CULTURAL DIVERSITY: A CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION

A Paper presented at the Third Annual Conference of the International Network for

Cultural Diversity in Cape Town, South Africa, 11 - 13 October, 2002

By Angeline S Kamba

BACKGROUND

First and foremost, I should like to extend my sincere thanks to the INCD, and especially to the organisers of this Conference for inviting me to speak and to be a participant.

I am very pleased to be here, as I fully support the INCD's mandate, and truly identify with it. After all, the World Commission on Culture and Development ( WCCD), on which I had the privilege to serve, drew the attention of the world community in its Report: Our Creative Diversity, to the importance of Culture - in all its diversity, for sustainable development. Like biological diversity, cultural diversity has to be protected and nurtured for the survival of humanity. The title of the Report itself focuses on the positive aspect of cultural diversity, rather than on the often perceived potentially divisive aspect, to which conflicts are often ascribed. That is not to say that the negative side is not a reality, more so as that diversity, as we have witnessed in many of the conflicts, can be manipulated for whatever desired ends. On a recent trip to China, it struck me yet again, that humankind has more in common with each other than it has differences. While the linguistic diversity was such that I was unable to communicate with the ordinary Chinese people in the streets, I was still conscious of the sense of shared humanity. Cultural diversity is a powerful creative force, which adds up to combined synergy upon which true development can take place.

I have been very lucky in that I have had the opportunity to participate in much of the debate that was triggered by the Commission's Report. At the Stockholm Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies in 1998, I gave a paper in the Session on Pluralism which was co-ordinated by Canada under the leadership of Sheila Copps, then Canada's Heritage Minister, and I am aware that it was largely due to her initiative following that Conference that the two networks i.e the INCP and later the INCD came to being. What has been most pleasing to the members of the WCCD, and I am sure to Perez de Cuellar, the Commission's Chairman, is that the Commission's hopes have been fulfilled, i,e that the World Community would pick up the challenge to follow up the issues raised by the Commission and to proceed to find solutions. Every dialogue has taken the issues a step further. New insights into the subject have been added. This dialogue is seeking tangible ways in which cultural diversity can be nurtured and strengthened to withstand the onslaught of globalisation. Last December, I was at a working conference in Uppsala which was tackling the subject of knowledge and tools for formulating cultural policy, as well as methodologies for establishing or identifying cultural indicators. In May I rejoined discussions aimed at consolidating the newly established Observatory of Cultural Policies in Africa, OCPA for short. The momentum remains high. Culture is finding its way on the Agenda of every serious discussion concerning sustainable development - it has to, if the world has learnt any lessons at all in the failed development strategies of the last four decades. UNESCO's Universal Declaration on

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Cultural Diversity is a tremendous leap forward, and in my view, whatever other initiatives follow, they must build on the solid foundation that UNESCO has laid in the declaration, which of course followed intense activity of the Cultural decade.

Culture should be seen in wider terms than the creative arts. While I have no desire to start a new discussion on the definition of culture, for which I am ill qualified in any case, nonetheless, I still feel that the way the WCCD 's definition of it as "a way of life", how we live with each other provides a wide enough scope to discuss people, their relationships, beliefs ,customs, traditions creativity, etc, all that which makes a people who they are. Our cultural identity is important on an individual level, on a community level and on a national level. It provides each one of us with a sense of belonging.

The Caribbean academic and artist: Rex Nettleford, in his presentation at Images of the World

Dialogue in Copenhagen in 2000 had this to say about culture in a globalised world:

"Preserving your own culture is critical because that is the only way you can retain your sense of place and purpose in a world threatening to harmonise everybody."

