Marking 25 years of Arts Council Local Authority partnership, this landmark conference will take place at the Irish World Academy at the University of Limerick on 25 and 26 November. The conference will explore the role of the arts and culture in achieving local economic and social development objectives, and how we can unlock the potential of future integrated planning in these areas. Chaired by Olivia O’Leary, senior contributors from Ireland, the UK and Australia will present papers. 

Our invited key note speaker Jon Hawkes, a cultural analyst and one of Australia’s leading commentators on cultural policy, wrote The Fourth Pillar of Sustainability: Culture’s Essential Role in Public Planning in 2001. In it he addresses the need for a cultural perspective in public planning and policy by proposing practical measures for integration. In order for public planning to be more effective, Hawkes argues that governments must develop a framework that evaluates the cultural impacts of environmental, economic, and social decisions and plans that are currently being implemented in cities and communities. What is now known as 'fourth pillar' thinking has been gaining substantial currency in policy and planning initiatives in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe.

The conference is aimed at key policy makers such as City and County Managers, senior local authority and enterprise officials as well as local public representatives and providers in the arts and cultural field.  Incorporating a live recording of RTE’s Sunday Miscellany, the conference will also offer an opportunity to celebrate what has been achieved over the past 25 years of local arts development.