Advocate now for culture to be included in the MDGs

IFACCA,
05 June 2013, Australia

Various UN events starting next week will decide the future development agenda and have a significant impact on public spending on culture. IFACCA has prepared a briefing document on the process and proposes actions that can be taken to advocate for culture to be acknowledged in the future goals as an ‘enabler and driver of sustainable development’.  

There are several processes currently underway within the United Nations to set new global goals for aid and development – see below for information on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

While there have already been a number of lead-up events the key events that will influence the UN’s decision-making are:

12 June: in New York – A thematic debate on culture and development convened by the President of the UN General Assembly. To see the agenda and avenues of debate see this Concept Note: 

www.un.org/en/ga/president/67/letters/pdf/Thematic%20Debate_Culture%20and%20Development%20-%2019%20April%202013.pdf 

1-4 July: in Geneva – A session of the high-level segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) entitled ‘Science, technology and innovation, and the potential of culture, for promoting sustainable development and achieving the Millennium Development Goals’   www.un.org/en/ecosoc/julyhls/index13.shtml  See Pages 14-16 of the ‘advanced unedited version’ of the  report for the ECOSOC’s Annual Ministerial Review which provides arguments why culture is important to development www.un.org/en/ecosoc/docs/adv2013/13_amr_sg_report.pdf.   The ECOSOC adopts a Ministerial Declaration at its Annual Ministerial Review and we have been advised that arguments about culture would be welcome in that context.

National Consultations – United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) processes already underway. See www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/mdg.html   The first UNDP report has already been launched ‘The Global conversation begins’ www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/mdg/global-conversation-begins/ 

25 September:  The UN General Assembly where the MDGs will be formally reviewed – and an outcome negotiated (if not already agreed in advance). 

6-9 October: in Cape Town - Arterial Network third Creative Economy Conference.   Given that the MDGs are most relevant to this continent, and given the emphasis on culture and development – and the creative and cultural industries as an expression of this – within the African development agenda over recent years, these issues are going to be thoroughly interrogated and will hopefully influence future deliberations and strategies.  http://www.arterialnetwork.org/projects/2013-african-creative-economy-conference 

24-29 November: in Bali – the World Culture in Development Forum www.wcf-bali.com/ hosted by the President of Indonesia (a co-chair of the High Level of Eminent Persons (see below)).

13-16 January 2014: in Santiago de Chile– World Summit on Arts and Culture www.artsummit.org - co-hosted by the Chilean National Council on Culture and the Arts and IFACCA.

On Monday 3 June, IFACCA received an email from UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, Francesco Bandarin, which reflects on the issue of culture and development and calls on agencies to advocate for the role of culture in sustainable development. Mr Bandarin’s email was sent to IFACCA as one of the participants invited to attend a major UNESCO Congress (co-hosted with various Chinese Governments) in Hangzhou, China, in May. About 400 attended including two people who serve on the board of IFACCA (Bilel Aboudi from the Ministry of Culture of Tunisia and Elise Huffer from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community) and Mike Van Graan (African Arts Institute and IFACCA regional coordinator for Africa) and many other UN agencies, government representatives, arts and culture organisations, academics and other experts on culture and development. To quote Charles Vallerand of the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity: ‘The conference was of high significance for the Chinese host … The Vice Premier Ms Liu Yandong made clear in her opening speech to the Conference that China would stand next to the UNESCO in its plea for culture to be included in the post-2015 UN development agenda.’

The Hangzhou Declaration arising from this Congress and many other resources are available here: www.unesco.org/culture/hangzhou-congress  and www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/resources/the-hangzhou-declaration-heralding-the-next-era-of-human-development/

Many international agencies (both intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations - see below) are joining the efforts to advocate for culture to be integrated into the MDGs and the global development agenda in the future.  IFACCA and three other agencies (United Cities and Local Governments Culture Committee, International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity, and Culture Action Europe) were successful in Hangzhou in having the following wording added to the final declaration: “We recommend… that a specific Goal focused on culture be included as part of the post-2015 UN development agenda, to be based on heritage, diversity, creativity and the transmission of knowledge and including clear targets and indicators that relate culture to all dimensions of sustainable development.”   

And, of course, many other agencies are also advocating for their concerns (other than culture) to be reflected in the development agenda.  Indeed, there are those advocating against culture being part of the development agenda due to the perception that cultural diversity can be divisive or that the arts, the making of meaning and cultural practices can be construed as a luxury and not as core to human wellbeing.

It is important to ensure that cogent and convincing arguments are heard at the very highest levels in the UN as to why culture must not continue to be left out of the goals for sustainable development.