Cultural diversity is a reality, hence nonnegotiable, it is that which confers the plural nature of nation states. Within each nation states are different groups who make up a country's population, including migrants and minorities, and the well being of each is important for cohesiveness and peaceful conditions to exist in a state. Hence the state itself has a duty to manage that diversity judiciously. It is of the utmost importance that cultural diversity be acknowledged, nurtured and protected within the state's constitutional and legal framework, including regulatory mechanism which ensure adherence of provision of the law. An enlightened constitution is a start, but it alone can not ensure such protection. It must " respond to the democratic impulse" , as a former Chief Justice of Zimbabwe put it. It must also be a constitution which is the result of full consultation, in which the people have stated their will. The different groups must enjoy protection and equal rights which are enshrined in the constitution and in the laws of the country. They must be given equal opportunity for self expression and for their creative instincts to flourish. It is only within such an environment that the various cultures can contribute fully towards nation building, economic and social development through their creative endeavour, and it is that which we should strive for in our commitment to promote cultural diversity. If the different parts make a whole, then each part is equally important.

Nettleford again conjures this powerful imagery of diversity:

"You look at a landscape, there are different trees, but it is still the same landscape. This is how we should think of the world" He goes on to say: "It is important for all of us to be our own, and to be part of the world". The two are obviously not irreconcilable

The WCCD was equally emphatic in its statement that all cultures are equal, no culture is superior to others, but cultures should reach out towards each other, they should interact and focus more on their common humanity , engage in what the Mexican member of the WCCD, Lourdes Arizpe referred to as "conviviality" - a word which I am told, carries much more meaning in French than

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it does in English carries. It is therefore not enough to preserve the diversity, but the interaction between diverse groups is critical, showing interest and curiosity about each other, genuinely seeking to understand that which is different from us. We cannot understand each other by merely living side by side, each doing their own thing. We need to live together.

THE YOUNG

The young are the best example of this, if they grow up playing together, learning together and sharing each other's ways, they grow into a world without the fear, suspicion and prejudices that are merely based on cultural differences, and with more understanding of each other. In other worlds, they do not see diversity as an impenetrable barrier which divides them from others. Society has a duty to help the young to maintain this approach through out their lives. The UNESCO Commission on Education in the 21st Century, or, the Delors Commission, had this to say on the subject:

"Education for pluralism is not just a safeguard against violence, but an active principle for the enrichment of the cultural and civic life of present day societies"

It is important therefore that children must learn together - across the cultural divide, mingle with each other at an early stage, satisfying their curiosity about each other's culture. I think the principle of "show me yours and I will show you mine" applies very aptly to children. The innocence of the young must be purposefully built upon. Such an investments can only result in real peace dividends.

Indeed much of the violence that the world has witnessed of late is to a large extent due to lack of

cross cultural dialogue. Speaking at the same Copenhagen Images of the World, the renowned academic and writer on culture and globalisation, Benjamin Barber says:

"Distinctive images and differentiated cultures celebrate our plurality, but they can also lead to exclusion, hatred and slaughter...", and referring more specifically to the American society, he goes on to say:

"For each characteristic that separate us, we need something common to hold us together. For each hyphenated American, the Latino- American, Afro-American, Asian-American, Euro-American, there must be something that is simply "American", the civic faith that holds us together"

LANGUAGE DIVERSITY

One of the distinctive features of cultural diversity is language. Language in any society is important for communication, but more importantly, for the transmission of culture, for the creation of ideas, for the transmission of indigenous knowledge and the rich oral folklore and tradition, and yet it is that diversity that is most threatened by globalisation. In their presentation at the Images of the World Dialogue under the heading: "Dominance, Minorisation,

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Linguistic Genocide and Language Rights, Tove Skut nabb-Kangas and Robert Phillipson had this to say:

[The]" Disappearance of languages can be blamed on formal education and mass media. Language diversity is important as each language represents cultural knowledge that cannot be expressed in any other language."

It is utterly important to protect this diversity, to protect languages and not let them be throttled by more dominant languages. Each language that dies takes away with it a wealth of knowledge and the capacity of a people to be creative. The global languages pose a real threat in terms of exclusion. Language policies have to be crafted with this in mind.

