how culture and development
can be incorporated into policy and development
strategies, leading to practical projects that improve how
development is achieved.
Commonwealth Statement on Culture and Development
Commonwealth Statement
on Culture and Development
Context
evelopment has frequently been conceived in
5 I t further draws upon, and complements, pre-existing 6 D
Introduction
Background
1 T
he Commonwealth Group on Culture and
3 T
his Statement, the first at a Commonwealth level
Development presents this Statement to
Commonwealth Governments in order to foster
the creation of a closer and deeper relationship
between culture and development.
economic and environmental emergency,
compounded by continuing challenges of poverty,
inequality, mass unemployment and conflict. This
demands new ways of thinking and a fresh look at
how development proceeds. Because a consideration
of cultural values, practices and resources has
often been left out of development analyses, many
development interventions have failed to achieve
their objectives. The potential of culture4 to help
achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
has not been realised, while beyond these goals,
much is yet to be done to satisfy the full range of
people’s needs. Development still pays insufficient
attention to the fulfilment of human aspirations. A
sustainable, balanced model of growth can only be
ensured by integrating culture with economic and
social development.
international agreements and understandings.
These include the 1948 Universal Declaration of
Human Rights; the 1966 International Covenant
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the 1980
UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status
of the Artist; the 1982 Mexico City Declaration
on Cultural Policies and Development; the recent
suite of UNESCO culture conventions, particularly
the 2005 Convention on the Protection and the
Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions7;
and the 2008 UNCTAD Creative Economy report.
It also takes note of a range of regional agreements
which seek in different ways to connect culture with
development, such as the 2001 New Partnership
for Africa’s Development Framework, the 2007
Pacific Plan, the 2008 EU-CARIFORUM Economic
Partnership Agreement and the 2009 Declaration of
Commitment of the Fifth Summit of the Americas.
calling attention to the connections between culture
and development, is taking forward the call from
the 2007 Commonwealth People’s Forum to make
culture a central pillar of the Commonwealth’s
mandate5, alongside development and democracy. It
is framed by, and contributes towards the realisation
of, the Commonwealth’s fundamental goals and
values, as articulated in the 1991 Harare Declaration.
This statement will further help deepen the
Commonwealth’s recent commitment to respect and
understanding, as articulated in the 2007 Munyonyo
Declaration6. It has been prepared for consideration
at the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting, but will be of continuing relevance.
2 T
he current global context is one of unprecedented
ulture, following the 1982 UNESCO Mexico City Declaration on Cultural Policies,
C
is understood as “the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and
emotional features that characterise a society or social group. It includes not only the
arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value
systems, traditions and beliefs.” Cultural expressions, such as the arts, and cultural
resources, such as traditional knowledge, can be seen to be grounded in and to manifest
aspects of this broader definition of culture. Cultural industries, following the 2008
UNCTAD Creative Economy Report definition, are taken to refer to those industries
6
physical and mental well-being, the fulfilment of
every individual’s potential and the creation of
conditions in which people are able to enjoy the full
range of human rights. Article 27 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights states that, “Everyone
has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community [and] to enjoy the arts…” This is indivisible from, and contributory to, all other human rights.
‘Everyone has the right freely to participate
in the cultural life of the community [and]
to enjoy the arts…’ in different cultural contexts to those in which
they were conceived, with the result that attempts
made to deliver them are often inappropriate. An
understanding of worldviews, values, heritage and
other aspects of cultures should form the starting
point for development strategies.
of material solicited by the Commonwealth
Foundation through a consultative process.
This includes over 40 submissions and case
studies received from civil society and government
stakeholders, and approximately 500 people from
all sectors around the Commonwealth who were
consulted for the Commonwealth Foundation’s
2008 report Putting Culture First.
5
7 T
he aim of development should be the enabling of
8 D
evelopment models have often been applied
4 T
his Statement has been informed by a wide range
that “combine the creation, production and commercialisation of contents which are
intangible and cultural in nature.”
Realising People’s Potential: The Kampala Civil Society Statement to the 2007
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (London: Commonwealth Foundation,
2007) paragraph 116
CHOGM.2007. Munyonyo Statement on Respect and Understanding, internet:
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/shared_asp_files/GFSR.asp?NodeID=173177
quantitative terms, without taking into account its
qualitative dimensions, namely the satisfaction of
individual and community aspirations.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights
9 A
broad understanding of culture should underpin
and inform attempts to support culturally-based
development, including the use of cultural resources
and cultural expressions to advance development
objectives, and support for the creative economy to
contribute to economic development. Investments
in the cultural sector, including support for
practitioners and cultural institutions, are required
in order to ensure that culture can contribute fully
to development.
Umalali: The Garifuna Women’s Project gives a voice to women of the
Garifuna community in Belize. © Sarah Weeden, Stonetree Records
4
3
7
he Convention affirms the developmental benefits of support for culture, but has not
T
been adequately taken forward in many Commonwealth countries.
Commonwealth Statement on Culture and Development
5
12 C
ulturally-rooted identities and values have long
been viewed as a cause or accelerator of conflict.
Many people are affected by crime, violence,
humiliation and displacement, while regressive
aspects of cultures can impede development.
Freedom of expression and respect for diversity
are often collateral victims of security-led attempts
to tackle conflict. But it is precisely because many
conflicts have a cultural dimension that culture
offers resources that can support mutual respect and
understanding, challenge oppressive attitudes, and
move communities away from conflict.
13 Y
et in conflict and post-conflict situations, support
Issa Nyaphaga. Photo taken by Angele Essamba.
© Image courtesy of Angele Essamba and freeDimensional.
10 P
eople are culturally impoverished if they are unable
to access and enjoy the expressions of the range
of cultures around them, and therefore unable to
expand their knowledge and understanding of the
world. Individuals and communities should be
empowered to represent themselves and tell their
own stories.
11 D
iversity is acknowledged as one of the
Commonwealth’s greatest assets, and its rich array
of cultural heritage and languages, and traditional
and indigenous knowledge, has intrinsic value.
Globalisation can both promote and imperil diversity,
and the continuation of diversity therefore needs
to be actively supported. Equitable and balanced
inter-cultural exchange is required to enhance intercultural understanding and foster diversity.
8
or example, while two thirds of members of the Organisation Internationale de
F
la Francophonie had ratified the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection
and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions by 2008, just one third of
Commonwealth members had done so.
for cultural expressions and culture-based processes
is rarely a priority. And more broadly, where attempts
have been made to include culture in development,
these have usually seen cultural expressions and
resources used as an additional and secondary tool
inserted into existing development approaches rather
than as drivers of development. When culture is used
as a supplementary instrument, development practice
may still insufficiently encompass local norms and
values, and development interventions can meet with
resistance and failure. Making culture more central
may require a wider variety of development practice
than has been the case in the past.
14 O
ther critical issues that hamper culture playing a
fuller role in development include the lack of easily
available relevant information about many cultures,
the isolation within which many creative practitioners
continue to work, and a lack of cultural policy
support and creative capacity.
