From the Focal Point

Culture: Key to Sustainable Development

The International Congress entitled Culture: Key to Sustainable Development, organized by UNESCO with the support of the Government of the People's Republic of China, will be held in Hangzhou, China, on 15-17 May 2013. The Congress will examine the multifaceted role of culture in achieving sustainable development goals. It aims at informing the global sustainable development stakeholders' decisions in view of the post-2015 United Nations agenda; at engaging the international community in an open debate on the contribution of culture to sustainable development; and at providing state-of-the-art knowledge, research and best practices on the contribution of culture to sustainable development at the policy and operational levels.

The results of this Congress will also serve as a substantial input to the discussion on the framework for the United Nations post-2015 sustainable development agenda. While culture was absent from the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), integrating the cultural dimension into actions and goals in achieving sustainable development is an approach that is making its way on the international level. The outcome document of the MDG Summit, Keeping the Promise: United to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (2010), emphasized the importance of culture for development and its contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. Despite the progress made, the most recent United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20 held in June 2012, accorded a very modest weight to culture. The Rio+20 experience shows that unless a broad and in depth examination of the nexus between culture and sustainable development is done within the global community, the post-2015 development framework and decision makers will not be fully informed on the effective contribution of culture to sustainable development.

For further information on the Congress, please consult its website.

Quel avenir et quelles missions pour l'UNESCO à horizon 2020

The contribution of culture to sustainable development was also the central theme of the lecture recently organized by the French non-profit association GERM (Group for Studies and Research on Globalisations) and held by Biserka Cvjeticanin (Culturelink/IRMO) under the title Quel avenir et quelles missions pour l'UNESCO à horizon 2020? (Toulouse, France, 27 March 2013). The specific role of culture in development processes is that it transcends the sectorial divisions and the very sectorial approach, facilitating communication between various realms/categories of human creativity, as well as between different societies, countries, groups and individuals. The interdependence of cultures as developmental interdependence represents a pluralism of values and relations between cultures.

The lectures may be downloaded from the GERM website.

1.   Museums Galleries Scotland Conference on Organisational Sustainability

Museums Galleries Scotland (MGS) is organizing a conference entitled Fortune Favours the Brave, to be held in Glasgow, UK, on 12 September 2013. The central theme is organizational sustainability. The deadline for proposals is 15 April 2013. >>>

2.   Call for Papers on African Philanthropy in Africa e Mediterraneo

Issue no. 78/2013 of the revue Africa e Mediterraneo aims to examine the evolution of African philanthropy. Articles may focus on formal or informal, vertical or horizontal, individual or community-based forms of philanthropy. Deadline for submissions is 15 April 2013. >>>

3.   Join the European Cultural Parliament's Youth Network

The European Cultural Parliament's Youth Network (ECP-YN) is a Pan-European Network of young professionals boosting the value of the arts and culture across Europe through professional networking and collaborative projects. The ECP-YN is advertising a call for new members to enlarge the UK team. Deadline for submissions is 15 April 2013. >>>

4.   IFPC Call for Proposals 2013

The International Fund for the Promotion of Culture (IFPC) is launching a 2013 call for proposals for artistic and creative projects. Priority will be given to young artists/creators (18-30 years) and to projects benefiting youth. The deadline for submissions is 2 May 2013. >>>

5.   Apply for the 2013 Cultural Policy Research Award

The European Cultural Foundation (ECF) and the leading European Network on Cultural Management and Cultural Policy Education (ENCATC) have launched the call for applications for the 2013 Cultural Policy Research Award (CPRA). The deadline for applications is 31 May 2013. >>>

6.   International Music Fellow: A New Programme of the IMC

The International Music Council (IMC) has announced the establishment of a new recognition programme: the International Music Fellow. Nominations for recognition at the 5th World Forum on Music in Brisbane, Australia on 21-24 November 2013 should be received before 15 August 2013. >>>

7.   Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts Grants

Tha Salzburg International Summer Academy of Fine Arts offers numerous grants for participation in one of the 21 courses of between one and four weeks, to be held from 22 July to 31 August 2013 in three locations: the Hohensalzburg Fortress, the old salt factory (Alte Saline) in Hallein, and the Kiefer quarry in Fürstenbrunn. Application deadline is 10 April 2013. >>>

8.   The Learning Museum (LEM) Final Conference

The final conference of the LEM project, a network project funded by the Lifelong Learning Programme Grundtvig (2010-2013), will take place in Bologna, Italy, on 19-20 September 2013. The deadline for grant applications is 16 April 2013. >>>

9.   The Power of Culture as Catalyst in Sustainable Development

The World Culture in Development Forum 2013 will be held in Bali, Indonesia, on 24-29 November 2013, with the aim of creating a space to discuss, debate and contest established ideas and approaches, and in doing so recommend new pathways for locating culture as an integral part of sustainable development. >>>

10.   Cultural Value Network: A Collaborative Initiative

The objective of the Cultural Value Network is to contribute to developing a critical and novel research agenda around cultural value, and a constructive and collaborative debate between academic researchers, cultural policy makers and practitioners. It is a collaborative Initiative between UK and Australian partners. >>>

11.   Introducing the Creative Industries. From Theory to Practice

A much needed textbook taking students through both the theory and practice of the creative industries. It not only grounds students in the key concepts of cultural economy, but introduces them to the realities of working - and succeeding - in the creative industries. >>>

12.   Critical Arts: A Journal of South-North Cultural and Media Studies

Special attention should be paid to the article "The Presentation of Bushmen in Cultural Tourism: Tourists' Images of Bushmen and the Tourism Provider's Presentation of (Hai//om) Bushmen at Treesleeper Camp, Namibia" by Anna Hüncke and Stasja Koot. >>>

13.   Flat-Lined but Still Alive - Analyses of the Provincial and Territorial 2012-13 Budgets from the Perspective of Arts, Culture and Heritage

The Centre on Governance at the University of Ottawa and the Canadian Conference of the Arts (which was forced to shut down its Secretariat in November 2012) have published this study and made it available online. >>>

14.   Reimagining Democratic Societies: A New Era of Personal and Social Responsibility

Reimagining democratic societies, although a demanding task, is one in which higher education must engage. As societies change, our understanding of democracy must also evolve. >>>

15.   Over the Channel. Artistes et espaces publics transmanche (Cross-Channel Artists and Public Spaces)

This bilingual book by John Ellingsworth and Marc Villemain follows the creative process of two large scale performances, Waterlitz and Barricade, created following the various journeys experienced by the artists through the landscapes and with the communities within the European Zone of Artistic Projects (ZEPA) area. >>>

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