Culture at the Heart of Transformation

Commissioned by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the Arts Council of Switzerland Pro Helvetia, this 56-page study looks at lessons learned within 11 long-term cooperation projects that were funded by the Swiss Cultural Programme Southeast Europe and Ukraine (SCP), a programme run by Pro Helvetia. SCP supports initiatives drawing on the power of culture - and art, specifically - as a strategy for engendering tolerance in countries experiencing intense transformations and transitions. That is, the SCP is an effort to explore and sustain cultural work as a road to dialogue between conflicting groups or ethnicities, thought to be a pre-condition for "a more transparent, open-minded, constructively critical society" and a means to "develop a culture of dialogue across boundaries and barriers", toward mutual understanding and tolerance.

Specifically, as author Charles Landry details, SCP was initially launched in the mid-1990s to provide assistance to countries in transition such as Poland, the Czech Republic, and Hungary through the promotion of cultural exchange with Switzerland. In 2002, the programme moved into a new phase, extending into 7 additional countries in the region, by funding 3-year "cooperation projects" that seek to affect social development and involve a broad range of people, such as by promoting discussion about the future of culture where they operate - in the process impacting on politics. Specifics about each of the projects are provided in the report; to cite just a few examples, 'Youth Cultural Centre Abrasevic' in Mostar, Bosnia-Herzegovina, run by young people themselves, "is a lively meeting place and venue for a diversity of activities, from music to discussions, and a place for people from whatever ethnic background culture to develop their skills together." And 'Small Door' aims to revitalise cultural life and inter-ethnic relations in the city of Tetovo and Western Macedonia through its Multimedia Arts Centre, a meeting place which offers film screenings and cultural
activities in villages in the region.

Landry goes on to highlight common assumptions, commitments, and strategies among the SCP projects; for example, the idea is that, through participation in art and culture, everyone can in principle be more creative, involved, engaged, and informed - and that this is significant in creating citizenship in transition countries. Among the many specific ways he characterises arts programmes as contributing is by challenging decision makers through "uncomfortable projects that force leaders to debate and take a stand, such as by spurring them to look at their prejudices about migrants, for instance. Also, these projects "can empower people who have
previously not expressed their views....a community play devised with a local group can tell us much more than a typical political process." Particular themes the author highlights as being notable about the projects selected as part of SPC (which he illustrates with examples) include:

• Encouraging and stimulating debate and conversation
• Fostering inter-group, inter-ethnic and inter-cultural understanding
• Harnessing creativity and imagination as a resource
• Cultivating a focus on youth, who tend to be more open-minded, drawing on their engagement, commitment, and imagination to cross cultural boundaries
• Networking to connect and to learn what works
• Increasing advocacy and lobby potential
• Highlighting the potential of the creative industries as an economic sector and image factor
• Building capacity and participation within the organisations themselves, facilitating competence, confidence, and commitment
• Spurring appreciation of the potential of new media through artistic innovation
• Counteracting the pull of capital and major cities
• Addressing the emotional and psychological dimension of change

The second half of the document include extensive discussions of the lessons learned through the study, which the author organises into different categories: a set of overview comments; lessons related to aims and goals; how to generate momentum; and organisational issues and the wider operating context. Just a sample of the many lessons he reviews:

• The mutual learning approach should be built into the genetic code of the programme.
• Simplicity should run right throughout cooperation projects, with room for multiple spin-offs to occur. ("For example Gramofon has a conceptually simple, although practically difficult task, of setting up a CD label. If that simple goal were overloaded by say other goals, such as starting a discussion forum on Bosnian musical heritage it would over-extend capacity.")
• Keep in mind that the meaning of key words may differ from culture to culture; clarity of objectives and language is key (avoid jargon like "sustainability", "empowerment", "decentralisation").
• Reflect the day-to-day context and context of a culture (e.g., by enabling projects that honour the quirkiness and "humour bursting to come out" in this particular region).
• Develop a strategy for creating a transformative effect (someone changes their mind and behaviour) and then move back to ask how to shape content to achieve that. "Projects that work well are like an unfolding drama. They build critical mass, they have timing, they orchestrate momentum and they are visible - key features of projects that generate impact."
• Arrange for active participation of large numbers of people, a physical presence and
  good media work. "Otherwise it is difficult to know the project exists." Consider carefully programme branding and overarching concepts.
• Do not neglect organisational capacity, skills, or desires; this may involve drawing on "charasmatics" within an organisation...even though it is unclear whether they understand that "'capacity building' in the SCP sense essentially results in challenging their own authority over the longer term as the process involves making the whole team competent and empowered."
• While it is a pre-condition for mutual learning, do not let networking (e.g., sharing ideas or travel) override the focus of the core project.
• "The mentoring, motherly monitoring relationship it appears is the most effective as contrasted to the directive style."

In short, the author concludes that cultural work strengthens diversity of opinion and promotes debate on socially relevant topics, besides helping to create alternative structures and networks and facilitating participation in political life. It also releases creative energy and triggers fresh stimuli. In a nutshell, it reinforces civil society and - indirectly - what are often still very fragile democratic institutions.

Click here for the full document in PDF format (English language). Visit the SDC website, scrolling down the page, to access the report in French and/or German. For an alternative summary of this publication, visit the Pro Helvetia website, which is also accessible in French, German, Italian, and Rumantsch.