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Menina do Mato

 

Sementes ao vento esperam as gotas de água para frutificar.

No ventre da terra, aquecidas pelo sol saltam no ar.

Iluminadas …

Sentidas …

Desejadas!

Para saciar a fome dos peregrinos na busca da nascente do vento.

Senti no rosto os raios do sol.

Ao oriente olhando o Índico.

Desfiei as memórias sentidas por gentes que cruzam trilhos de espuma.

Na terra quente corre.

Menina do mato

Corre veloz, locaz

De verbo fácil

Olhos no rosto e palavras diretas ao coração.

Sensível … de mão calejada,

De memórias desfiadas

a construir mundos

com sementes de amor.

 

Maputo 30 Junho 2019

 

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The Ashram of Salamanga and Saint Kalidas

Calane da Silva, grandson of Kalane Megdji of Gujarati Indian, builder of the temple of Salamanga accompanies us in the morning on a Sunday in June, during a visit to the temple of Salamanga. According to the myth of Kalidás, the temple was built by the express will of the saint, who for more than a hundred years passed through the place. Calane da Silva has unveiled the stories and memories of the site.

For those who travel on the new road between Maputo and Ponta do Ouro, crossing the bridge over the Maputo River, the pyramidal dome of the temple, probably the oldest one in Africa, stands out in the landscape. Strangely, it is a style of architecture that differs clearly from the traditional African constructions that surround it, as well as from some constructions of colonial time in masonry.

Salamanga is a small town in the Matutuine District. The importance of its location is well understood, since it is the only crossing point of the Maputo River. But the question of building a temple of this size in this place over a hundred years ago and its maintenance from there is an intriguing question. It is not possible to understand this construction without understanding the Hindu community of Mozambique.

This is a temple that crosses several times of history. In it come stories and memories that reflect their nature as a sacred place for the Hindu community and that remain very alive.

First is a time of Indians migrations by the Indian. Peaceful migrations from Indian communities that are lost in records and memories. On the east coast of Africa they have been registered since the 13th century. In this region of Salamanga, crossing over the Maputo River, they arrive at the end of the 19th century and remain there. With the rhythms and flows of time, lives are adjusted and adapted.

The History of the Calanda family is a paradigmatic example. Kalana Magdji arrives in Mozambique at the end of the 19th century. According to Calane da Silva, a marriage between families had been prepared according to the Hindu tradition, which Kalana Magdji did not want to honour. The solution was to escape by boat, landing on the eastern African coast. Mason by profession dedicated himself to the construction of buildings and canteens in Bela Vista.

The installation of Hindu communities in the late nineteenth century in Matutuine, Bela Vista should be related to the beginning of colonization in Lourenço Marques. With the transfer of the capital of Mozambique to Delagoa Bay, and settled the territorial litigation with the British, who demanded the land strip between the Transvaal and the Coast, the construction shoots. Dio’s masons are a natural choice. With population increase it is also necessary to feed the people. In Dio the rice and salt cultivation techniques were well known. In Bela Vista the necessary resources for these three activities are gathered. The limestone mines of the floodplain of the Maputo River and the force of the tides at the mouth of the Maputo River. Salamanga lies at the point where the narrow river route, an ideal place to connect the two banks and proceed to the north, to the city of Maputo, by land or by waterway.

Although these geo-political issues are of little concern to Hindu communities traditionally concerned with trade and labour, urban and demographic growth in southern Mozambique is an ideal place to settle new vacancies in the Hindu community in the region.

Why this Temple in Salamanga?

Going back to the story of the builder of the Magdji temple, a mason residing in the area, without a wife, but certainly with some social prestige. Calanda da Silva tells us, he will have sought “King”(Regulo) Ngoanazi and asked for a woman to take care of the house. The boss chose Mahazul Mabica, a Ronga woman who had learned from a lady “clear” some techniques of cutting fabrics and seams. With his wife Magdji kalane had eight children and passed away in 1926.

