Summary of the report
general introduction
Development is more than economics. The United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) has identified the concept of human development: essentially
it is the process of increasing people's range of choices.
But while 'Culture' has always been implicitly part of this idea, it was never referred to
explicitly. One of the aims of the World Commission on Culture and Development ('the
Commission') is to give culture a permanent place in development thinking. Culture is
defined in the wider, anthropological sense of the word: it encompasses the entire range
of spiritual, material and intellectual values that typify a particular group or society.
In its conclusion, the Commission notes that culture is more than just a means of
achieving material prosperity: it is the ultimate object of 'development', assuming
development to be the flourishing of human existence in all its forms and in its entirety.
Cultural diversity is the source of creativity, not, as often suggested, the source of
conflict. Like bio-diversity, it is an irreplaceable asset, bringing people into contact
with the entire range of human experience and wisdom.
Sub-themes include (corresponding with the chapters of the report)
Each theme is introduced with a short summary of the chapter linked to various discussion topics.