The voices of those affected must be heard and listened to and their wishes taken into account in formulating policies. To give an example, the small Tonga tribe of the Zambezi Valley in Zimbabwe, won a battle to preserve their language, and indeed their culture, after many submissions to government. In all fairness, much progress has been made in recent years in the use of the various indigenous languages in the first years of primary schooling, as well as in radio and television broadcasting, and in community newspapers.

In 1991, I carried out a study for UNESCO which looked at language policies in the SADC region. It was clear that most countries wanted to do the right thing, but were facing problems of dealing with, at times, large number of languages and dialects, the choice of official languages and technical problems such as orthography and translation capacity, although none of these were insurmountable. South Africa, which was in the lead in this regard in that it had declared all its eleven languages to be official. I was not, however able to verify whether this actual worked on the ground.

I think the crucial thing is that children must be taught in their mother tongue in the early years of schooling and everything must be done to enable them to learn at least one other language of the country, i.e. in addition to the official and their own. Learning other peoples language is a great barrier breaker.

The media has a role to play in this regard, particularly the print and broadcasting media, as they lend themselves much more easily to community approach, and are not dependent on telecommunication networks. Community newspapers and community radio programmes should aim to address the linguistic diversity so that people in various communities, particularly the rural communities, can be communicated with in their own languages, but also as a means of encouraging multi-lingualism. Television programmes, as much as possible , should also reflect the linguistic diversity of a country.

Despite the existence of an official or administrative language, government must convey its information to communities in their own languages. This also encourages the various communities to participate fully in civic matters both at local and national level

The Community Publishing NGO in Zimbabwe has done some real innovative work with the Tonga community. A lively publishing programming, in which the community itself is writing books in Tonga, fiction, books on civic matters, peace, governance, democracy and development as the community perceives them in relation to themselves. They compile their folklore, traditions, oral literature. These are then translated into English so that this rich Tonga heritage and creativity can is shared more widely outside their own culture.

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The Zimbabwe International Book Fair Indaba (Seminar) of 1997 established that there was a dire shortage of literature published in African languages. Authors in the main were encouraged by publishers to write in the official global languages - English, French and Portuguese in order to reach a wider market. Without literature in the African languages , it s impossible to overcome illiteracy. It also stifles the literary creativity of authors and would-be authors. There should therefore be deliberate policies to encourage as well as providing assistance for African language authors. Such assistance should include translation of these writings into the global languages so that this creativity which reflects immense cultural diversity can be showcased and shared. The demise of the African Literature Bureau in the Zimbabwe's Ministry of Education and Culture was greatly lamented by many African language scholars and authors, as the Bureau had been a pillar of support for those writing in the vernaculars.

LITERARY CREATIVITY

A special mention has to be made of the Zimbabwe International Book Fair as a major cultural event which provides a window to African literary creativity as well as to the African book trade its realities and potential. Everyone from the book world - writers, publisher, traders, librarians, readers; national, regional and international, mingle for a near week, discuss books, touch books and exchange a variety of information on books, and the young enjoy sessions of story reading and story telling. Increasingly, there is a great movement between various international book fairs and this ensures exposure of African literature to the world , and this is how it should be. Merely preserving our culture is not enough, we must show it and share it with others. An added excitement this year was the presentation of Africa's best 100 books, selected by readers and adjudicated by a high level panel of judges over a period of a little over a year. The initial announcement was made in Cape Town while the Book Fair takes place in Harare.

The event not only facilitates the sharing of culture, but is an effective trading tool.

Like all such events, the Book Fair requires a conducive environment. It is no secret that this year's ZIBF was marked by poor attendance, largely due to the prevailing political and economic climate.

In the same context, I should like to mention the Caine Prize for African Writing which is now in its third year. The prize, named after the late Sir Michael Caine, best know for his long association with the Booker Prize, is awarded for a published short by an African Writer and written in the English language by an African writer. Without going into details of the Prize, suffice to say such initiatives go a long way toward encouraging literary output, particularly by new and unknown authors. Even if they never win the prize, they are able to stretch their creative capacity by striving for it.