15 Despite the strength and vitality of creativity
and cultural expression in many countries of the
Commonwealth, culture has been treated by most
Commonwealth organisations and many governments
as peripheral. While other groupings have made
progress towards including aspects of culture in
their approaches to development, the Commonwealth
has not engaged to the same extent.8
Carnival in Trinidad and Tobago. © Shirley Bahadur
Connecting culture with development
16 I n light of the above, some of the different ways
in which culture connects to economic and social
development are highlighted below. The importance
of culture in its own right and the value of cultural
development must also be emphasised.
17 S upport for creative industries offers significant
potential for economic growth, including for small
states which each have unique cultural resources
from which comparative advantages can be realised.
This requires support for domestic creative industries
backed by commitment from a range of government
departments and a coherent stance on copyright,
royalty collection and intellectual property. It also
calls for a proper consideration of the distinctive
nature of cultural goods in international trade
and trade agreements.
18 Y
et culture’s value should not be seen only in
economic terms; cultural expressions can help
define an individual’s and a community’s sense of
self-worth. An over-focus on economic aspects can
be harmful if only a narrow band of mainstream
forms are prioritised. Support for a diversity of
cultural expressions should be seen as an investment
in national and local pride and confidence. A
cultural festival, for example, drives tourism and
knowledge transfer, but it can also change how a
host community feels about itself and its place in
the world. An investment in cultural spaces, such as
community arts centres and museums, and cultural
processes, gives opportunities for people to express
themselves, articulate their needs and identify their
own solutions.
Commonwealth Statement on Culture and Development
7
Recommendations
19 B
y understanding culture, development practitioners
can understand and respect local nuances and
differences, and better engage with and support
communities. Methods and processes drawing
from cultural resources, for example, in education,
promoting good governance, or addressing issues
of gender inequality, help achieve developmental
objectives. Forum theatre has helped communities
learn about participation in democracy, popular
music raised awareness of HIV and AIDS prevention,
and film has stimulated debate on climate change.
Cultural practitioners bring approachability and
neutrality to development processes. Folk forms,
aspects of heritage, local languages and traditional
governance structures can all be drawn on to help
win support, work with the grain of communities
and advance change.
20 C
ulture-based processes, such as culture-led
training initiatives for young people, allow people to
participate more easily, and develop self-confidence
and life skills. Ultimately, cultural spaces9 and
processes offer the opportunity to turn around the
way development is practiced, by giving people
the safe space, time and opportunity to define the
development they want, on their terms and in their
words, and become the owners rather than recipients
of development.
22 I n the light of the above analysis, the following
recommendations are put forward, around which
further dialogue on future actions and partnerships
is invited.
23 Commonwealth member states are urged to:
a.
mpower and strengthen cultural ministries and
E
national heritage, cultural and arts agencies, and
ensure cross-sector working, including integration
of cultural considerations in other policy areas, for
example, social welfare, trade, health and education.
b.
ecognise and work with local and indigenous
R
cultural resources, languages and governance
processes to ensure more sustainable economic,
environmental and social development.
c.
romote investment in the creative industries,
P
in cultural expression, and in the safeguarding
of cultural assets, and the development of cultural
policies, in recognition of the contribution of
these to development.
Conclusion
24 T
he many existing international agreements to
which Commonwealth governments are signatory
are outlined in paragraph five of this text. The
opportunity to deliver on the benefits of these
agreements has not been fully realised. The cultural
community offers a substantial and hitherto
unrealised resource that could work more closely
with governments to help delivery on commitments,
and so help to make a substantial impact on
people’s wellbeing.
21 T
he above connections will be better enabled by
long-term policy and government level commitment,
to promote multiple channels for self-expression,
exchange, mutual support and the formation of
international partnerships, between government,
the private sector and civil society.
Commonwealth Writers’ Prize winners visit secondary schools in Tonga
© Yvane Fifita
9
ultural spaces can be defined as any physical space where culture is practiced or
C
transmitted. This can be an already established space, such as an arts centre or museum or
somewhere more informal, such as a public square in which a performance is held.
The Yoneco Cultural Troupe communicates HIV and AIDS prevention messages in Malawi. © Youth Net and Counselling (YONECO), Malawi
25 T
he time to act is now, given the growth in critiques
of development practice and aid effectiveness, and
in the light of the global emergencies outlined above.
A lack of understanding of culture and the resulting
absence of its integration are part of the reason
why insufficient progress has been made. Yet other
international initiatives are now showing a greater
appreciation of culture, and the groundswell of
interest in our work suggests that the Commonwealth
could and should take on a more visible leadership
role. The cultural community, and broader civil
society, stands ready to forge new partnerships to
take this agenda forward.
Annex 1
Commonwealth Statement on Culture and Development
Prepared by the Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development
9
Annex 1
Culture and Development
Practical illustrations from the Commonwealth
The following case studies highlight some of the practical ways
in which culture and development are being linked in practice.
They have been drawn from submissions made by civil society
organisations to the Commonwealth Group on Culture and
Development. They offer practical examples to support
the findings of the Commonwealth Statement on Culture
and Development, and show ways in which the statement’s
recommendations can be taken forward in practice.
Annex 1
Culture and development: practical illustrations from the Commonwealth
‘...Festivals generate cultural value for local people who can enjoy their
country’s traditional costumes, music, dance and rituals in an engaging
communal context, and they project the cultural identities of the countries
onto the international stage.’10
Pacific Islands
Festivals as catalysts
There are many ways in which cultural festivals can support
development. They can help affirm and strengthen people’s
identities and build community confidence, which in turn can
contribute to social cohesion and development. They can help
preserve aspects of heritage and tradition, and transmit them to
new generations. They can promote culture-based tourism and
showcase cultural goods, products and services to new markets.
Festivals also provide forums where cultural practitioners can
exchange and develop strategies on issues such as traditional
knowledge and intellectual property rights.
A key regional festival,
the Festival of Pacific
Arts, creates opportunities
for exchanges between
Pacific peoples, and can
claim to have played a
key role in a Pacific cultural
renaissance.
A troupe from the Pacific performs at the 2005 Commonwealth People’s Forum in Malta.
Issues identified
Culture continues to occupy a central place in many
of the Pacific Islands. But while in some islands
traditional values, beliefs, knowledge, heritage and
other aspects of culture remain highly prominent and
indeed central, in others they have been considerably
weakened. This has been the result of the ongoing
effects of colonisation, migration to larger countries
and contemporary challenges to traditional family
structures, and the corresponding loss of forms of
inter-generational transmission of cultures.
Filmmaking in the Pacific.
Background
The cultural topography of the Pacific Islands, a dispersed
network of thousands of mostly small islands, is wide
ranging. A key regional festival, the Festival of Pacific
Arts, creates opportunities for exchanges between Pacific
peoples, and can claim to have played a key role in a
Pacific cultural renaissance. It provides a focal point for
a diverse range of both tangible and intangible cultural
expressions, including song, dance, craftwork, jewellery
and cuisine, among others. This example sets out some
of the ways in which this festival, and festivals in general,
have contributed to development.
