 |
|
|
|
Up to now development cooperation in many European countries has lacked a programmatic base for the support of cultural projects. Several European countries such as Sweden, Finland or the Netherlands are further advanced than Germany or France. In their development cooperation they are placing more and more emphasis on the creation and application of development strategies which are culturally sensitive and on the specific promotion of cultural projects. The success of these projects shows that culture is not an additional factor but rather a significant sector-crossing factor which should receive more consideration in the development cooperation of all European countries. In addition to stronger European involvement in the promotion of cultural development measures in the developing countries, the willingness must also grow in Europe to improve the distribution of artistic creations and cultural objects from developing countries on the European market and to take measures in the European countries to prevent the continuing loss of cultural objects in the developing countries. |
|
|
The following information outlines the specific national programmatic bases and exemplary projects concerning the cultural dimension of development cooperation programmes in European Countries. |
|
|
|
Finland |
|
Funds for international cultural development are granted by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Education. There are also some individual undertakings, most of which are implemented by NGOs on a single project basis. Some of the 75 embassies have also carried out cultural activities, mainly promoting Finnish culture abroad.
Finland has been innovative in recognising the importance of the cultural dimension as a primary, sector-crossing factor in development co-operation. Finnish policy thereby continues work on the objectives set out in the closing statement of the UNESCO Decade for Cultural Development in 1997.
Finland currently has bilateral relationships with 33 countries in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East. In Tanzania, Ethiopia, Mozambique and Namibia Finland supports cultural funds, giving these countries more say in the manner in which their art sector is financed. Finland also gives financial support to cultural festivals and projects for maintaining cultural heritage, e.g. in Vietnam. As a practical guide for everyone involved in development co-operation, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs released an English language publication: Navigating Culture: a Road Map to Culture and Development.
The instruments of cultural co-operation between Finland and the developing countries are the UNESCO framework, bilateral cultural exchange agreements, development co-operation, globalisation projects for schools and other educational institutes, and spontaneous civic action.
Within the Finnish Government the Ministry of Education is responsible for developing educational, scientific, cultural, sporting and youth policies and international co-operation in these fields. Some Ministry of Education subsidies go to developing countries. Cultural exchange under the scope of cultural agreements encompasses international interaction in the spheres of education, science, arts, cultural policy, the cultural heritage, sport and work with young adults. Finland has concluded cultural agreements or comparable arrangements with more than 40 countries, but only a few of these are developing countries.
In the end of May 2007 the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hanasaari - Swedish-Finnish Cultural Centre and the Nordic Council of Minister organised a conference titled Fair Culture - Culture for Sustainable Development. The conference was part of the Finnish Chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers. The participants of the conference were some 150 Nordic policy makers and officials from ministries responsible for foreign and cultural affairs, researchers, international and national organisations, NGOs and actors promoting or making use of cultural sector in development cooperation. The aim of the conference was to offer viewpoints to the role of culture and cultural sectors in development policy and cooperation through concrete cases and strategies. |
|
|
Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
|
www.formin.fi/Public/ |
|
|
Fair Culture-seminar |
|
www.minedu.fi/OPM/Tapahtumakalenteri/2007/05/reilu_kulttuuri.html
|
|
|
|
|
Austria |
|
Within the framework of the Austrian State Development Cooperation (OEZA) a law was passed in 2002 laying down the fundamental principle that projects are to be integrated in their socio-cultural environment:
"Development cooperation work brings different cultures and societies together. ... Critical discussions of culturally defined norms serve to review the measures and standards set by both sides and thus are of global significance. Cultural identity has its existence and develops mainly through processes of exchange. Thus it is a principle of Austrian development cooperation that every cooperative project should include the knowledge, experience and the abilities of the target population as far as possible."
For the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) founded in 2002, the cultural dimension of development and development cooperation is of major importance. The Agency has prepared an evaluation of the significance of culture and the cultural heritage according to topics in the work of the OEZA. The results are to be available in 2007.
As part of its educational, cultural and informative work in development politics, OEZA promotes cultural and art projects. The service point moving cultures of the NGO Vienna Institute for Development and Cooperation (vidc) was created as an advisory, transmission and information centre and it is subsidised by the state, ensuring continuity in this area. Moving cultures / vidc functions practically as a meeting and turning point on cultural exchange, is always working on the theoretical reflection of the topics and has been running conferences and cultural events on these topics for more than 10 years now.
The cooperation of moving cultures / vidc with the Ugandan Theatre Development Association (UDTA) and Ndere Troupe is now one of the best practise models of culture and development projects. Within this project, the network UDTA has been set up as an association of 1300 development theatre groups from all over Uganda. The Ndere Cultural Centre in Kampala was set up in 2004 with the assistance of the Austrian Development Cooperation in the Federal Ministry for External Affairs. |
|
|
Austrian Development Cooperation (OEZA) |
|
www.bmaa.gv.at/view.php3?f_id=1418&LNG=de&version= |
|
|
Austrian Development Agency (ADA) |
|
www.ada.gv.at |
|
|
moving cultures / vidc |
|
www.vidc.org/kultureninbewegung/ |
|
|
Ndere Cultural Centre in Kampala |
|
www.ndere.com
|
|
|
|
|
France |
|
Cultural action abroad is an age-old and fundamental element of France's foreign policy. Assisting cultural development in the South is a main focus in development cooperation, which is carried out by the Ministry for Cooperation and Foreign Affairs. The Ministry thus fosters artistic creation and facilitates its access to international markets. It encourages the professionalizing of cultural operators and offers assistance to States that wish to put cultural policies into place.