After the death of her grandmother husband Calanda was expelled from the house, found shelter in the Katembe, where Calanda da Silva was born and collected his teachings. It is a story that is an example of the beginning of the process of European colonization in the region, which shows us the complex relationship with the local African communities.

To finish the question of the construction of the temple in Salamanga, according to Calane da Silva, his grandfather will have been a direct witness of the presence of Saint Kalidas in the region.

The Saint travels from India, from Gujarati State. You will have entered in by Mozambique or Inhambane. From Inhambane you will have walked to Salamanga. Once dazzled, the sight of nature, the presence of many trees and animals, chose the place to stay. At that time (in 1908) according to Calanda da Silva there should be in Salamanga a Hindu population with about 50 people who managed a dozen canteens. It was there that in the shadow of a tree, the saint meditated, according to the precepts of the Hindu religion.

During his presence in Salamanga he will have done several miracles for the local population. One of these miracles will have been made in Mahoca, a few miles to the west. According to the story, the local population that fought against the lack of drinking water, will have come to Salamanga intercede to the saint. Upon learning of the population gathering, the administrator wanted to know what was going on. He then challenged the saint to perform a miracle in the lagoon of that place. Saint Kalidas accepted with defiance. It is said that the administrator invites the saint to go with him by car. According to tradition, Kalidás will have replied, “Saints who walk and rivers that run are good things. Follow you by car. I’ll walk, but when they get there, I’ll be there. When the administrator arrives at the lagoon the saint was already there waiting for him. Soon he touched the water and drank it. To this day the population continues to drink from the water of the lagoon.

Shortly after, after a long meditation, the saint stands up and claims that his work in Salamanga was finished. Leave instructions to Calane da Silva’s grandmother to build a temple and disappear to walk on the river. It was never seen again, nor does it know where it went.

According to local tradition, the temple was begun in 1908 and was completed in 1914. It was an ornate quadrangular structure with four peacocks that topped the columns where the pyramidal dome rested.

The temple times

The Hindu community of Mozambique has not ceased to grow. The flows between Gujarati and the eastern coast were maintained. In Salamanga, over the years, Indians who had taken over canteens, as happened with the canteen of Minhembeti in the 60’s, were also an example of this epic that dynamited an important network of formal commerce that ensured the food subsistence of the population, including the link between African communities and goods of commerce.

Maputo will be the focal point of this canteen trade. From its port flow to the peripheral territories the products that the land does not give, essential for the process of agriculture that then develop along the river Maputo. In 1925 the Hindu community of Maputo becomes an associative space that supports the community and those who arrive in search of new lives. It also helps those who want to leave, because in many situations the relations between the various territories remain. The Hindu community has adapted to the times and to the many changes taking place in the world and in Mozambique, keeping their traditions visible in clothing, religious practices, gastronomy, festivals and mutual aid practices.

This specificity helps to understand the maintenance of time in Salamanga at the turn of the century. Without this connection to the Hindu community of Maputo and its diaspora in the world it is difficult to understand. But it is not enough to understand the generosity and devotion of the community in its maintenance and longevity. There is something in this place that attracts and fixes. It is a place with spirituality, respected and recognized by those who go there.

The temple is affected by weather and by the fury of wars. During the great floods of 1980, the original temple, built by Kalane Magdji was affected, having been rebuilt in an upper quota. It is the present temple, which follows the tradition of the old, though broader and with some elements of devotion. Peacocks are however the same. Over the years, small improvements have been made to maintain the temple, where many of the major pilgrimages of the community take place, in particular during the great Diwali festival or the lights, which marks the Hindu New Year between October and November.

As a sacred place, over the years has also witnessed the main events of the twentieth century in Mozambique. It witnesses the independence of the post-war period and its successive shock waves in the region. In 1949 the independence of India. In 1961 the integration of the Portuguese colonies in India (Dio, Daman and Goa) and the impacts they had in the common Hindu age. In 1975 with the independence of Mozambique with its program of African socialism. In the eighties the Mozambican civil war.

