2003-01-29

There is an urgent need to strengthen the knowledge base on culture and human development. This is required in order to repair the distorted, culture-neglecting view of reality which has so far characterised most development efforts. The aim of this report is therefore to develop and consolidate a new conceptual framework for the elaboration of tools for the assessment, planning and reporting of cultural policies for human development.
There has been a wealth of work at international, national and local levels to define the complex and diverse relationships between the two terms culture and human development. The totality of this work does not yet constitute a coherent paradigm for work on appropriate indicators. Various lists of criteria and values have been put forward on the one hand, and various conceptual directions have been flagged on the other. These hands are not quite, however, in a position to shake. Conceptual and policy handshakes will therefore be necessary in the form of the development of complementary methodologies for cultural assessment.
This report proposes two key operational tools as frameworks for assessment and implementation: cultural mapping and cultural planning. They are sufficiently open to accommodate the facts of cultural diversity and the strategic imperatives of applied work in the contemporary cultural field.
This document is a summary of the report Towards Cultural
Citizenship Tools for Cultural Policy and Development, a Swedish contribution to the follow up of the Stockholm Plan of Action.