UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION. Address by Mr Federico Mayor

Transcription

1 ~a DG/92/34 UNITED NATIONS EDUCATIONAL, SCIENTIFIC AND CULTURAL ORGANIZATION ; Address by Mr Federico Mayor Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to the Canadian Institute of International Affairs at the mid-term of the World Decade for Cultural Development Quebec, P.Q., 21 September 1992

2 DG/92/34 (The Director-General began his speech in French) The organizers of our meeting have asked me to talk to you about the World Decade for Cultural Development. But first of all, I should like us to look at what we mean by 'culture'. For the nineteenth century English poet and critic Matthew Arnold, culture was 'acquainting ourselves with the best that has been known and said in the world, and thus with the history of the human spirit'. This traditional viewpoint tends to identify culture with the past and to link it primarily with fine arts and literature; a cultured person is one whose mind has been improved, and preferably enriched, by the 'humanities'. In the twentieth century, another, much broader, meaning which takes a more anthropological approach has been grafted on to this first definition. At the World Conference on Cultural Policies held in Mexico City ten years ago, the international community took note of this broader definition and affirmed that culture could be regarded as 'the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society or social group', and that 'it includes not only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs'. In this sense, culture no longer refers simply to knowledge of the arts; it also covers language, thought, innovation, creativity and critical skills. Naturally it includes the material heritage of a society, but it also extends to the shared symbolic, spiritual or ethical heritage in which individuals find their identity in the present. When seen in this light, culture shapes our reflexes and behaviour, which in turn contribute to our culture. It is the thread that links the past, present and future of a society and the backdrop for individual creativity. Culture is therefore both a source of major political, economic and social problems and a key factor in solving them. The World Decade for Cultural Development reflects this broader view of culture and shows how closely it is intertwined with human development. The Decade, launched on 21 January 1988, and whose activities are co-ordinated by UNESCO, has four goals: strengthening acknowledgement of the cultural dimension of development; affirming and enriching cultural identities; broadening participation in culture; promoting international cultural co-operation. (The Director-General continued in English) Through its work for the safeguarding of the world's cultural heritage, the publication of regional cultural histories, the promotion of artistic creation, the translation of representative works from diverse cultures, the promotion of minority languages, large-scale intercultural projects such as the Integral Study of the Silk Roads and the Five-Hundredth Anniversary of

3 DG/92/34 - page 2 the Encounter between Two Worlds - including the Amerindia '92 initiative, the first part of which brought together some 800 native peoples of the Americas for one week in Hull, Quebec, last fall to address the theme 'Strengthening the Spirit: Beyond 500 Years' -, and a multitude of other activities too numerous to mention, UNESCO has for many years been pursuing the last three of these objectives. The function of the Decade is to highlight the importance of these activities and above all to make the connection with the first and main objective of the Decade- to ensure that the cultural dimension is taken fully into account in development strategies and projects. Unlike economic theories, most development theories are of fairly recent date. They were in many ways the product of the decolonization process which began after the Second World War. Indeed, development thinking in the Western world was for a long time based on the experience acquired in the reconstruction of Europe in the aftermath of that war, and on the success of the Marshall Plan. Other development theories were rooted in the Soviet model of a centrally planned economy. Neither of these models left much room for consideration of the socio-cultural context in which development might take place. Economics was reality, culture was something else. Economics was tangible, culture was intangible - and the idea that culture could make an input to development strategies would have been considered farfetched indeed. Development then was seen as taking place in a cultural vacuum or an inert human environment. For several decades right up to the 1980s, mainstream development thinking seemed blind to its shortcomings, and even its failures. Yet the evidence is incontrovertible - focusing on the one-dimensional abstraction of homo economicus not only neglects the enormous depth and breadth of our real nature as human beings but is a failure even in its own terms. Simply put, it makes for poor economics since economic growth is significantly dependent on the cultural variable of creativity and adaptability. The cultural dimension, it has become increasingly clear, impinges decisively on the economic sphere. The World Decade for Cultural Development aims to reinstate culture at the centre of our development thinking and action. Culture, long regarded by policy-makers as something of an ornament or even a luxury, is at last starting to find its proper place in the political agenda of the international community. During the general policy debate at the twenty-sixth session of the UNESCO General Conference last autumn, the heads of many delegations referred in their statements to the multifarious ways in which culture exercises a key influence in the contemporary world. Many examples were cited. Inter-ethnic relations, whether in times of strife or of peaceful coexistence, are clearly rooted essentially in culture. The worldwide movement towards greater democracy and freedom is at once universal and culture-specific, differing in its form from continent to continent and society to society. To take a third example, the relationship between society and nature, or, if you will, between culture and environment, is in the forefront of world concerns today. For while there are certainly important technical and political questions to be resolved as regards the environment, the issue is clearly not only a scientific or even a political one. More than anything else, the state of the planet's environment is a reflection of our values and our attitudes - and any changes in our relationship with the earth's environment will necessarily entail a radical reappraisal in this regard. In a word, the state of the environment is to an important extent a reflection of the state of our culture.