The successive food crises also have their impacts on the life of the temple, which develops some solidarity action in the community. In Mozambique drought and floods are cyclical, dragging with them the inevitable cycle of poverty that the temple action seeks to alleviate.

The times of the progress of the territory will also affect the territory. The construction of the bridges over Maputo in the sixties, the new road to Ponta do Oro, bring people and new challenges and new brands to this place. All times there are men and women who live and feed, who have dreams and devotions. All this this temple witnesses. The saint’s story is an example of Hindu mythology and the importance of water as the purifying stream to which we all flow. This temple is a window of the world.

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Mafalala Museum – Maputo Mozambique

The new museum building, organized by neighborhood identity areas, still under development, includes an exhibition area about the history of Maputo City, about life in the neighborhood and space for artistic activities. There is also a place of residence and a space for food is provided. It aims to create a space of communication with the community and with the city.
In the conception of the museum, there is a desire to find a way with the favela museums of Rio de Janeiro, in particular the Museu de Maré . The brothers Rui and Ivan Laranjeira are community leaders.
In the well-known Mafalala neighborhood, in the city of Maputo, is the first community museum of Mozambique emerged in pas few years. Powered by  IVERCA Association, a Local Association of Tourism, Nature and Culture.
The association has been promoting the Mafalala Festival, has organized urban circuits through the neighborhood and organizes artistic residencies.
In Mafalala the population is constituted by an appreciable cultural diversity, finding 28 different languages. It was a space of resistance to colonialism. Here was born the marabenta, the urban music of Maputo. José Craveirinha and Eusebio are two children of the neighborhood.

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CULTURE IN THE SDGS

Culture in the SDGs

The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the global agenda on sustainable development. It includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 specific targets. This is, indeed, a global agenda, the aims and themes of which should be taken into account in all world regions, countries and cities.

The 2030 Agenda amounts to a minor step forward in the consideration of cultural aspects in sustainable development.In the context of our advocacy work, and aiming at the full localisation and implementation at the local level of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Committee on Culture of UCLG published (May 2018) the document “Culture in the Sustainable Development Goals: A Guide for Local Action“.

The document provides practical guidance to local and regional governments, civil society organisations, private organisations, culture and development professionals, and other stakeholders that are involved in strengthening partnerships, policies, projects and practices around the place of culture in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The document is structured on the basis of the 17 SDGs. Under each Goal, the document presents information that helps to understand why culture is relevant and how this connection can be made effective at local level, including in areas where connections may only be implicit, and offers several examples of cities or local governments which have implemented projects, programmes and policies that are directly related to the Goal area.

“Culture in the Sustainable Development Goals: a Guide for Local Action” builds on the work of the UCLG Committee on Culture, especially the toolkit Culture 21 Actions, the global database of good practices called OBS on culture, cities and SDGs, and the advocacy campaign #culture2015goal which has been run together with several partner international cultural organisations and networks.

We invite all cities, local governments, local and national stakeholders, activists, academics and experts to read and share this publication.

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The cultural diversity of memories and communities (VIII)

The Diversity of Museums and Memories

The museum is not only a physical place, a mere container of fragments of memory and patrimony: It is, above all, a place of scientific investigation, of collection analysis from which one interprets and constructs a narrative of the world, original or not.

Each Museum is also a culture point created by the relationship between the people who created and managed it with de community.

In this way, it is an institution that uses exhibitions, permanent or temporary, as a process of communication of its specificity.

It is also a space that uses new technologies to expand its audience and communicate its specificity.

It is a space of education for the schools and for the community where it rooted. The diversity of museums is one of its main characteristics.

This is the model of contemporany museums. An ative and dynamic organization.

