Opening address by Ambassador Hans-Heinrich Wrede Chairman of the Executive Board

Transcription

1 U Opening address by Ambassador Hans-Heinrich Wrede Chairman of the Executive Board The Fourth International Congress Culture and Development Thinking the World from Culture: Towards peace, truth and human emancipation Havana, Cuba, 6 June 2005

2 Minister of Culture, Abel E. Prieto Jiménez Director of the Havana office, Francisco José Lacayo Parajon, Moderator, Omar Gonzalez, Deputy Assistant Director-General of Culture at UNESCO, Milagros del Corral, Excellencies, Dear Colleagues, (1) It is an honour and pleasure to be present today for the 4 th International Congress Culture and Development. Culture, Andre Malraux once said, is the sum of all forms of art, thought and love. This Congress is the sum of many remarkable individuals of our time, among them, several Nobel Prize winners, representing an array of different cultures and traditions. I look forward to lively and constructive exchanges. I would like to take this opportunity to thank wholeheartedly my hosts for such a thoroughly enjoyable visit to the beautiful country of Cuba and its wonderful people. (2) Culture, together with education, and development have always been inseparably interwoven; the French revolutionary Danton put it very succinctly some centuries ago: Next to bread, education is man s greatest need. And this is evident: Cuba has clearly recognized this need. Poets like José Marti fought for Cuban independence; Don Domingo Monte created the Peña to promote culture with a tropical flavour ; popular music such as the Son continues to evolve, and, like Nicolas Guillén, numerous Cuban artists and writers have created a rich legacy in education, theatre, and painting throughout the world. Cuba is an amazing country, with over 500 years of history and with a rich and diverse culture. Havana itself is proof of this; indeed, the centre of Old Havana has been a World Heritage site since

3 (3) This Conference s theme: Thinking the world from culture: Towards peace, truth and human emancipation aptly applies to our times and to this setting. The growing pace of globalization has raised new challenges. UNESCO has created standard-setting instruments to preserve our fragile social and cultural heritages. In November 2001, UNESCO adopted the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity. A convention on the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was adopted in October 2003 to protect oral traditions, customs and expressions. Currently, our Organization and its 191 Member States are working on a Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. (4) What are the global, regional, national and local trends affecting our heritage? Unfortunately, the fast-paced 21 st century is excluding too many underprivileged, impoverished people. Yet, we must ensure that all cultures can express themselves and make themselves known. Article Three of the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity also states: Cultural diversity widens the range of options open to everyone; it is one of the roots of development, understood not simply in terms of economic growth, but also as a means to achieve a more satisfactory intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual existence. (5) Advancing cultural diversity globally is the role of civil society as well as the role of policy makers. Supporting the arts and related artistic programming just makes sense - and good business sense as well! Not only do the arts enrich the communities in which people live and work by offering a diverse range of cultural expression they are also a vital component to building strong, economically sound communities. UNESCO is working on The Artists in Development Programme (AiD) designed to foster skills among artists and creators in developing countries that can be turned into income-generating activities. (6) Over the recent decades, policy makers and the private sector have become increasingly aware of the important contribution cultural industries can make to their economies. Now, worldwide, cultural industries are the fifth largest economic sector in turnover after financial services, IT, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology and tourism. It 2

4 is estimated that the global value of creative industries will increase from 831 billion US dollars in 2000 to 1.3 trillion US dollars by the end of In some developing countries, cultural industries already account for a significant portion of the economy as well. Colombia s cultural sector, for example, contributed more to GDP in 2000 than more traditional sectors such as coffee cultivation. (7) Culture is not passive. It is fast growing and becoming more labour intensive. This potential remains to be exploited, but it requires an integrated, pluralistic, and responsible approach. For instance, culture is a driving force in tourism, but, uncontrolled, it can have adverse affects. This conference will offer artists, researchers, cultural managers, government authorities, international organisations and institutions ample opportunity to examine the relationship between arts, culture and development within our cities, neighbourhoods and communities. (8) On behalf of UNESCO, and its Executive Board, I would like to convey to you our best wishes for a rewarding and results-oriented congress. This year, in November, we are celebrating UNESCO s 60 th anniversary a good occasion to rededicate ourselves to the noble objectives of this Organization. I allow myself to quote from UNESCO s Constitution of 1945 (Article One): La Organización se propone contribuir a la paz y a la seguridad estrechando, mediante la educación, la ciencia y la cultura, la colaboración entre las naciones, a fin de asegurar el respeto universal a la justicia, a la ley, a los derechos humanos y a las libertades fundamentales Now in case you don t understand my Spanish, here it is in English: The purpose of the Organization is to contribute to peace and security by promoting collaboration among the nations through education, science and culture in order to further universal respect for justice, for the rule of law and for the human rights and fundamental freedoms Of course, just paying lip service to human rights serves nothing. What is urgently needed, is the full respect and comprehensive implementation of all human rights, be 3

5 they civil and political rights, or be they economic, social and cultural rights. All of them have to be equally observed. And certainly, the denial of any right, wherever in the world, does not justify the disregard of any other right recognized by the international community. In concluding, let me emphasize this: We are all looking for ways to preserve and promote cultural diversity in a very positive and forward-moving sense. For this, we need full international cooperation. The precious, vulnerable domain of culture should be guided by dialogue and tolerance, by openness and mutual understanding, thus benefiting each and every country, and all people. After all, and I am quoting from what Sigmund Freud wrote to Albert Einstein some 70 years ago: Whatever fosters the growth of culture, works at the same time against war. 4