4 DG/92/34 - page 3 Having situated the World Decade in the context in which it was conceived, I would now ask you to reflect for a moment on the enormous, almost unimaginable changes which have taken place in the world since the Decade was launched in Consider the situation then and now: in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union; in large parts of Africa, including, of course, South Africa; in Chile and Paraguay; in Afghanistan and Cambodia. In 1988, the Berlin Wall was still standing, and Mr Vaclav Havel was still a political prisoner in the country of which he was to become President. Nelson Mandela was also a prisoner, and President de Klerk had yet to set in train with him the process that we all devoutly hope will eventually lead to a united and democratic South Africa. The terrible threat of a nuclear war between the two superpowers was omnipresent. In nations all over the globe, totalitarian regimes that had ruled for decades were about to fall, to be swept away by the winds of freedom. This new-found freedom has unleashed enormous potential - both for good and for evil. And nowhere more so than between neighbouring peoples of different religions or ethnicity. Old scores and rivalries, simmering for so long, are now being settled. At the same time, new problems are emerging. Are we, the human race, willing to take up the challenge of living by choice in pluralistic societies? Are we willing to accept, and even to welcome, those of different colour, different religion, different language, and different culture - and not just in the country next door, but even in the house next door? We touch here on the most problematic aspect of cultural identity - how to ensure that diversity rhymes with dialogue, that difference is perceived not as threat but as a potential source of enrichment. While the question admits of no easy answer, it is clear that a climate of equity, justice and democracy is an essential part of the solution. As underlined by United Nations Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali in his Agenda for Peace, to create a lasting peace it is necessary to address 'the deepest causes of conflict: economic despair, social injustice and political oppression'. For this the promotion of human development is essential - development based on education, on realizing the potential of each people and each individual, on creating the climate of freedom and tolerance in which self-expression is possible, on mobilizing the solidarity of the affluent in favour of the disadvantaged. These are some of On the another ingredients front, of think a culture of what of peace. we have learned in the last few years of our natural environment, and specifically of the ozone layer in the earth's atmosphere. Five years ago, the first reports of a hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica were appearing. It is now clear that refrigerators, air-conditioning, aerosols, jet travel, as well as rockets and space shuttles are combining to tear a hole in our collective sunscreen, and that another hole has opened in the atmosphere over the Northern hemisphere. While a moment's reflection on the list of contributory factors leaves no doubt as to the cultural connection, it is only very recently that we have begun to accept the implications. These examples will suffice to make the point that the world we live in today is different in ways we could never have imagined it would be when the World Decade was launched in (The Director-General completed his address in French) Although the launching of the Decade was almost an act of prophecy, foreseeing the forces at work worldwide even before world opinion became aware of them, we were still overtaken by events. We now have to assess the situation and draw up an 'itinerary'.