The private sector is increasingly supporting this aspect of creativity, by financing competitions for literary creativity in schools so that the young can be encouraged at an early age to engage in creative writing. This can also be targeted at diverse cultural communities so that the young authors have the opportunity to engage in self cultural expression.

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VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS

I recall an incident which took place at a UNESCO Audience Africa meeting in Paris when its chairperson, Graca Machel lamented the fact that Africa was associated only with conflicts, poverty, disease, refugees, etc " Has Africa nothing to offer to the world, and without giving the matter much thought, I answered: "Yes Madam Chair, Africa has something to offer, her Creativity"

I shall, however, focus on the Visual and Performing arts as this is the most vividly visible and audible area of cultural expression, the one which appeals to the senses across cultures, and one that is popularly associated with "cultural production", but one which can easily fall victim to glabalisation, and yet it can also tenaciously adapt to it.

As this is a huge area, I shall pick a few examples in each case. With regards to the visual arts, I should like to talk a little about the Stone Sculpture of Zimbabwe which in the early years of its formal evolution was referred to as the Shona Sculpture, taking the name of the ethnic group which first popularised it, and which still remain dominant in this art form. It is, however generally agreed that the name Shona sculpture is somewhat of a misnomer, as stone sculpture is now produced by Zimbabweans of other ethnic groups, including migrants from neighbouring countries, both men and women, and it is no longer limited to traditional and spiritual themes, but to other modern subject matter and form, even though mainly grounded on the cultural traditions of the people of Zimbabwe. This sculpture has evolved to become great art by world standards. It has found its way into major international galleries of the world, it continues to be exhibited in travelling exhibitions in the USA, Europe, Japan, South Africa etc. I speak of course about the sculpture of those who have become recognised as masters of their art, those sculptors who have made it. Their works can be accessed internationally, through beautifully produced catalogues and even on Internet. The sculptors are Zimbabwean, even if they are temporarily producing their sculpture from Brussels or Salt Lake City. They are creatively expressing their cultural identity, wherever they may be. Their art is speaking to other others across the cultural boundaries.

A friend of mine, famous art historian and critic, Celia Winter-Irving, had this to say in recent conversation:

"The art world also has shrunk, the distances between art and its market are shorter, a sculpture gallery in Zimbabwe can have an extended market in the USA through sales on the Internet, the dictates of what is fashionable in art come from large scale events such as Biennales and Art Fairs in such disparate cities as Sao Paolo, Dakar, Johannesburg..."

In a scenario such as I have just presented, it would seem globalisaion is working positively. But then again, it means that some of the best of Zimbabwean sculptures can only be seen outside Zimbabwe. What a pity that our own institutions are not adequately funded to enable them to keep some of this great art at home, for it to be seen by the young and inspire them. Then again, there is a whole generation of yet to be discovered sculptors, whose products contribute to Airport art and oftentimes find their way to distant lands, where they are marketed as genuine masterpieces, when a paltry sum was paid to their creators. More support and protection should be provided to these fledgling artists who are often masters of a future generation, merely waiting to be discovered by some patron. The big bad world is perfectly aware of this talent, sometimes

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the sharks pay them to make copies of the works of the masters , with faked signature, and these fakes are being sold in the global market as genuine creation of the masters.

There have been cases in our courts recently to do with copied stone sculpture Stone sculpture, particularly the airport type, also contributes to the lively cross- boarder trade between the various African countries. Solutions have therefore to be sought at national, regional as well as at global level.

On a more positive note, the stone sculpture of Zimbabwe has put the country on the map as no other art form . A couple of months ago, I was invited to launch a book by Celia Winter-Irving entitled: Agnes Nyanhongo: a sculptor. Before the launch, I spent an afternoon with Agnes, whom I had not previously met. Agnes is one of the most successful female sculptors in Zimbabwe today, a modern woman whose subject largely depicts the Shona Woman in her traditional roles of daughter, wife, grandmother, aunt, friend, etc. Her work is grounded in her cultural roots, her firm belief in the dignity deriving from culture and tradition of her people. The women, who largely form the subject of her sculpture are dignified, regardless of whatever role they are engaged in. Her works have been exhibited internationally and continue to be. I asked her what impact her travels had on her work, and she said that she enjoys meeting people, seeing the culture of others and the impact of her own work on them, but she returns home and continues to sculpts as she has always done. She spoke of an exhibition of her work in the USA, held just after the events of September 11, and she said on that occasion there was no need for words, people looked at her sculpture, and were visibly moved , some quietly wiped away tears. The power of culture and the universality of the language of the arts is unquestionable.

