Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Stephen Chifunyise
21 May 2008
Harare — Zimbabwe today joins the rest of the world in commemorating World Culture Day.
This year, the celebrations to mark the day are not only aimed at promoting the recognition, by all, of the critical role of culture in sustainable development but most importantly highlighting the importance of protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions.
World Culture Day was established by Unesco during the World Decade for Cultural Development (1988-1997) as a day to highlight the role culture plays in development and to ensure that all people are aware that cultural rights are fundamental human rights.
While the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions or indeed cultural diversity is the central theme this year, On this day, it would be necessary to take cognisance of the Unesco Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore.
This recommendation was made after considering the "folklore forms part of the universal heritage of humanity and that it is a powerful means of bringing together different peoples and social groups and asserting their cultural identity." The recommendation adopted at the 24th Session of the General Assembly of Unesco in November 1989 stressed the need in "all countries for the recognition of the role of folklore and the danger it faces from multiple of factors." In that recommendation governments were called on to play decisive roles in the safeguarding of folklore that was define as the "totality of tradition-based creations of a cultural community expressed by a groups or individuals and recognised as reflecting the expectations of a community in so far as they reflect its cultural and social identity. Its forms are language, literature, music, game, mythology, rituals, customs, handicrafts, architecture and other arts."
The Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore contains aspects to do with the identification of folklore, its conservation, protection and international cooperation in the field of knowledge and dissemination of folklore.
It is therefore critical that on this World Culture Day, all communities are encouraged to appreciate the importance of folklore as an integral part of cultural heritage and living culture and to ensure that there are programmes aimed at safeguarding al folklore.
In his message to the First Pan African Cultural Congress held in November 2006 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the Director -- General of Unesco Mr Koichiro Matsuura reminded African leaders, scholars, artists and cultural workers of the critical role of culture in development when he said: "Culture like education, lies at the root of sustainable development.
Firmly rooted in ancestral values it can also be a source of dialogue , exchange, innovation and creativity and the foundation of endogenous systems of solidarity, forms of expression and means of transmission. Today culture is also widely recognised as an essential basis for identity. It is important that these aspects of culture are widely promoted during this World Culture Day, through public debate and discourse, seminars, workshops, colloquia, exhibitions, fairs and festivals and in all communities and through all media.
In the same message to the First Pan African Cultural Congress Mr. Matsuura stressed that culture contributed to a "more fulfilling intellectual, moral and spiritual existence, while giving an often un recognized potential in terms of economic development, social cohesion and poverty reduction."
It is therefore vital that on this World Culture Day, the unrecognized potential of culture in terms of economic development, social cohesion and poverty reduction is highlighted to all people and all authorities made to appreciate this vital contribution of culture to national development.
In 2002 the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed the period 2005 -2014 as the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development.
It is essential that as we celebrate the World Culture Day during the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development we also appreciate the point made by Mr. Matsuura on the interaction between culture and education and their potential synergies.
"Education is a fundamental human right and the most powerful lever for the promotion of welfare, civic and social advancement, democracy, human rights and peace. Education thus fosters an environment that allows pluralism, knowledge and cultural diversity to prosper."
We should also use this day to ask what type of cultural education has been introduced in the educational curriculum at all levels of our education systems.
It is equally critical that on this day we find time to revisit the Recommendation Concerning the Status of the Artist adopted in Belgrade in October 1980 at the 21st Session of the General Conference of Unesco.
The recommendation was based on the recognition of the fact that " the vigour and vitality of the arts depend on the well being of artists both individually and collectively" and that artists must be able to " defend their common interests and must have the right to be recognised as a professional category and constitute trade unions and professional organisations."
The recommendation was also based on the need to take "account as far as possible of the opinion of artists in the formulation and implementation of cultural policies and for that purpose to provide them with the means for effective action."
Artists need to use this day to take stock of issues such as the training of artists, their social and economic status, their employment, working and living conditions, the capacity of their trade union organizations as well as measures that should be taken in all communities to stimulate artistic talent.
Artists and other cultural workers should on this day take time to dialogue among themselves on issues to do with material conditions that facilitate the release of their creative talents and the actions they should take collectively to advocate for the existence of such material conditions. Although the objective of promoting the diversity of cultural expressions during this World Culture Day is quite obvious and critical, it is however necessary that on this day we also take time to appreciate more the Convention of the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity Cultural Expressions itself.
One way of understanding and appreciating the Convention is to study the answer provided by the 30 most frequently asked questions concerning the Convention especially those to do with the context, text and operations of the Convention.
The important issues to appreciate concerning this convention have been stated in the document on the 30 most frequently asked questions which states: "Today cultural ideas and expressions -- whether in the form of books, CDs, cassettes, live performance, radio and television programmes, films, videos, DVDs or Internet are largely transmitted through increasingly technical and industrial forms of production and distribution.
"Given this radical change in the modes of creation and enjoyment of culture, the question arises as to whether everyone partakes of the same advantages." This, in many respects, is the question we ought to ask on this World Culture Day. Have the methods we have used to disseminate or distribute cultural activities, goods and services enabled the majority of our people to have " access to and enjoyment of a wide range of cultural expressions of diverse origin? On this World Culture Day we should ask ourselves what we have done to ensure that in nations, individuals can have access to the diversity of cultural expressions of both foreign and domestic origin. How have we structured and organised cultural festivals, exhibitions and fairs?
Do our rural communities have access to the rich diversity of cultural expressions largely "transmitted as cultural activities, goods and services that respond largely to economic logic?"
It is also important that on this World Culture Day we try to understand what rights are conferred to our nation as a party to the Convention and the role of international co-operation in increasing the "capacities for the creation, production, dissemination and distribution of cultural expressions", the role of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the role and functions of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity as well as the provisions of the Convention that are aimed at benefiting developing countries.
Those involved in cultural heritage preservation should also use this World Culture Day to discuss the national action towards the production of the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguard that should be submitted to Intergovernmental Committee on the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Also worth discussing is our national action plan on the compilation of the representative list of the intangible heritage of humanity and our strategies for the implementation of national plans for safeguarding Jerusarema dance which in 2005 was proclaimed by Unesco as a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
In many respects, World Culture Day should be a day for drawing public attention to various aspects and issues about culture. The day should be an instrument for awareness raising and for increased visibility of the role of culture in national development.
In this regard therefore it is not adequate to concentrate our celebrations of the day to few performing arts events but to ensure that all people are aware of the day and are involved in a wide diversity of events of culture and programmes that high- light the critical place of culture in national development.
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