The Power of Culture

Developing countries often assign a minor role to culture in their plans to reduce poverty. The Swedish organisation Sida recently reviewed sixteen Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs) and concluded that in nearly half the cases culture was not mentioned at all or else was merely seen a factor holding back development.

No less than 86 representatives of artists" initiatives and cultural organisations from Argentina plus another 22 from neighbouring Latin-American countries met in Buenos Aires as part of the Encuentro ("The Meeting") event. Never before had so many Latin-American artists" initiatives met to share information and exchange experiences.

On 1 December 2005 the conference 'The Heart of the Matter' will be held in The Hague, discussing the part culture can play in integrating the Balkan into the European Union. Violeta Simjanovska considers art and culture to be the basic elements for continued social, cultural and economic development.

At the end of October, with 148 yeas, 2 nays and 4 abstained votes, UNESCO approved the convention on cultural diversity: the 'Convention on the protection and promotion of diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions'.

The Gate Foundation, an institution that since 1988 has made a unique contribution to efforts to bring modern, contemporary, non-Western visual arts to the Netherlands, is having to close its doors.

The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs wants to end the taboo on the inclusion of religion in the field of development cooperation. In a first step towards achieving this goal, the Ministry has set up a Religion and Development Policy Knowledge Forum. The AIV, the Advisory Council on International Affairs, has researched this subject and come forward with recommendations.