A last word on visual arts must go to the handicrafts, an area which remains inadequately protected in terms of marketing. More work needs to be done at national level to ensure that these products provide the creators with a real livelihood and they are marketed in terms of some agreed standards and as authenticated. Women tend to be the most active creators in this area, but they create under difficult conditions, with no support and hence no means of sustaining production, even if the product is in demand. The National Handicraft Centre in Harare, the Jairos Jiri Centres, whose origins was to encourage creativity of disabled people so that they could have a source of income he Mzilikazi Arts Centre are all organizations which co-ordinate the marketing of handicrafts, but much more needs to be done to protect local traditional crafts, but also to provide opportunities for experimentation.

The Performing arts - Music, Drama and dance have also put Africa, in all its diversity, on the global stage. The global clamour for these makes one ask the question, why then is Africa still a poor continent, with its rich creativity. Something is terribly wrong. This is an area which has been captured by globalisation forces in both a negative and a positive way. There is greater exposure of artists and their art, greater movement, performing tours. The music of established Zimbabwean artists such as Thomas Mapfumo, Oliver Mtukudzi, Andy Brown, Mbira player Stella Chiweshe and many others is listened to everywhere, and the artists themselves have had enormous exposure. Dance and theatre groups tour various countries in Africa and abroad. Regional and International festivals are greatly effective in facilitating interaction between diverse culture. The SADCC Dance Festival comes to mind, but as Chairman of the Board of Hifa ( Harare International Festival of the Arts) I must be selfish, and mention that in its short

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three years of existence, it has taken the city of Harare by storm, and that includes numerous visitors who have come to Harare specially for the event, and I have no doubt that its success lies in the fusion of cultures, making cultural diversity come to life, and indeed celebrating cultural diversity. The public wants to be part of that celebration, but with the best will in the world, none of these things can take place, unless a policy framework exists to provide an enabling environment, to encourage private initiatives and private funding. There is such a store of goodwill out there, but at times it is hard to harness it because of lack of that enabling environment. This year, the festival did not take place due to the earlier uncertainty that surrounded the dates of the Presidential elections.

The dawn of IT has brought with it great advantages but also great threats to the entertainment world. A few weeks ago while in Beijing, I could have bought on the street any number of CDs of popular international music makers for a paltry sum as they were faked copies. Similarly the INTERNET has been both a blessing and curse, why buy entertainment products if you can access them on the Internet, but what about the unprotected creators, who then go without reward for their work.

In contrast, the talent in small communities often goes untapped. In preparing for this presentation, I also spent some time with the same friend who heads the Community Publishing and Development NGO which works with remote minority communities, and she is convinced that unless development or poverty eradication programmes takes into account local cultures, they are bound to fail. First, she says, the people have been demoralised by the exclusion arising not just, from poverty, but also from the fact that others show no respect for their culture and language. The first solution to their problem must be to restore their dignity by speaking to them in their own language and enabling them to use their cultural norms and idiom in rebuilding their lives. Of course, they see them selves as part of the whole, but one which is uniquely different and which must be accorded due respect.

When all is managed well, they think of government as the "source from which the rivers flow", to use their idiom. Local knowledge and idiom, and of course full participation can go a long way in attaining real human development.