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A NEW EUROPEAN LANDSCAPE FOR HERITAGE PROFESSIONS

FOSTERING COOPERATION IN THE EUROPEAN UNION ON SKILLS, TRAINING AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN CULTURAL HERITAGE PROFESSIONS[1]

REPORT OF THE OMC (OPEN METHOD OF COORDINATION) WORKING GROUP OF MEMBER STATES’ EXPERTS)

A NEW EUROPEAN LANDSCAPE FOR HERITAGE PROFESSIONS

For the first time, the Council of the European Union has invited a group of national experts to investigate skills, training and knowledge transfer in the heritage professions in Europe [2] .

The group was operational in 2017 and 2018 under the Work Plan for Culture 2015-2018, with the support of the European Commission[3].

This report is intended to be a resource for the European Union (EU) to ensure the longterm sustainability of Europe’s cultural heritage. It aims to do this by contributing to the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018 objective ‘to support the development of specialised skills and improve knowledge management and knowledge transfer in the cultural heritage sector, taking into account the implications of the digital shift’ [4].

It will also contribute to the European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage[5], launched by the European Commission with the aim of leaving a policy imprint beyond 2018.

A new European landscape for heritage professions

In the space of just a few years, the European policy framework on cultural heritage has been completely overhauled, moving towards a people-centred and holistic approach, and eliminating the divisions between the tangible, intangible and digital dimensions. It sees cultural heritage as a shared resource, highlighting that all stakeholders share responsibility for its transmission to future generations.

It stresses the need for a more integrated approach to conservation and management, across different policy areas, in order to maximise the benefits to economy, culture, environment and society as a whole. It acknowledges the opportunities that new technologies offer to preserve cultural heritage, and to enhance the visitor experience and public engagement at heritage sites and museums.

This new framework changes the way in which cultural institutions manage, protect and provide access to their heritage. It changes the way in which citizens and communities engage with their cultural heritage and also naturally influences the way that professionals deal with it.

Why publish this report?

The most effective way to manage, protect, promote and enhance Europe’s irreplaceable cultural heritage is to ensure that the people who do this work (and all stakeholders who make decisions affecting cultural heritage) have the traditional and emerging skills required to fulfil these complex, challenging and necessary roles.

What are the key messages?

While Europe is renowned for its expertise in this sector, the transmission of knowledge and skills is impacted by the combined effect of Europe’s age pyramid, cuts to public budgets, the digital shift and the academisation of society.

New skills and competences are needed to progress towards a more integrated and participatory management of cultural heritage, and better use of the opportunities offered by new technologies. Europe urgently needs to enhance, promote and protect the technical and professional skills of the people who ensure the longterm sustainability of its cultural heritage. People are central to the transfer of knowledge and skills, so it is important to invest in them in order to safeguard Europe’s heritage.

Who is this report written for?

This report targets the main stakeholders: policymakers (at national and EU level); education and training institutions; cultural institutions; and professional associations.

How was the content created?

The experts discussed and developed the many issues affecting the current supply of, and demand for, cultural heritage training and employment. The group drew up national SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analyses and combined these to identify themes. They also widely consulted reports published by the European Commission and other sources. The group particularly benefited from study visits and the reflections of a group of heritage stakeholders working under the Voices of Culture initiative[6].

The analysis focused on the four development phases of potential heritage professionals: raising awareness; education and training; lifelong learning and knowledge transfer.

Tom and his family: They enjoy visiting museums, heritage sites and craft fairs during their holidays, but they have no idea what goes on behind the scenes.

How can we help them discover the world of heritage work? Can we motivate Tom to start a career as a craftsperson or even inspire Tom’s granddad to volunteer?

Miriam and her friends: Miriam studies architecture but the curriculum includes very little on the repair and conservation of buildings and monuments. Her boyfriend, Mo, who studies digital technology, has no idea that the heritage sector is desperately looking for his skills. How can we help these students to make the link with heritage work?

David and his colleagues: They care about cultural heritage and collections, and have been working in the field for several years now. They want to deepen their skills and innovate in their work, but they have no professional development plan and little time. How can we help these heritage workers to upskill and develop a new heritage practice?