10
Creative Economy Report 2008: The challenge of assessing the creative economy towards
informed policy-making (New York: United Nations, 2008): 37.
11
With cultural expressions and cultural goods, products
and services, a challenge in the Pacific has been the
identification and development of income generating
markets. Most Pacific Islands are geographically
isolated; hence, there is often a need to rely on local
markets which can only yield limited income. Further,
the production of cultural goods and products is
time and labour intensive and, as a result, they may
be under-supported. Yet cultural goods, products
and services from Pacific Islands, rooted in unique
cultures and traditions, hold potential to capture fresh
imaginations, enhance perceptions and understanding
of Pacific Islands and reach new markets within and
beyond the region.
It is therefore necessary to support ways of
promoting cultural goods, products and services
from Pacific Islands.
Annex 1
Culture and development: practical illustrations from the Commonwealth
Action taken
Established in 1972 and held every four years, the
Festival of Pacific Arts has grown as a market for
cultural and creative industries in the region and is
now a significant international cultural event and
major tourist attraction. It brings together more
than 2,000 people from 27 island countries.
It is the biggest gathering of Pacific peoples, where
delegations of dancers, musicians, filmmakers,
performing artists, craftspeople, painters and writers
debate, demonstrate, exhibit and sell their products
for twelve days to attendees of the festival.
The host country of the Ninth Festival of Pacific
Arts, Palau, saw both economic and infrastructural
gains, including sales from storyboards (traditional
woodcarvings of Palau) carved by prison inmates,
which brought in over US$11,800. Following the
festival, sales of the official festival film Oltobed A
Malt generated more than US$30,000 for the new
Belau National Museum; sales of Short Stories
from Small Islands generated revenues for artists
and authors who took part in a creative writing
workshop during the Festival. Each of the 16 states
of Palau earned an average of US$20,000 in sales of food and craft, while sales of philately earned
over US$1,800.
The Festival also helped to improve host country
facilities, and benefits were felt for small businesses
as a result of tenders for supplies, renovations
and construction. In Palau, prior to the Festival,
a new Belau National Museum (US$2.2m), the
Ngarachamayong Cultural Centre (US$2.45m) and
a 3,000 seat grandstand at the Palau Community
College sports track (US$363,000) were opened.
The Festival, since its inception, has established
itself as a key event in the region and is an important
instrument in the preservation and revitalisation
of expertise underlying many cultural expressions.
Knowledge and skills have been rediscovered,
revitalised and in some cases, updated. For
example, during the First Festival of Pacific Arts in
Fiji Islands, 1972, French Polynesia was inspired
to revive the disappearing art of tattooing11, which
11
is today a well recognised form of French Polynesian
cultural expression. In 2004, 17 woodcarvers were
chosen to undertake further studies in Hawaii under
master woodcarvers.
The Festival also offers a perfect platform for
development organisations and countries to undertake
other important initiatives. In 2000 and 2004, HIV
and AIDS awareness-raising materials were packaged
and distributed to performers and spectators. In 2004,
a capacity-building media project also trained more
than 20 journalists from six countries and resulted in
the official Festival DVD. A book of short stories was
published from the creative writing workshop. Funds
raised from both projects were channelled back into
regional cultural development projects.
Key points
Festivals offer ways to showcase cultures from a
region and can lay foundations for growing cultural
markets. As well as economic gains, the growth of
creative markets can help to tackle issues of isolation
and marginalisation.
Beyond economic benefits, festivals can foster unity
through exchange and sharing. They can act as
platforms for debate on locally relevant development
topics, such as economic and health issues. Finally,
as inclusive gatherings, festivals offer significant
opportunities to engage with young people and
promote the inter-generational transmission of
traditional knowledge and values.
Potentially
transferable learning
•Support festivals in order to celebrate and share
tangible and intangible cultural heritage.
•Use festivals and other forms of cultural
gatherings to promote cultural goods, products
and services to new markets.
•Link festivals to other culture-based
tourism initiatives.
•Use festivals to drive the development of cultural
infrastructure and facilities that will continue to
benefit communities and local business.
•Ensure space is opened up in festivals for
participation by young people.
•Embed opportunities for debate on relevant
development issues, such as traditional
knowledge and trade in culture, in festivals.
•Support and make available research on the
financial and social contributions of festivals.
Find out more: Ms Taalolo Poumele, Administrative Director (Secretariat), American Samoa Office for the 2008
10th Festival of Pacific Arts, American Samoa Government, PO Box E Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799
Tel: + (684) 633 3110/ 3111/ 3112 Email: [email protected]
www.pacartsas.com
A Commonwealth
perspective on culture
and development
The Commonwealth Statement on Culture and
Development states that an investment in the
cultural sector, including support for practitioners
and cultural institutions – which would include
cultural festivals – is required so that culture can
contribute to development, including economic
development through the growth of the creative
industries. (See paragraph 9 of the Statement.)
People have a right to showcase their culture and
to be exposed to other cultures. This is central
to developing an understanding of the world
and fostering local pride and confidence.
(See paragraph 10.)
Cultural diversity is one of the Commonwealth’s
greatest strengths. In a globalising world cultural
diversity needs to be actively promoted. Festivals
offer a good way of promoting diversity.
(See paragraph 11.)
Creative industries can not only provide income
for artists, but the community as a whole,
including through tourism promotion, and
for small businesses which provide a range of
associated services. Small island states can benefit
particularly from creative industry development as
they often have unique cultural forms that can be
drawn from. (See paragraph 17.)
As well as driving tourism and knowledge transfer,
festivals can also improve how a community that
hosts a festival values itself and sees itself
in relation to the world. (See paragraph 18.)
There is a need to build on the regional and
international platforms festivals offer to extend festival
brands and packages. In order to further develop
cultural trade links, practitioners should also be
supported to travel to other festivals internationally. These represent opportunities to promote cultures
abroad and create markets for cultural goods, products
and services.
r Nico Vink, Study on the Cultural Co-operation between the European Commission and
D
the Pacific region (The Netherlands, 2000).
13
To underpin this, investment in the creative
industries and policy to support this should
be further promoted. (See paragraph 23c.)
Traditional performance face paint and head dress.
Annex 1
Culture and development: practical illustrations from the Commonwealth
15
‘Created in the 1930s, the steelpan owes its genesis to the carnival festivals
of that era. It emerged as the product of the energy of the people directed
towards cultural self-expression. The steelpan therefore became a cultural
vehicle forged from the historical and social conditions prevailing at that
time. Its development was moulded by the ethnic influences of the heritage
of Trinidad and Tobago.’ 12
Trinidad and Tobago
Steelpan for youth empowerment
Cultural expression is an important part of how people
retain and sustain their identities, and can also contribute
to revenue generation through culture-based tourism and
cultural industries. Beyond this, cultural expression can
also offer young people a source of education and personal
development. The following is an example of how intangible
cultural expressions can play a significant role in the positive
development of young people. It explores the role of music,
specifically the steelbands of Trinidad and Tobago, in offering
young people a vehicle for self-expression, achievement
and fulfilment.