5 DG/92/34 - page 4 We have a number of maps and guides at our disposal. I have already mentioned the Agenda for Peace, in which the Secretary-General of the United Nations puts forward his view of the United Nations broader mission in an international situation more conducive to greater understanding within the community of nations on the undertaking of a joint venture We can also use Agenda 21, an intergovernmental plan drawn up at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development held in Rio in June. This programme gives the international community the means of taking up an extraordinary challenge - what I would call the moral responsibility to preserve our planet for future generations. We did not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we have borrowed it from our children.' This now classic quotation sums up the moral responsibility of which every one of us should be aware and which should affect our everyday behaviour. In the 'global village', a world ethical awareness must follow the globalization of trade and communications. But if we look at comparative patterns of consumption we find that the industrialized countries have less than 25 per cent of the world's population, yet they consume 75 per cent of its energy resources, 72 per cent of steel production and 85 per cent of its timber. These countries also produce nearly 90 per cent of the world's dangerous waste, 74 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions - which are responsible for the greenhouse effect - and practically 100 per cent of the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which attack the ozone layer. These statistics indicate a certain shortfall in world ethics. As the 'Leader' of the Decade, one of UNESCO's duties is to clarify the links between culture and development. This is why the General Conference, at its twentysixth session, decided to set up a World Commission on Culture and Development, which Mr Javier Pérez de Cuéllar has agreed to chair. After consulting with him, I hope very soon to be in a position to announce the list of 12 members who will sit on the Commission with him. These will be well known personalities with all the necessary experience to conduct such wide-ranging discussions. Several UNESCO Member States have already promised to finance the Commission's work and in the next few months we hope it will be able to start drawing up a 'policy-oriented World Report on Culture and Development, based on the collection and analysis of information from all regions and from diverse sources'. The World Commission on Culture and Development will no doubt give fresh impetus to the second half of the Decade and increase our understanding of the vital role played by culture in the far-reaching changes taking place worldwide, as well as in the development process. Even though many of us are aware of the part culture plays in the development of societies, we have not yet fully succeeded in persuading decision-makers to act accordingly whether they are officials of major bilateral or multilateral development organizations or ministers of planning, development or finance. So it is no good simply repeating over and over that we should take account of the cultural dimension in the development process. We also have to progress on a scientific and theoretical level so as to be able to identify, and as far as possible quantify, the factors that will enable us to implement the appropriate development strategies and projects. In brief, we have to provide the practical tools needed to incorporate cultural data into development planning This and is project one of implementation. the main positive contributions UNESCO can make in this respect, so we have set ourselves a work schedule that will enable us to draw up a methodology and directives within two years, in consultation with various other bodies involved in the initiative. In Africa, for example, we co-operate closely with the World Bank, and in Asia with the planning officials and research institutes of various countries. At UNESCO Headquarters in Paris we have already organized a series of consultations with representatives of the Canadian International Development Agency, the Coady Institute of Nova Scotia, the French

6 DG/92/34 - page 5 co-operation services, USAID, the United Kingdom Overseas Development Agency, the Panos Institute in London, UNDP, OECD, the EC, ILO and many non-governmental organizations in both the industrialized and developing countries that are working in the field. Once this methodology has been established we must test it on the spot, in close co-operation with the other institutions and programmes of the United Nations system and the authorities in the developing countries. This will have the dual advantage of streamlining the method and giving the main funding and executive agencies of the United Nations system and some national development planning institutes the chance to see it at work. Thirdly, we decided to declare a World Cultural Development Day', which will be held each year on 21 May. In 1991 more than 50 Canadian municipalities joined in celebrating it. Every year, the Day will be devoted to a topical theme linked to the Decade's goals. In 1992 for instance, we chose as our theme 'Culture and Environment' as a specific contribution to the preparation of the Earth Summit. We adopted the same approach to choose the themes for the next few years: 'Culture, Education and Work' for 1993, 'Culture and Development' for 1994, 'Culture and Agriculture' for 1995, 'Culture and Health' for 1996 and 'Culture and Technology: Art, Science and Communication' for It has taken some time for the World Decade for Cultural Development to be understood and to find a focal point. To start with, people were under the impression that 'cultural development' meant development of the arts, music, sculpture and painting, for instance. Many of the activities undertaken by UNESCO Member States or suggested by its traditional partners did not go much beyond these narrow confines, and even the other agencies of the United Nations system, which had the same view of the Decade, were not particularly enthusiastic. Fortunately, we are now witnessing a definite change in the type of activities undertaken, while at the same time there has been renewed interest within the United Nations system, particularly from UNDP, UNICEF, FAO and the World Bank. Many of the 157 UNESCO National Commissions throughout the world have set up national committees for the Decade. The Canadian Commission for UNESCO has set up a committee chaired alternately by Mr Jean-Paul L'Allier and Mr Albert Millaire, and in March 1991 an International Workshop on the Cultural Dimension of Development organized in Ottawa/Hull with the support of the Canadian International Development Agency made a useful contribution to world debate on this subject. Moreover, a large number of initiatives from various Canadian sources have been recognized as official Decade activities thanks to the Canadian committee, and sometimes given a small financial contribution to get them started. In this world to whose imbalances, evils and absurdities I am constantly drawing attention, as the North continues to consume more than it needs while the South is still trying desperately to obtain the basic necessities, only one resource is shared equally - and what a wonderful one it is - the resource of culture and of human wisdom and understanding. For there is no culture in the North or South that has not preserved the most sparkling reflections on life and how it is best lived - of individual thinkers among its ancestors, of the village storytellers who began it all. It is this wealth and diversity of cultures and of understanding that UNESCO is determined to make better known and place at the service of human development. In order to do this, UNESCO needs the help of all its Member States, not only at government level but at all levels of civil society. It has already done much to promote dialogue, but we still

7 DG/92/34 - page 6 have a long way to go to persuade world leaders that although culture is at the root of many conflicts, it offers the only possibility of reconciliation.