THE ROLE OF THE MEDIA

While a whole Conference can be devoted to the media, something more specific should be said about its role in the promotion of cultural diversity. I have a beautiful quote which I have used before, but in the rush of preparing this paper, I could not locate it but I shall tell it as I recollect it. Speaking on the occasion of the restructuring of the SABC in 1995, former President Nelson Mandela referred to SABC as a window through which S Africans should see the cultures of the world, and from which the word should see the cultures of S Africa. It struck a chord, coming as it did when the WCCD was having or had just had its African consultation in S Africa. It echoed our own analysis .The media is a powerful instrument for the transmission of culture and promoting cultural diversity in all its forms, if used positively. Media policies must be sensitive to the country's cultural diversity, affording opportunity to all the diverse cultures to be informed, seen and heard. The cultures, creativity and traditions of diverse groups must be given full media

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exposure so that the nation can benefit from the rich synergy of it its diverse citizenry. The media can, in that case contribute to nation-building by drawing positively on the diversity. In this regard, language diversity is of course included - All the languages must be given full flourish on the media.

The media also has the potential to cause divisions and tensions, thus triggering the negative impact of diversity, hence the need for truly enlightened and sensitive media policies.

The threat of globalisation is very real in this sphere. The new technologies, while a blessing in one regard, are also a threat in another. The information superhighway which had promised so much, a world of sharing , has turned out to be imperfect as it carries only one way traffic, from North to South. Thus the South is fed with cultural traffic from the North, but very little is flowing from the South to the North. The South is totally swamped with cultural programmes from the North. But it is so important that that the rest of the world see Africa in all its mosaic splendour, colour and creative richness. The North should see films of Africa made by Africans and not the Hollywood Tarzan type which bears no relationship to the real Africa . Something is very wrong and needs to be put right. Some advocate for a particular quota of local content on the national media broadcasting, as Zimbabwe does. Laudable as that may be, it still does not solve the imbalance in the traffic flow. It may boost local culture but what about the sharing of cultures with others so that they may know who we are and respect us ?? And a word

of caution, even as you legislate for local, there must be room for choice, because choice is the very hallmark of development. The citizens must be offered quality content, indeed they must be active participants in the choice and making of those quality programmes. The many voices must be heard. The WCCD called for media diversity to ensure that citizens had alternate sources of news and information, and this remains very valid. Policies of government must enshrine media diversity This forum must reflect on how the new technologies can be utilised to provide the window through which we can see each other's cultures. Unless we know each other, we cannot respect each other, and if we do not respect each other, we cannot live in peace with each other.

GENDER

A discussion of this subject cannot be complete without the inclusion of gender issues because Gender in African society, and indeed in other societies, has many cultural ramifications. Women are oppressed and denied their rights, all in the name of culture. So gender is a factor in cultural diversity. On another level, women are in the forefront of creativity, and are the guardians of cultural traditions and much local knowledge. It therefore goes without saying that they should be empowered to fully exploit their potential capabilities and innovation and to contribute to the development of a nation. Those cultural practices which prevent them from freely expressing and developing the innate selves must be done away with. Enlightened policies are critical in this area.

It is ell to remember that women's rights are human rights.

THE ROLE OF CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

Art galleries must showcase the best of the country's creativity, expose it to the young, to adults and also to tourists. Somehow the cultural policies must provide for adequate funding to purchase

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some good works by local artists so they do not all flee the country., and the private sector must also play a role in this regard. Art must also be seen in the public open spaces, and I have in mind sculpture parks.

Galleries have to do more that showcase art, they have to document, produce catalogues, organise public lectures on their collections. They have a duty to authenticate artistic products so that they can be marketed as per their true value. This calls for other players - private enterprise. The truly pleasing development in Zimbabwe is the way the private sector has responded positively to the call to support the arts and cultural activities, even in a pretty inclement economic climate. In 1999 the World Bank's Conference in Florence dubbed: Culture Counts sought to encourage such partnerships, new ways in which the Private Sector, international NGOs and Foundations could play a role in supporting the arts and other cultural activities for sustainable development The emphasis was on partnerships rather than sponsorship, as the latter suggests giving without getting anything in return. The Harare International Festival is a fine example of partnership between the corporate world and an art event. A company makes an investment into a particular show and we give the company high profile publicity.