Small ensemble at the Birdsong Academy.
Transferable skills acquisition through music theory classes.
Background
Issues identified
The archipelagic twin island state of Trinidad and Tobago is home to a long and varied ethnic and cultural history. Primarily an industrial economy
with a focus on petrochemicals, Trinidad and Tobago
is also known internationally for its vibrant culture,
epitomised in its carnivals and its recognition as
the birthplace of the steelpan13 instrument and calypso14
music. Trinidad and Tobago is home to many different
steelpan orchestras and groups, and the majority of
steelband players in the country are between the ages of
15 and 25. The Birdsong Academy, one such steelpan
group, focuses on youth development and education
through music and culture. Its mission is to create a
productive environment for young people to express
themselves using the steelpan.
Approximately half of the Commonwealth’s near two
billion people are under 25 years of age. Young people
are correspondingly recognised as an important group
in the Commonwealth that demand a special focus
in promoting their empowerment, participation and
growth. In Trinidad and Tobago, as in many small
island states, current social problems include crime,
unemployment, poverty and family breakdowns. Young
people experience these problems disproportionately,
and are often vulnerable to feelings of alienation and
helplessness, and correspondingly may be caught up in
anti-social or criminal behaviour.
Promoting the active participation of young people in
community life, and their self-empowerment, through
accessible means, is one way to address this.
Approximately half of the
Commonwealth’s near
two billion people are
under 25 years of age.
Young people, by learning steelband, can gain in self-confidence.
12
Historical Development of the Steelband – Trinidad and Tobago. See http://library2.nalis.gov.tt/Default.aspx?tabid=165
13
teelpan: a bowl-shaped percussion instrument made from a steel barrel divided into
S
sections producing different notes when struck.
14
alypso: a type of music that originated in the Caribbean, notably in
C
Trinidad and Tobago, characterised by improvised lyrics on topical or
broadly humorous subjects.
Annex 1
Culture and development: practical illustrations from the Commonwealth
Action taken
Key points
The Birdsong Academy uses steelbands as a vehicle
to counteract many of the issues that young people
in Trinidad and Tobago face.
Music and entertainment have high appeal to young
people and can therefore assist in encouraging their
participation in community matters. They can, in
particular, help vulnerable and under-privileged young
people to discover positive forms of self-expression.
Music projects can help instil a sense of discipline and
collective working, bringing together young people
from different communities. As well as social and
technical skills, they can help build self-esteem and
self-confidence.
The Academy provides training to students between
the ages of 12 to 25 in skills that are intended
to be transferable. These include music theory,
ear training, sight reading, percussion, music
appreciation, life in music, using technology, voice
training, theatre arts and personal development.
As well as skills development, the training aims to
nurture interest in Trinidad and Tobago’s cultural
heritage. The training is free, and since 2004 when
the Academy was founded, more than five hundred
students, female and male, have benefited from
its programmes.
Realising the importance and relevance of music
education, Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of
Education has also created a music programme in
both primary and secondary level education called
‘pan in the classroom’. Over the first five years of its
operation 250 primary and secondary schools have
received instruments, and instructors have been
assigned to each school. Resulting from the success
of the programme, there is now a commitment
from the Ministry of Education to have all schools
involved in the programme in the next three years
of its operation.
A Commonwealth
perspective on culture
and development
The Commonwealth Statement on Culture
and Development calls for new approaches to
development in the face of continuing challenges
of poverty, inequality and mass unemployment,
and to help better fulfil human aspirations.
Cultural expressions such as music and other
forms of art can help meet the needs and enhance
the wellbeing of disadvantaged people, particularly
in the face of current economic and environmental
emergencies. (See paragraph 2 of the Statement.)
Music and arts education offer vehicles for knowledge
transfer and encouragement towards excellence in both
education and future professional life.
By promoting empowerment and self-confidence,
music and arts programmes give young people the
opportunity to become owners of their development
rather than its recipients. Culture-based training
programmes such as these therefore have an intrinsic
developmental edge.
While economic development and the development of
the creative industries are important, an over-narrow
focus on economic development can overlook some of
the positive social impacts of an investment in culture.
The fostering of wellbeing in disadvantaged young
people can set them on the path to the establishment of
better, more sustainable livelihoods, which can in turn
promote long-term economic prosperity.
In the case of the Birdsong Academy, some of the
students who have completed its programmes
have gone on to enrol at universities such as the
University of the West Indies, the University of
Trinidad and Tobago and the Berkley School of
Music, USA. Some graduates of the Academy have
also found full time employment at the Office of
the Prime Minister, as members of the Fire Services
Orchestra, and as steelpan instructors at the
Ministry of Education.
Music and arts programmes can contribute to
an individual’s sense of physical and mental
wellbeing, which should be the end goal of
development. (See paragraph 7.)
Steelpan lessons at the Birdsong Academy.
Potentially
transferable learning
•Use culture-based methods to initiate
communication with and encourage participation
by young people, particularly disadvantaged and
at risk young people.
•Support cultural practitioners and institutions
to increase their access to parts of society which
may be difficult to reach.
•Recognise that training initiatives to build
skills and drive professional development can
also have benefits for personal and community
development, and use culture-based methods
to promote this.
Percussion class at the Birdsong Academy.
Find out more: Nestor Sullivan, Birdsong Academy, Corner Connell and St Vincent Streets, Tunapuna,
Trinidad and Tobago Tel: + (868) 620 5285 Email: [email protected], [email protected]
www.birdsongtt.org
17
•Make connections between initiatives to drive
the creative economy and broader initiatives
to foster self-expression, self-confidence and
community cohesion.
Successful initiatives to promote the growth of
the creative economy need to be underpinned by
investments in the cultural sector more broadly,
including support for cultural practitioners and
institutions. These are closely interlinked.
(See paragraph 9.)
Cultural expressions can help define an
individual’s and a community’s sense of self-worth.
Investments in cultural spaces give opportunities
for people to express themselves and articulate
their needs and identify their own solutions.
(See paragraph 18.)
Culture-based initiatives enable people to
participate in development processes more easily
and develop self-confidence and life skills.
(See paragraph 20.)
Annex 1
Culture and development: practical illustrations from the Commonwealth
‘Museums have an important duty to develop their educational role and
attract wider audiences from the community, locality, or group they
serve. Interaction with the constituent community and promotion of their
heritage is an integral part of the educational role of the museum.’15
The museum’s education
division’s work on activities
aimed at achieving the
MDGs include a focus on
MDG target 6C, ‘to halt
and begin to reverse the
incidence of malaria and
other major diseases’,
through the lens of culture.
Malawi
Museums save lives
Cultural spaces such as museums are equipped with specialist
knowledge of culture and can offer effective places where
people can be exposed to information addressing a wide range
of development issues. The Malawi Museums Save Lives
project illustrates how the multifaceted and dynamic nature
of many museums can be utilised to transmit information
in a community specific format and sustainable way. It
demonstrates in particular how cultural spaces can act as
an effective means of making available messages regarding
key health issues, thus helping to make progress towards the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)16. This example
looks at the challenge of malaria in Malawi and how museums
address this issue.