Afrique en Créations is a program to support the training of artists and cultural operators in Africa, run by the French Artistic Action Association (AFAA), a joint operator of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry for Culture and Communication. From 2003 to 2006 it contributed EUR 5.6 million to bringing the arts sector in Africa to a more professional level. Events such as the Encounters of African Photography, the Choreographic Dance Encounters of Africa and Indian Ocean, the Contemporary Art Biennale in Dakar, the International Festival of Nomad Music in Nouakchott, and the "Dialogue de Corps" Festival in Ouagadougou were initiated by Afrique en Créations.
The cooperation and development project entitled Museums for Development is coming to fruition. It is to create a unique relationship between the School of African Heritage in Porto Novo, Benin, a regional institution serving 26 French-, Portuguese- and Spanish-speaking African countries, and the Quai Branly Museum. The latter is to strengthen the cultural and scientific potential of African heritage sites and museums and to contribute, notably, the professionalizing of management and pedagogical expertise in receiving young visitors and designing temporary exhibitions.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, the SIR-CHAL programme (revitalisation programme of historic city centres in Latin America and the Caribbean), involves the Ministries of Culture and Foreign Affairs. It enables bilateral programmes to be carried out through the organisation of international seminars on the revitalisation of historic city centres. This way of working consolidates cooperation between government authorities, civil society and the private sector. |
|
|
Ministère des Affaires Ètrangères: Culture et Développement |
|
www.diplomatie.gouv.fr (English) |
|
|
Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication: Délégation au développement et aux affaires internationales (DDAI) |
|
www.culture.gouv.fr/culture/min/index-min.htm (English) |
|
|
Afrique en Créations |
|
www.diplomatie.gouv.fr (French) |
|
|
Culture et Developpement (national association which carries out parts of Afrique en Créations) |
|
www.culture-developpement.asso.fr (English)
|
|
|
|
|
Italy |
|
Foreign Affairs, officially assigns two priorities: the need for solidarity to safeguard human dignity, and the establishment of global economic stability through economic growth. Italian cultural policy, which is formally kept separated from development cooperation, is strongly focussed on the preservation of cultural heritage.
As a basic principle Italy has no specific agenda on culture and development, but works together on an international level with several institutions such as UNESCO and OECD and realizes national expertise on the preservation of heritage sites and monuments within European cultural and educational policy. The appropriate Ministries bring in the national chief focus on cultural heritage in the preferred bilateral development cooperation as well. Agreements on cultural and developmental action and cooperation exist with some Italian embassies in Africa, which focus on the exchange of experts and expertise between the national cultural institutions.
Museum and university collaborations were instigated by Italy on a European level, but also with other countries, including Cameroon, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Mali and Sudan. |
|
|
Ciampi: Cooperation with Africa carries on |
|
AGI) - Rome, Italy, May 25, 2005 - After handing back the Axum obelisk to Ethiopia, Italy wants to pursue its cooperation with Africa for the safeguard of the continent's cultural heritage. "We want to cooperate, through multilateral and bilateral agreements, to the preservation of Africa's cultural, environmental and artistic heritage", said president Ciampi, speaking at the Africa Day event. "It is with this spirit we gave the Axum obelisk back to Ethiopia. A further effort is due". (AGI) |
|
|
Ministero degli Affari Esteri: Cooperazione allo Sviluppo (development cooperation) |
|
www.esteri.it/eng/4_28_66_71.asp (English)
|
|
|
|
|
Norway |
|
In 2006 the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has launched its "Strategy for Norway's culture and sports co-operation with countries in the South," which places culture at the heart of its future development cooperation policy. "The question is no longer whether culture can play a role in development, but how, and what consequences the new emphasis on immaterial factors should have for practical policy," says Hilde Johnson, Norway's Minister of International Development in the introduction to the strategy which was launched at UNESCO headquarters in Paris in December 2005.
According to the Norwegian government, culture plays a key role in the efforts to create favourable framework conditions for poverty reduction, for example by contributing to the creation of a well-functioning civil society with active organisations and broad popular participation.
Since 2000, Norad, the directorate for development collaboration under the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has supported culture projects in Israel, Egypt, India and China and is involved in the rehabilitation of cultural legacy in Pakistan (Hunza Valley) and Ethiopia (Gondar). Providing a stage for each other's cultural expressions was the foremost objective.
The strategy covers artistic activity, contact among intellectuals, media development, cultural heritage and sport. The measures include exchange activities and support for the establishment and strengthening of cultural institutions in the South. |
|
|
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Strategy for Norway's culture and sports co-operation with countries in the South |
|
odin.dep.no/filarkiv/265661/culture.pdf |
|
|
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway |
|
odin.dep.no/ud/english/bn.html |
|
|
The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad): Culture and development cooperation |
|
www.norad.no/default.asp?V_ITEM_ID=1566
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