Partnerships and collaboration with institutions in the developed world can also be of benefit. I speak now of the national institutions, but of course there is a plethora of private galleries, but somehow, some policy guidelines are important.

National Museums are well placed for focusing on the cultural diversity even as they display artefacts and in their responsibilities for heritage sites. The latter is almost always associated with particular communities and their traditions.

The National Archives, whose mandate is for historical documents, if adequately funded and under imaginative leadership can also have a viable oral history and tradition programme which ensures the documentation of local folk lore, local knowledge, oral literature and traditions of the different people of the country. This becomes a rich resource for modern creators in whatever discipline - writing, theatre, but also for understanding who we are, where we have come from.

THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT

Government has of course got the biggest role and challenge in that it has to provide the enabling environment and the guidelines for things to happen through the policy that it formulates. Culture, generally is a difficult area for policy-makers in that it is difficult to measure, and to assess the impact of the policies. To make matters worse, there are as yet no adequate cultural indicators for making impact assessment in the area of culture, although I should hasten to say there is much international activity in this regard.. This would partly explain why a number of countries do not have real cultural policies. All the more reason why governments must consult and listen to the many voices. Organisations such as UNESCO can playa role by providing guidelines and examples of how things could be done. OCPA intends to work with a wide cross-section of other experienced organizations and collect best practices which would then be exposed to member countries so that they can work out some benchmarks for themselves.

There is also a school of thought which calls for more integration between cultural policies and other areas of development, the socio-economic and political policies. This approach might

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prove to be more effective in highlighting the central role of culture in development. Whatever the case, an interdisciplinary and inter-ministerial approach is required at consultation and formulating stages.

In an era of diminishing resources, government must largely play a facilitative role for private initiative, encouraging other players such as the private sector, NGOs and civil society to play a more direct role, rather than government itself becoming the key player in the field of culture. After all, culture is lived in the public domain and not in the corridors of power. This is more so in the area of artistic creativity. As long as the policy is in place, everyone will play by the rules.

Policies must permit free cultural expression of diverse cultural groups, and they must allow for sharing of these cultures, so that government itself can build upon this pool of synergy for development and nation building.

Peace itself, can only be assured if citizens are free to express their cultures, and are given equal opportunities for self fulfilment.

Government should encourage and be a facilitator for cultural inter-activity beyond its own boarders, this can only do good, considering the universality of the language of the arts.

Every effort should be made to support creators, regardless of political persuasion .

Development programmes should be targeted to all cultural groups, and they should respect cultures and build on cultures.

Government should enact laws which are gender sensitive, which acknowledge the roles women play in all spheres and which enables them to widen their horizons.

It is gratifying to note that the new African Union is taking culture very seriously, as this will help the individual countries, particularly in policy formulation. One also hopes that culture will receive prominence within the various programmes of NEPAD

REFLECTIONS ON THE DRAFT CONVENTION

Globalisation is a fact of life, it is here to stay and we must brace ourselves for it I cannot convey this better than illustrated by Rex Nettleford who says:

"We in Jamaica are living, in hurricane belt and globalisation is like a hurricane. We have to make sure that we are firmly rooted and grounded, so that when the wind passes, we are still standing"

I believe that if our cultures are strong and we are imbued with a strong sense of cultural identity, the global winds cannot blow us off course so easily.

It is important that we close all the loopholes at local level before we seek the global solutions, as, the saying goes: think globally and act locally, and global problems require local solutions. We need to put our houses in order first, so that whatever global solution come - be it Treaty or Convention, it finds us ready and prepared.

Just a few thoughts bout the Draft Convention, I would call for some kind of collaboration with UNESCO whose mandate is culture and has had a long time to reflect on issues, to discuss them through study groups and commissions. Working definitions of culture, and cultural diversity have been provided in past initiatives Let us build on that, but adding new insights to this complex but important subject.

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UNESCO's Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity is an excellent document. If there is to be a Convention, much that is good in it must be used and not attempt to reinvent the wheel!

THANK YOU