Laura and her network: Laura is a conservator-restorer with a lot of experience and a high level of skills and knowledge. She is very well connected to other colleagues, experts and skilled craftspeople. This network would like to share their knowledge and skills, especially as many of them are nearing retirement age, but there are few opportunities to do so. Time and financial restraints limit the possibility of recruiting young professionals

Wouldn’t it be great if Laura and her network could share their passion with Tom and his family? If they could inspire Miriam and her friends to make the link with heritage work?

And what if they could support David and his colleagues to deepen their skills and innovate? Wouldn’t it be even better if this knowledge exchange was two-way? If Laura and her network could also learn a lot of new skills in the process?

Tom, Miriam, David and Laura represent the four phases in the development of people who could choose to further their interest in the knowledge and skills involved in cultural heritage.

Each phase affects the others: people in Laura’s phase could directly influence young children like Tom, and his family.

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

The recommendations in this report draw on practical examples, good-practice case studies and lessons learned. They aim to maximise the benefits and value that Europe could gain from improving the transfer of skills, training and knowledge in cultural heritage professions.

They are summarised under the four pillars of the European Year of Cultural Heritage: engagement, sustainability, protection and innovation, as well as the transversal dimension of international relations[7].

Engagement

Cultural heritage professionals are best placed to communicate, to the whole community, the vital benefits that cultural heritage has for the economy, culture, environment and society.

Recommendations

Devise innovative engagement and communications skills training for professionals, mediators and policymakers, to improve mutual understanding and holistic approaches to increase participation and access for all.

Increase digital access through online information portals and networks to raise awareness, and to transmit knowledge and skills for the common purpose of safeguarding heritage, and for interpreting and implementing the Faro Convention [8]

Sustainability

The expertise of cultural heritage professionals is a unique public asset that is essential to achieving quality, value and sustainability in heritage protection and preservation.

Recommendations

  • Promote increased mobility by enabling cultural heritage professionals to validate the full breadth of their formal and non-formal knowledge and skills.
  • Support evidence-based assessment processes and specialist certification schemes to aid the recruitment of skilled and experienced professionals.

Protection

Cultural heritage professionals continuously maintain and enhance their core and transversal knowledge and skills in order to adapt to current and future skills demands, with the support of professional associations and public policymakers.

Recommendations

  • Cultural heritage professionals and public policymakers should collaborate to identify and map cultural heritage professions (including skills at risk).
  • Improve data collection and analysis in order to classify heritage occupations and assess current and future skills needs.

Innovation

Cultural heritage professionals work in interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral environments.

They combine traditional, creative and innovative approaches to safeguarding Europe’s irreplaceable heritage for future generations.

Recommendations

  • Support and enhance education, training and centres of excellence to provide: entry-level and advanced cultural heritage training; post-graduate research programmes; lifelong learning opportunities; and structured knowledge-exchange for the cultural heritage workforce, policymakers, mediators and the public.
  • Promote EU and national cultural heritage standards, where appropriate.
  • Provide EU funding for innovative and integrated training and research, in association with sector representative bodies and through cross-sectoral cooperation.

International dimension

Europe is renowned for the quality of its training institutions, research centres and cultural heritage professionals. These professionals can help build bridges between people, communities and countries, reinforcing intercultural dialogue and mutual understanding, thereby contributing to an EU strategy for international cultural relations [9]

Recommendations

  • Reinforce and promote EU cooperation with international organisations such as ICCROM9 International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property [10] on training for heritage professionals.
  • Create opportunities and provide funds for the education, training, knowledge-exchange and mobility of European cultural heritage professionals at global level.

Notes

[1] http://www.patrimoniocultural.gov.pt/pt/news/projetos/promover-cooperacao-na-uniao-europeia-no-dominio-das-competencias-da-formacao-e-da-transferencia-de-conhecimentos-nas-profissoes-do-patrimonio-cultural/

[2] Conclusions of the Council and of the Representatives of the governments of the Member States, meeting within the Council, on a Work Plan for Culture (2015-2018) (2014/EC/436/02).