15
16
International Council of Museums. See www.icom.museum/ethics.html#intro
Millennium Development Goals. See www.undp.org/mdg/goal6.shtml Target 6c: Halt and
begin to reverse the incidence of malaria and other major diseases.
Indicators: 6.6 Incidence and death rates associated with malaria, 6.7 Proportion of
children under 5 sleeping under insecticide-treated bednets, 6.8 Proportion of children
under 5 with fever who are treated with appropriate anti-malarial drugs.
19
School children draining stagnant water at Chimbende School in Mangochi district.
Background
Issues identified
Museums of Malawi (MoM) is a governmental department
under the Malawian Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and
Culture, established in 1957. Its mandate is to disseminate
information to the public regarding the cultural and
natural heritage of Malawi. MoM regards 21st Century
museums as being about people rather than objects,
situating them as agents of change and vehicles for helping
to deliver sustainable development programmes. MoM
empowers its members to generate awareness on health
issues currently affecting Malawi, including malaria and
HIV and AIDS. The museum’s education divisions work
on activities aimed at achieving the MDGs include a
focus on MDG target 6C, ‘to halt and begin to reverse the
incidence of malaria and other major diseases’, through
the lens of culture.
Poverty eradication is a primary aim of the Malawian
government, yet poverty reduction and development
is challenged by poor health of the citizens. It is on
this premise that MoM began its malaria prevention
outreach programme. Malaria is a serious health issue
in Malawi, particularly affecting pregnant women and
children. Few individuals, especially those at risk, are
aware of adequate prevention methods, and they are
therefore unable to detect or mount an early response
to the disease. Inaccurate information surrounding
hygiene and sanitation is a key part of this challenge.
Lack of awareness can lead to the propagation of false
beliefs, for example, that symptoms such as anaemia
and convulsions are caused by ‘witchcraft’ rather than
symptoms of malaria.
In such cases aspects of culture, such as superstition,
can inhibit progress, but although culture may here be
seen as a challenge, it also offers resources to derive
solutions. Using cultural forces to overcome such
misconceptions is a logical approach. Trusted cultural
institutions, such as MoM, are in a valuable position to
provide reliable and accurate information where it is
needed most.
Malaria prevention message through drama at Kamwendo School in Mchinji district.
Annex 1
Culture and development: practical illustrations from the Commonwealth
Action taken
Key points
MoM believes that the implementation of widespread
information, education and communication (IEC)
programmes are an effective means of disseminating lifesaving information. The Museums Save Lives programme
focuses on prevention measures through classroom
activities. It employs a range of tools, including prevention
methods demonstration, music and dance, drama, lectures
by Ministry of Health and Population officials, community
film screenings and the establishment of Anti-Malaria
Community Clubs.
As many Malawians do not receive adequate information
about malaria, MoM works by disseminating
understandable, accurate information while debunking
myths and misconceptions. MoM uses existing
institutions, such as schools, teachers, churches and
community leaders to promote its programmes, creating
early dialogue and discussion within schools and the wider community prior to the start of a programme.
Developed by the education department of MoM, this
latter programme chooses students in their final year of
primary education in rural areas to lead anti-malaria clubs
in schools. Students are placed in a strong position to use
information and knowledge gained actively and to transfer
knowledge via peer-to-peer learning. As well as working
with students MoM also works with and seeks to involve
the surrounding community.
This project was initially piloted in two areas and
evaluated periodically by stakeholder meetings
and teacher student surveys. Since then, MoM has
been able to circulate information through 63 schools,
distributing over 600 posters and pamphlets across seven
districts, reaching approximately 53,000 people.
In this particular context, many museums are able to
provide information on mosquitoes and malaria through
their entomology exhibitions. They are also well placed,
on the basis of their cultural and anthropological research,
to understand and work with the diverse cultural and
educational backgrounds of target communities.
The museums’ mandate to work with the cultures and
people of Malawi provides the project with a trusted and
established infrastructure on which to base its work. As
a national institute the museum can continually monitor
progress and implement follow-up programmes to build
sustainability.
The use of locally specific knowledge of cultures,
traditions and languages place museums and similar
institutions in a well equipped situation to manage and
disseminate information and deliver it in an accessible
manner for schools and communities.
Potentially
transferable learning
•Use existing national cultural infrastructure
and spaces to help disseminate important
information.
•Empower cultural research organisations to
address communities in a culturally applicable
and effective manner.
•Use community programmes and existing
community strengths and resources to promote
action and awareness in combating health issues
through community-based programmes.
•Make use of existing assets, such as museum
exhibitions, to connect to, and create awareness
of key development messages.
•Work with school children in primary
education to promote effective learning at
an early point in their education. This will
promote sustainable knowledge sharing and
peer-to-peer exchange.
21
A Commonwealth
perspective on culture
and development
The Commonwealth Statement on Culture and
Development highlights that many development
projects are implemented in different cultural
contexts to those in which they were conceived.
The Statement suggests that development
projects should be conceived in a culturally
sensitive manner in order to promote effective
and sustainable development practice. Museums
as guardians of culture are uniquely equipped
to address community based development
approaches. As cultural spaces museums can also
act as forums for debate and discussion. (See
paragraph 8 of the Statement.)
Museums reflect the cultural expressions of people
– both past and present. Investment in cultural
spaces provides the opportunity for people to
express themselves and share vital knowledge and
information between one another at both a local
and national level. As familiar, trusted guardians
of cultures, museums are ideally placed to promote
community based development projects and offer
people opportunities to articulate their needs
regarding pressing issues. (See paragraph 18.)
Cultural practitioners bring approachability to
development processes. Folk forms, heritage and
local knowledge can be utilised to work with
the grain of communities and advance change.
Museums are well positioned, with knowledge
of such forms, to bridge the gap between
communities and development practitioners.
(See paragraph 19.)
MoM has been able to
circulate information
through 63 schools,
distributing over 600
posters and pamphlets
across seven districts,
reaching approximately
53,000 people.
Sustainable development can be promoted in communities through the use of indigenous
cultural resources and languages. (See paragraph 23b.)
Mosquito treated nets given to best learners at Kaputa School in Mzimba district.
Demonstration on use of a treated mosquito net at St Matthews School in Chikwawa district.
Find out more: Michael M Gondwe, Education Coordinator, Museums of Malawi, Chichiri, PO Box 30360,
Blantyre 3, Malawi. Tel: + (265) 889 6213 Email: [email protected]
www.africom.museum/museums/malawi-chichiri.html
Annex 1
Culture and development: practical illustrations from the Commonwealth
‘Nothing, arguably is as important today in the political economy of development as an adequate recognition of political, economic and social participation and leadership of women. This is indeed a crucial aspect of Development as Freedom.’17
Salt manufacturing
remains the major means
of livelihood for women in
the communities around the
Uburu Salt Lake area, and
the same salt production
methods have been in use
for approximately 400 years.