Background – Why this matters
The eight internationally-agreed upon Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) drive  the way in which governments worldwide and international agencies such as the World Bank spend billions of dollars every year on development initiatives. The MDGs also drive the way in which development is evaluated. See for example,  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennium_Development_Goals and www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/2013/may/29/millennium-development-goals-progress .

The MDGs were set in 2000 with a 15-year horizon.  However, the process of revising them is already underway (as described above) and decisions are likely to be made in the coming weeks that will seal the future of these goals.

There has been wide international concern that CULTURE is not recognised in the current MDGs – as either a means to achieve sustainable development, as an issue that should be considered in the evaluation of development programs, or as Goal in its own right.  For arguments on why this should change see the Hangzhou Declaration or other the other papers provided below.   

If culture was to be acknowledged in the future goals as an ‘enabler and driver of sustainable development’, it would represent a quantum leap in the awareness of the value of culture to societies, stimulate engagement between future development programs and the local cultures in which they operate, and enable governments and international aid agencies to allocate far greater resources to cultural programs.  

Key Agencies involved in developing the post-2015 agenda 

  • The United Nations and the Millennium Development Goals -  www.un.org/millenniumgoals/ . For information on previous UN debates on culture and development see:   http://www.un.org/ga/search/view_doc.asp?symbol=%20A/RES/66/208  and  http://whc.unesco.org/uploads/events/documents/event-794-1.pdf    
  • ECOSOC – specifically see the details here regarding the MDG review process www.un.org/en/ecosoc/about/mdg.shtml 
  • High-level Panel of Eminent Persons www.post2015hlp.org/  and www.un.org/sg/management/hlppost2015.shtml established by UN Secretary General to provide guidance and recommendations on the post-2015 development agenda. The panel is chaired by the Presidents of Indonesia and Liberia and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Its 27 members include representatives from the private sector, academia, civil society and local authorities. The Panel has just published its report on 30 May 2013.  The executive summary is at:  www.un.org/sg/management/pdf/HLP_P2015_Executive_Summary.pdf   NOTE: This new report suggests that the current MDGs do not integrate the economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainable development, and identifies shortcomings in the areas of the world’s very poorest and most excluded people, the effects of conflict and violence, good governance and institutions that guarantee the rule of law, free speech and open and accountable government, and on inclusive growth to provide jobs. However, it is of great concern that the report makes virtually no reference to the word ‘culture’ and there is nothing in the final recommendations that suggests that the revision of the MDGs should take account of culture. 

Examples of the many other agencies that are currently concerned about the post-2015 Development Agenda


As UNESCO notes (in its briefing documents): 
‘…what is still missing is a globally agreed and shared recognition that development programmes and strategies at the global, regional and local levels should integrate culture within their goals, indicators and targets. Without such actions, and the giving of related guidance on human capacity-building, the potential of culture to contribute to sustainable development risks being largely untapped in many regions of the world. 

‘… the major challenge is to convince political decision-makers and local, national and international social actors to integrate the principles of cultural diversity and the values of cultural pluralism into all public policies, mechanisms and practices, particularly through public/private partnerships.’

What you can do: 
Please note that these are not specific recommendations of the IFACCA board or membership - they are for your individual consideration depending on the circumstances in your country. 

However, they are consistent with IFACCA’s vision of ‘a world in which the arts are valued in themselves and for their contribution to strengthening communities and enriching lives’ and our mission to ‘improve the capacity and effectiveness of government arts funding agencies to benefit society through networking, advocacy and research’.

 

  • Familiarise yourself with the issues, and in particular the arguments provided in the Hangzhou Declaration and the materials provided above.
  • If appropriate, urgently communicate your concerns about Culture being included in the post-2015 MDGs to relevant government agencies such as your Minister for Culture, your Minister for Foreign Affairs, and your delegation to the UN.  Ultimately it is the member states that will influence and vote on the new development goals so it is important that your representative at the UN has the necessary information about this issue before the debate on 12 June.
  • Find out if there are UNDP national consultations taking place in your country and seek to include culture into those debates.
  • Circulate information about this issue to your own networks and civil society organisations in your country via email or social media (In Twitter you can use #culture2015goal )
  • Advise us of any news about the issue that we could share with others (via our new Topic Page on Culture and Development http://www.ifacca.org/topic/culture-and-development/) or any feedback you have on the material provided above by contacting [email protected]

We hope you have found this briefing useful and that together we can influence the outcome of the current deliberations.

http://www.ifacca.org/topic/culture-and-development/