[3] https://ec.europa.eu/culture/policy/ strategic-framework_en

[4] Decision (EU) 2017/864 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 May 2017 on a European Year of Cultural Heritage (2018)

[5] ). 4 European Commission, Commission Staff Working Document, European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage, SWD(2018) 491 final. Brussels, 5.12.2018.

[6] Ateca Amestoy, V. et al, Brainstorming Report. Towards an integrated approach to cultural heritage for Europe – Prospectus on skills, training and knowledge transfer for traditional and emerging heritage professions (www.voicesofculture.eu/skills, 2017).

[7] See Chapter 2 for general recommendations and Chapter 5 for specific recommendations relating to the four phases of development.

[8] Council of Europe, Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society (Faro, 2005).

[9] http://www.europarl.europa.eu/legislative-train/ theme-europe-as-a-stronger-global-actor/ file-eu-strategy-for-international-cultural-relations

[10] International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM): https://www.iccrom.org/

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Cultural Diversity, Social Memories and Communities (VII)

Tensions and opportunities

The tensions of globalization and critical decolonial thinking have been fertile instruments that reveal the ways museums have shown themselves, not only as places of encounter and cultural creation, but also as a space of confrontation and conflict between cultures. And this cannot today be forgotten as future challenges.

That is why the question that museums want for the future cannot help but be considered as to what professionals are needed for the museums of the future.

Museum professionals in the future must be equipped with heritage education work tools for diversity. They must be prepared to work with the community, from their memories, in dialogue with a culture of peace and diversity.

But this statement is not easy to realize: First, the question of who represents the community raises questions of legitimacy. The community is not something immutable and pre-existing. It is composed of memories and identities in process that carry tensions and compromises. It is therefore necessary to take into account the need to mobilize the main actors and seek to include subordinate communities.

Secondly, the idea of ​​heritage relevance, also not necessarily the same in all cultures. If this is the case, the extreme situation of the destruction of the Buddha Statues in Afghanistan by the Islamic State, which denied the valuation attributes as patrimony. But outside of this most extreme case, there are situations that still raise doubts about patrimonial processes, when they are removed from their original contexts, to be placed in museums. It is, for example, the case of indigenous artifacts, which today, appropriated the patrimonial tools by these communities, allow for a new museology based on the values ​​of these communities.

One must not forget that among museum professionals there are quarrels between traditionalists and modernists, between families and regions between sovereign nations and nations without states; between communities within state. Often these quarrels arise from agendas and narratives that develop in the context of heritage institutions. The world is a complex reality and in each place, minority communities play against majorities. States seek to consolidate their hold on society through culture, which can in many cases collide with traditional practices.

It is therefore necessary to be alert to good intentions. It is not enough to proclaim universal principles and to use them as instruments of transformation, as it is necessary to be alert to the traditions, so that these traditions do not allow people to lock up and prevent them from assuming their destiny according to their convictions

After all, the Heritage of Humanity can be an instrument of education for difference. To show that aquili that is a treasure, and that often is only enjoyed by some of the community, can become a common good.

It should not be forgotten that museums were in their time a process of making public access to private goods.

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Cultural Diversity, Social Memories and Communities (VI).

The disagreements of the current museums in Portugal.

It is said that nobody knows the Museum of Polyphonic Choirs of the South. It is natural, because the nation little recognizes itself in the museums to the south. Among the 15 national museums and National Palaces none is south of the Tagus. This is one of the mysteries of cultural policie in Portugal.

The DGPC has in its dependence these equipments. But many other relevant equipment is scattered throughout the country, with national relevance, under other tutelas. It is enough to speak of the Sintra parks complex (Vila Palace, Sintra Palace, Queluz Palace, etc., under concession to a PPP), or the Bragança Palaces (Guimarães, Estemoz and Ourém) or the Sagres Promontory in dependence the DR Culture of the Algarve, and the Pantão Real in the Church of São Vicente de Fora, as well as several of the national monuments that can be visited in this country, which find different forms of management. But that will be theme for another postcard in the future.