Nigeria
Women – the salt of the nation
In designing and implementing development interventions,
a sound understanding of cultural norms and values, stories,
and folklores is required. Change that seeks to work with and
enhance elements of culture is more likely to be successful
and sustainable than interventions that do not take account
of cultural forces. Interactions between culture and gender
particularly need to be understood and integrated.
Man on a dugout canoe on a river in Nigeria. © Commonwealth Secretariat.
Background
According to folklore, long ago in what is now Ebonyi
State, Nigeria, a group of hunters and their dogs stopped
by a lake to drink from the water. On discovering that
it was a salt lake, the hunters reported back to the
community, and the elders decided to consult an Oracle.
The Oracle declared that the salt water would be a source
of wealth for the community. According to the story, the
Oracle decreed that salt processing and salt trade would
be an exclusive reserve of women. While men would clear
the bush, dig and remove mud from the pond and fetch
firewood, married women alone were allowed to extract
the lakes and ponds.
Modern day Ebonyi State is primarily an agricultural
centre, producing banana, cassava and maize, but it is
also rich in minerals, particularly salt, to the extent that
is known as ‘the salt of the nation’. Salt manufacturing
remains the major means of livelihood for women in
the communities around the Uburu Salt Lake area, and
the same salt production methods have been in use for
approximately 400 years.
In seeking to improve salt production methods,
this example illustrates the benefit of cultural
sensitivity and demonstrates how traditions and values need to be adequately understood to achieve
successful development.
17
Amartya Sen, Development as Freedom, 1999:203
23
18
19
UNIDO homepage. See www.unido.org
Communities in Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
Women involved in food production, Nigeria.
Issues identified
The traditional method of salt production has been
to boil salt water taken from the lake using firewood.
The cost of this fuel constitutes as much as 85% of the
production cost18. In addition to the environmental
impact of burning wood, this fuel cost is a considerable
constraint on the income that could be generated
for communities from salt production in the region.
Further, traditional methods of extraction are
time-consuming and tedious, thereby restricting the
time women have for other activities. Increased income
and increased time for other roles could help to raise
the status and power of women in the community.
A United Nations Industrial Development
Organisation (UNIDO) project therefore aimed to
build the capacity of women salt producers in Uburu,
Okposi and Idembia Ezza communities19 by providing
them with new equipment and methods.
Annex 1
Culture and development: practical illustrations from the Commonwealth
Action taken
This project aimed to promote the use of solar stills
and to reduce the use of firewood in order to increase
environmental sustainability and reduce costs. UNIDO first
recognised that it needed to work with the grain of tradition
and culture. Due to the long historical role of women in
salt production, illustrated by the story above, UNIDO
resolved that women would be the lead stakeholders in its
initiative. The women of Ebonyi formed into cooperatives
to handle salt processing and iodisation. Participating
women were initially provided with 15 to 17 solar stills for
salt production.
Women have remained in charge of salt processing and
UNIDO has introduced up-to-date equipment for better
production. The men involved in the project have assisted
the women by carrying out other tasks that do not cut
across women’s traditional roles in production.
According to UNIDO the project, “Is expected to
eliminate 28,000 tons of firewood per year with current
market price of 200 million Naira [US$1.31m] generating
an additional income of 167,000 Naira [US$1,095]
annually (against current annual income of 40,000 Naira
[US$262]) for each of the 1,200 women engaged in salt
manufacturing.”20
By recognising the important contribution women
make to the industry and ensuring that their traditional
roles were not threatened, but could instead be worked
with to enhance their overall position in society, the
implementation of the project met with little resistance and
the new technology was integrated with ease.
The project has also engaged with traditional leaders as
well as government officials in convincing the community
of the income-generating value of the activity.
Key points
An approach that takes account of cultural norms,
values and traditions heightens the chances of successful
development.
In work that has a gender dimension the traditional roles
of women and men must be understood, and change has
more chance of success if it is based in the amplification of
aspects of these rather than directly goes against these.
Traditional leaders can help foster engagement
with communities and need to be understood
and worked with.
Culture must not be viewed as a separate entity to
the development process. Closer scrutiny of projects
through a cultural lens can lead to innovative and
progressive development projects. Cultural approaches to
development should not be limited to cultural expressions
but should also include trade, industrial and economic
activities, which can also benefit greatly from a culturally
sensitive approach.
Potentially
transferable learning
•Promote research, understanding of and
engagement with the cultural heritage of
communities, including appreciating the value
of folklore, heritage and popular narratives.
•Understand, and build into ways of working,
local interactions between cultural and gender
norms and roles.
•Engage with traditional leaders to help
mobilise communities.
•Explore the potential to blend contemporary,
renewable and sustainable approaches with
local, traditional ones.
Cultural approaches
to development should
not be limited cultural
expressions but should
also include trade,
industrial and economic
activities, which can
also benefit greatly
from a culturally
sensitive approach.
See www.unido.org/index.php?id=4835&ucg_no64=1/data/project/project.cfm&c=40658. Figures converted at market rates, November 2009.
Find out more: Nneka C Acholonu-Egbuna, Programme Assistant for Culture (UNESCO Abuja Office),
c/o UNESCO, UN House, Plot 617/618 Diplomatic Drive, Central Area, Abuja, Nigeria
Tel: +(234) 9 4616543/+ (234) 8 037870675 Email: [email protected]; [email protected]
www.unido.org
A Commonwealth
perspective on culture
and development
The Commonwealth Statement on Culture and
Development states that because a consideration
of cultural values, practices and resources has
often been left out of development analyses,
many development interventions have failed
to achieve their objectives, and there therefore
remains unrealised potential to help achieve the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
(See paragraph 2 of the Statement.)
The enabling of physical and mental wellbeing and
the fulfilment of people’s potential should be the
end goals of development. This includes providing
people with a productive and culturally relevant
work life. (See paragraph 7.)
Understanding worldviews, values, heritage and
other aspects of culture should form the starting
point for the initiation of development strategies.
Development projects should first consider the
cultural context of the community before there
are attempts to intervene. (See paragraph 8.)
An understanding of cultural context helps us
to appreciate, and work with, local nuances and
differences, and better engage with, and win the
support of, communities. (See paragraph 19.)
Local and indigenous cultural resources, languages
and governance processes should be worked with
to ensure more sustainable cultural, economic,
environmental and social development.
(See paragraph 23b.)
A culturally sensitive approach to even hard-edged and
economically-driven industrial development projects
can help ensure support from local communities and
include community members in the shaping of projects.
20
25
Demonstration of traditional cooking. © Commonwealth Secretariat.
Annex 1
Commonwealth Statement on Culture and Development
Prepared by the Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development
27
Annex 2
Messages on culture
from civil society
Extracts from the Port of Spain Civil Society
Statement to the 2009 Commonwealth
Heads of Government Meeting
The Port of Spain Civil Society Statement was developed by
civil society groups from Commonwealth countries. They met
ahead of the 2009 Commonwealth Heads of Government
Meeting at the Commonwealth People’s Forum to debate and
develop recommendations on key issues affecting civil society.
