The Seminar assumes that there is already an international consensus in place concerning the link between Culture and Development. For this reason the debates will be oriented to assess the way in which Culture is being integrated in Development Cooperation, both through a practical and a strategic analysis. The Seminar will seek to identify good practices, and to exchange experiences on programs and projects of cultural development cooperation.
The Seminar will revolve around three main thematic lines:
The role of Culture in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs): This line will include a reflection on the approach towards Culture in Development Cooperation, highlighting issues such as its incorporation to Poverty Reduction Strategies in partner countries and donors' planning; the impact of cultural development policies in the achievement of the MDGs; Mainstreaming culture in development policies; the Donor Information System in OECD-DAC; or the work concerning indicators evaluating the impact of culture in development.
Economy and Culture: This line will unite the debates around experiences and good practices vis à vis culture as a vector for economic development, with a special emphasis in the policies promoting cultural industries; the programmes dealing with Heritage and Development; initiatives for sustainable cultural tourism; mobility of artists, cultural goods and services in the Economic Partnership Agreements of the EU; and professional networks.
Cultural Governance and Cultural Diversity: Finally, this line will deal issues such as institutional building policies and the management of private and public structures of the cultural sector in developing countries. Moreover, this line will include an assessment on how the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions is being integrated in developing countries, and of the challenges and opportunities that this document entails.
Besides these three thematic lines, the last panel will focus on the synergies between current programmes: the Culture and Development thematic window of the Spanish-UN Fund for the Millennium Development Goals and other examples of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The panel will present recent international cooperation programmes aimed to structure the cultural sectors and foster their contribution towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals. It will seek to identify strategies to maximize the impact of support programmes in the cultural fields and to highlight the link between cultural development and economic, social and human development. The panel will also promote coordination and complementarities in strategies and projects implemented by different international donors.
The Seminar will be structured around a series of plenary discussion panels. Its main objective will be to adopt a document with conclusions that summarize the main future challenges concerning Culture and Development.
Each Panel will have a coordinator and several speakers. The coordinator will act as a moderator and will introduce the Position Document drafted for each panel. The speakers will provide different perspectives. The organisers will try to combine political participants and thematic experts in every panel. Finally, every panel will have a rapporteur.
The Panels and the Follow-up Committee meeting will both take place in the plenary room. The facilities include translation and interpretation in Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
The Seminary will be organized in the city of Girona with the collaboration of the University of Girona, which holds the pioneering UNESCO Chair for Cultural Policies and Cooperation.
The event will have three different parts:
On the 4th May, prior to the inauguration of the Seminar, the Follow-up Committee of the Colloquium “Culture and Creativity, vectors for development” will hold a meeting to keep track of the implementation of the recommendations of the Brussels Declaration. This meeting will be restricted to the members of the Follow-up Committee.
The Seminar on Culture and Development will take place on the 4th and 5th May and will be open to all the participants who wish to register.
After the conclusion of the Seminar, in the morning of the 6th May, EU Member States, the European Commission and cultural organisms and institutes will have an informal work meeting. This meeting will be restricted to the representatives of EU Member States, the European Commission and representatives of the organisms and invited cultural institutions..
The venue set to host the three sections will be the Parc Científic i Tecnològic of the University of Girona which will sponsor the event and offer its premises free of charge.