Here we try to analyze the contexts of Portuguese museum narratives and their current challenges. We are left with the ways in which they can surpass the visions of competitive nationalism of the nineteenth century to position themselves as modern, multicultural state actors with respect for cultural diversity.

These museums today face the issues arising from the tensions of globalization and the emergence of decolonial thinking.

These are questions as prosaic as the return of cultural goods (which has a small dimension in our country); the need to rethink the forms of presentation of the colonial collections (which, for example, the Museum of Ethnology tried to do without great success); the phenomenon of gentrification of urban centers and tourist flows (which in our country is very visible in Belém, for example, without measures still known); the emergence of the demand for patrimonial spaces for events, public or proved (that some years ago in ours the country ignited controversy about an event sponsored by the WEB Summit in the National Pantheon); or the production of a clear thought about the meaning of the transformation of cultural products into services to the community, be they public or private or even associative (issues that in our country are still sensitive, by the nature of an instrument of memory power); on issues arising from the metamorphosis of what is heritage and how it is preserved and replicated (an issue that is still at an early stage of discussion in the country); or the relevant issues such as migrations, religious quarrels and violence, climate change, which are important for the creation of futures in local communities, are still not very interrelated with museums, particularly in Portugal.

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Second edition of the Civil Society Forum on THE PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS

THE PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS

Seventh session Paris, UNESCO Headquarters, Room II

4-7 June 2019

CONCEPT NOTE

Second edition of the Civil Society Forum

Tuesday, 4 June 2019

  1. Context

Civil society has played an important role in the process of drafting and adopting the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in 2005 (hereinafter “the Convention”), by creating a global movement of non-governmental stakeholders.

Article 11 of the Convention recognises civil society’s fundamental role in protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions, and provides that Parties shall encourage its active participation in their efforts to achieve the objectives of the Convention, for example by:

  • participating in the development of cultural policies through consultations with governments;
  • acting as change agents by proposing new ideas and approaches in the formulation of cultural policies, for example in the digital environment;
  • collecting data and providing information to contribute to the development of informed policies and the preparation of quadrennial periodic reports.

In addition, the operational guidelines for the implementation of the Convention provide civil society organisations (hereinafter CSOs) with a number of opportunities to participate in the work of the Convention’s governing bodies[1] at the international level, for example by:

  • attending the governing bodies’ sessions as accredited observers: on average, 50 CSOs regularly participate in governing body meetings;
  • submitting information documents to the governing bodies on the priorities identified by the Parties;
  • contributing actively to the debates of the governing bodies before decisions are taken.

Since 2017[2], the governing bodies of the Convention have increasingly involved CSOs in the implementation of the Convention and encouraged their participation at statutory meetings.

For example, CSOs are invited to: – attend a working meeting between the Bureau and civil society representatives before the sessions of the Committee to discuss agenda items and priorities of Parties and CSOs. Civil society representatives have the opportunity to ask questions directly to the Chairperson and Vice-Chairs of the Committee;

  • submit proposals for amendments to draft operational guidelines on the implementation of the Convention in the digital environment. These proposals were included in the document negotiated by the Committee at its tenth session;
  • report on the contribution of civil society to the implementation of the Convention. The first reports were reviewed by the Committee in December 2017. CSOs submitted their second report to the Secretariat on 15 February 2019. These reports will be transmitted to the Conference of the Parties at its seventh session in June 2019;
  • attend the Civil Society Forum, which is held every two years in advance of the Conference of the Parties. This Forum provides a framework for exchange and cooperation among CSOs and strengthens their contributions to the governing bodies’ agenda. The second edition of the Civil Society Forum will take place on June 4, 2019.