The Forum culminated in the drafting of a Statement which
was presented to Commonwealth Heads of Government and
serves to guide the work of Commonwealth civil society for
the following two years.
The extracts that follow are taken from the Port of Spain
Statement where civil society expressed support for culture
and asked Governments to, among other things, endorse the
Commonwealth Statement on Culture and Development and
commit to implementing its recommendations. Annex 2
Messages on culture from civil society
1.
2.
3.
We, the representatives of civil society organisations from
across the Commonwealth, meeting in Port of Spain, Trinidad
and Tobago, from 22 to 25 November 2009, present the
following messages on culture, as contained in the overall Port
of Spain Civil Society Statement to the Commonwealth Heads
of Government Meeting (CHOGM);
nderscoring that the global financial crisis underlines
U
the need for long-term and sustainable investment that is
guided and measured by the pursuit of social, cultural and
environmental in addition to economic gains;
mphasising that any restatement of Commonwealth values
E
and principles should take proper account of culture,
including respect for cultural diversity, commitment to
inter-culturalism, and the recognition of the role that
creativity and innovation play across all policy arenas;
4.
elcoming the Statement of the Commonwealth Group on
W
Culture and Development and urging the implementation
of its recommendations;
5.
ffirming that access to, and enjoyment of, culture
A
and freedom of cultural expression are fundamental human rights;
6.
Recognising that cultural assets, values, practices and
resources have potential, as yet largely unrealised, to help
achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs),
promote human fulfilment and prevent and resolve conflict;
7.
8.
9.
urther recognising the significant role that cultural resources
F
and values can play in forging sustainable, ethical paths out of the present environmental and financial crises, particularly
by challenging prevailing norms of consumption and
economic governance;
nderstanding that support for culture, and a diversity
U
of cultural expressions, can unlock economic value and
encourage community confidence;
Expressing concern about the persistent low levels
of ratification of and engagement with the 2005 UN
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s
(UNESCO) Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions;21
10. R
ecognising the Convention on Biological Diversity as
the international instrument which addresses indigenous
knowledge resources;
11. U
nderlining that creativity and innovation are key drivers
of development and people’s participation, particularly for
young people;
21
NESCO.2005. Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural
U
Expressions: Internet: http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=31038&URL_
DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
12. N
oting that the rapid growth in the application of new
technologies is enabling new forms of international
connections, including diasporic connections;
• a ffirm their resolve to retain the right to apply policies and
other measures in support of domestic cultural sectors, as
enabled by the 2005 UNESCO Convention;
13. We call on Commonwealth Member States to:
• initiate ongoing dialogues with civil society organisations
regarding policy actions to strengthen the cultural sector,
and ensure that their right to apply cultural policies and
other measures is not compromised by liberalisation
commitments in trade negotiations;
• e ndorse the Statement presented by the Commonwealth
Group on Culture and Development and commit to
implement its recommendations through strengthened
partnerships;
• p romote the potential of cultural assets, values,
practices and resources in generating economic and
social development, including by commissioning and
disseminating research on the economic contribution of culture;
• s trengthen creative and cultural industries, notably
film and digital industries, by designing, updating and
implementing cultural policy frameworks to meet
national and local needs, while sharing good practice and
experience across borders;
• p rovide technical assistance to stimulate the growth
of creative and cultural industries, particularly small
culture-based enterprises, and the development of
cultural entrepreneurs, including through the adaptation
of existing mechanisms, such as the Commonwealth
Fund for Technical Cooperation and the Commonwealth
Scholarship and Fellowship Plan;
• s upport the professionalisation of creative and
cultural practitioners;
• s hare good practice in enabling digital, knowledge-based
industries to contribute to economic development;
• e ngage cultural civil society organisations in dialogue
processes on development and governance issues;
•mainstream cultural considerations into decision
making at local, sub-national and national levels;
• m
ainstream cultural impact assessments into
development planning;
• r atify and implement the 2005 UNESCO Convention
on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of
Cultural Expressions, including by: integrating culture
into sustainable development strategies; making
cultural development projects eligible for support from
international development agencies and funds; and
contributing, on a significant and recurring basis, to the
Convention’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity;
• r espect intellectual property rights as an incentive and
stimulus for creativity and innovation;
• s trengthen and protect local industries against the
dumping of cultural products from other economies,
including through legislation for local content quotas,
assistance to domestic cultural producers, and
strengthened copyright legislation;
• e nable the free movement of creative practitioners,
products and ideas, including South-South cooperation,
by revisiting visa arrangements;
• r atify, where they have not done so, and implement the
2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of
Intangible Cultural Heritage;
• c reate and strengthen national heritage legislation to
protect locally significant cultural treasures, rituals and
artefacts;
• p romote local cultural heritage sites as sources of
community employment and livelihoods, sites of identity
and tourism hubs;
• p romote purpose-built community centres as primary
incubators for cultural production, youth engagement,
and community and national identity;
• p romote ‘living museums’ that facilitate contemporary
culture while preserving traditions;
• r ecognise and capacitate traditional and indigenous
cultural knowledge, resources, languages and governance
processes to promote sustainable economic recovery and
respond to environmental crises;
• s upport forest communities and institutions in developing
knowledge and capacity, facilitate participatory processes
and recognise traditional knowledge;
•protect the cultural rights of all people that are compatible
with the International Bill of Rights;
• s upport documentation of cultural memory and cultural
legacy to enable knowledge transfer from elders to new
generations, including through apprenticeships, and
29
record processes of transmission to generate an indigenous
cultural curriculum;
• e nhance connections between scientists working on
climate change issues and artists to encourage public
mobilisation;
• promote
connections between environmentally sustainable
tourism and cultural tourism;
• t ake forward the idea of a Commonwealth cultural capital
city scheme with a connected Commonwealth festival of
the arts;
• empower
and strengthen Ministries dealing with culture
and national heritage, cultural and arts agencies;
• integrate cultural considerations in other policy areas, such
as social welfare, trade, health and education;
• p romote a free and diverse media, including traditional and
new media;
• p romote educational opportunities for early childhood
learning in mother tongue languages as a foundation for
inter-cultural identity across the Commonwealth;
• c hange education policy to drive the development of a
knowledge-based society and enhance cultural capital by
encouraging creativity in the classroom;
• p romote learning about the Commonwealth, its history,
values and the rich diversity of peoples and cultures by
calling for the support and investment of Commonwealth
organisations and individual governments in information
and education services;
• recognise
that the arts can provide a unique contribution to
conflict avoidance, peace building and reconciliation;
• recognise that conflicts are often played out along
identity lines, with faith offering one key component
of identity for many Commonwealth people; recognise
that the interaction between faith and culture, and the
ways in which different faiths can sit successfully side
by side, need to be better understood; employ belief,
tradition and spirituality as resources in reconciliation
and reconstruction; and recognise that multi-ethnicity is
frequently a critical element in reconciliation which must
be addressed to ensure sustainability.
• promote youth networks and fora, sporting and cultural
contacts and exchanges to foster tolerance, understanding,
capacity building and co-operation; and
• enhance
engagement with diasporas in Commonwealth
programmes.
Annex 3
Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development
31
Annex 3
Commonwealth Group on
Culture and Development
Biographies
Annex 3
Commonwealth Group on Culture and Development
Professor Baroness Lola Young of Hornsey, the Chair
of the Group, has been an independent parliamentarian
in the United Kingdom’s House of Lords since 2004.
With expertise in the areas of performing and visual arts,
museums and archives, cinema, fashion, and the creative
industries, Lola has served in numerous roles, including as
Head of Culture at the Greater London Authority and as
advisor to the Arts Council.
John Akomfrah OBE is an British film director and
screenwriter of Ghanian origin. He has directed 14 films
since 1986. He made his debut with Handsworth Songs,
which examined the fallout from the 1980s Handsworth
riots. He was born in Accra and brought up in London.
Akomfrah was educated at schools in West London and at
Portsmouth Polytechnic, where he graduated in Sociology
in 1982. He was one of the founders of the Black Audio
Film Collective, which was active between 1982 and 1998,
and which was dedicated to examining issues of Black
British identity through film and media. He was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the
2008 New Year Honours List.
Tahmima Anam was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and grew
up in Paris, New York City, and Bangkok. She trained
as an anthropologist and earned a PhD from Harvard
University in 2005. Her debut novel, A Golden Age, won
the 2008 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First
Book and is being translated into twenty-two languages.
Tahmima is a contributing editor at The New Statesman,
and her writing has appeared in Granta, The New York
Times, and the Guardian.
Gregory Ch’oc, a citizen of Belize, was appointed in 2003
as Executive Director of the Sarstoon Temash Institute
of Indigenous Management (SATIIM), an organisation
which represents the interests of indigenous Maya people
in the management of the Sarstoon Temash National Park
in Belize. Involved since 1994 in the struggle of the Maya
people, Gregory led and won an unprecedented Supreme
Court lawsuit in 2006 against the Government of Belize
and a multinational oil company. In 2007 Gregory led a
successful constitutional claim in the Supreme Court by
the Maya Leaders’ Alliance and two Maya communities for
rights to land they had traditionally used and occupied.
Anna Feuchtwang, a citizen of the United Kingdom, has
almost twenty years of experience as a communications
professional in international development, including
heading up the communications department at Oxfam
and chairing the board of ActionAid UK. Anna is Chief
Executive of EveryChild and currently Chair of BOND
(British Overseas NGOs for Development).
Sitharamam Kakarala, an Indian citizen, taught Political
Theory and Human Rights Law at the National Law
School of India University, Bangalore for over a decade
before joining the Centre for the Study of Culture
and Society (CSCS) in 2003, where he is currently
a Senior Fellow and Director and coordinates the
research programme on Law, Society and Culture.
His research interests are at the intersection of culture,
constitutionalism and questions of human rights.
Keith Khan is a UK citizen with a Trinidadian background.
An award-winning artist, Keith’s past commissions
include Director of Design for the opening and closing
ceremonies of the 2002 Commonwealth Games, and
the Celebration Commonwealth Parade for the Queen’s
Golden Jubilee in 2002. Current projects to be delivered
by his new organisation D Lime include a collaboration
with Lille3000 for a spectacle event to mark a French state
visit to India in November 2009. Until 2007 Keith was
Chief Executive of Rich Mix, a multi-million pound new
build arts venue in East London, and his work as Head of
Culture for the London 2012 Olympic Games shaped the
initial impetus of the programme with a strong emphasis
on young people and diversity.
Letila Mitchell, a citizen of the Fiji Islands, is the founder
and Secretary General of the Pacific Arts Alliance and
has many years of experience in the arts as a performer,
poet, visual artist, artistic director and events manager. A
graduate in Cultural Management from City University in
London, and having worked with Pacific artists in London
for four years, Letila uses her extensive international
and regional experience and networks to fight for better
opportunities for Pacific artists. Letila was Artistic
Director for the Fiji Delegation in the past two Festivals
of Pacific Arts and spearheaded the first Pacific Artists
Forum during the most recent festival in American Samoa.
She is currently the Director of the Fiji Arts Council, and
the Artistic Director for Rako, a multimedia arts collective
of Rotuman and Polynesian artists.
Sandy Nairne, a citizen of the United Kingdom, is
Director of the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Well known for his work as a curator and writer, he has
held prominent positions at the Tate Gallery, the Institute
of Contemporary Arts, and the UK Arts Council. Most
recently, Sandy worked for eight years as Director:
Programmes at Tate alongside Nicholas Serota, and in
2005-2006 chaired the National Museum Directors’
Conference Working Group on Cultural Diversity. He is
currently a member of the Fabric Advisory Committee of
St Paul’s Cathedral and the Councils of the Royal College
of Art and the British School at Rome. Sandy also sits on
the London Mayor’s Cultural Strategy Group.
Éric Théroux is Director General of Multilateral Affairs
and International Commitments at the Ministry of
International Relations of the Government of Québec.
Québec’s representative on the Executive Committee of
the Canadian Commission for UNESCO, he had also been
Legal Director of his ministry. Called to the Bar of Québec
in 1987, he has a Master’s degree in Law (European
Community law) from the London School of Economics
and Political Science.
33
Professor David Throsby, an Australian citizen, is
Professor of Economics at Macquarie University in Sydney.
With significant expertise in the creative economy, he has
held numerous positions on boards and committees, as
well as previously working as a consultant and expert for
the World Bank, the OECD and UNESCO. Professor
Throsby is also currently Chair of the New South Wales
Arts Advisory Council. Professor Throsby’s book on The
Economics of Cultural Policy was published by Cambridge
University Press in 2010.
Mike van Graan is the Executive Director of the African
Arts Institute based in Cape Town, and serves as the head
of the Secretariat of the Arterial Network, a continentwide network of individuals, NGOs, companies and
funding partners engaged in the African creative sector.
He has held various leadership positions in the South
African cultural arena including Special Adviser to
the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology
after the first democratic elections in 1994 and General
Secretary of the Performing Arts Network of South Africa
(PANSA). He was the Programme Director for the Fourth
World Summit on Arts and Culture, held in Johannesburg
in September 2009, and is an award-winning playwright.
Ayeta Anne Wangusa, a Ugandan writer and journalist,
currently works in Tanzania with SNV, the Netherlands
Development Organisation, as a Governance Advisor
(Civil Society Strengthening / Media). With significant
experience in gender issues and literature, Ayeta is a
founder member of FEMRITE and the Uganda
Women Writers’ Association. A regional judge of
the 2003 Commonwealth Writers’ Prize, Ayeta was
appointed in early 2009 as East African representative
on the Commonwealth Foundation’s Civil Society
Advisory Committee.
Contact information
Commonwealth Foundation, Marlborough House, Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HY United Kingdom
Telephone +44 (0)20 7930 3783 Fax +44 (0)20 7839 8157
E-mail [email protected] Website www.commonwealthfoundation.com
Using difference as
a source of strength