The governing bodies’ decisions and actions underline the importance they attach to the participation of CSOs. They ensure that CSOs take part in the implementation of the Convention and are involved in the debates and decisions taken at statutory meetings.

The level of engagement of CSOs in the Convention is unprecedented in international law. No other international convention enables CSOs to play such an active role in its implementation.

  1. Goals of the second Civil Society Forum

This second edition of the Civil Society Forum aims to:

  • enable representatives of CSOs to examine their current concerns and discuss issues related to the implementation of the Convention;
  • make proposals to the Conference of the Parties on issues or problems that CSOs consider to be priorities and that they would like to see reflected in the work of the Convention’s governing bodies.

The Forum will be organized by the Secretariat and its agenda will reflect the concerns, issues, and recommendations expressed by CSOs in their reports to the eleventh session of the Committee[3].

The Secretariat’s analysis of these reports highlighted four themes that underpin the main opportunities and challenges faced by CSOs and take into account the different types of CSOs, the diversity of the cultural and creative industries they represent, and their geographical diversity.

In order to finalise the four themes, the Secretariat invited CSOs to share ideas and propose amendments before February 28th , 2019. Their responses enabled the Secretariat to finalize the

Forum’s programme.

Four workshops will be organized based on the selected themes:

Workshop 1: How to improve the diversity of cultural expressions in the media in the digital age? Examples of good practices.

The issue of the diversity of cultural expressions in the media is crucial, since the media are at the heart of the creation, production, and dissemination of an ever-increasing amount of cultural and artistic content, particularly in the digital environment. Moreover, the diversity of creative content in the media is essential for the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions and is considered to be a key indicator for monitoring the implementation of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

One of the main challenges is to strengthen national production in order to achieve a balance between local, regional, and international content. Moreover, the widespread underrepresentation of women in the creative economy makes gender an important issue to ensure the diversity of cultural expressions in the media.

This workshop will give participants the opportunity to discuss topics such as the effectiveness of policies to regulate content diversity in the digital age, content and platform concentration in the media, the impact of algorithms on the access and discoverability of local cultural content, etc.

Workshop 2: How to strengthen the Convention’s international cooperation and assistance mechanisms in partnership with CSOs?

The 2005 Convention has developed a number of international cooperation and assistance mechanisms, such as technical assistance, capacity building, and funding through the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD). CSOs are key partners to implement the Convention’s international cooperation and assistance mechanisms, as they contribute to the execution of projects and programmes for the development of cultural industries, participate in public policy development and carry out advocacy activities.

This workshop will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss the ways in which the international cooperation and assistance mechanisms of the 2005 Convention can be strengthened to foster the emergence of dynamic cultural and creative sectors in beneficiary countries.

Workshop 3: How can UNESCO Chairs and CSOs collaborate to contribute to the development of public policies for culture and sustainable development?

UNESCO Chairs act as think tanks and contribute to bringing together academics, members of civil society, researchers, and policy-makers. The Chairs working in the areas of the Convention promote cooperation and networking among universities at the international level to strengthen institutional capacities through knowledge sharing and collaboration in the cultural and creative industries sector.

Through this network, the Chairs dedicated to the Convention can pool their resources, both human and material, to meet the challenges linked to the development of informed cultural policies, for example by publishing research papers, organising conferences and teaching university students.

These achievements need to be strengthened, notably by facilitating cooperation between them and with CSOs. This workshop will provide an opportunity for CSOs to learn more about the projects and work of UNESCO Chairs and to identify potential synergies.

Workshop 4: How to overcome barriers to the mobility of artists and cultural professionals?

The mobility of artists and cultural professionals is a major challenge, as is the balanced exchange of cultural goods and services.

Mobility is not a choice for artists and cultural professionals, but rather a condition for their professional survival, as it ensures their career prospects, access to international markets, the creation of jobs and networks and the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions.

For years, obstacles to the mobility of artists and cultural professionals have been the result of increasingly restrictive immigration policies, in particular concerning visas and issues of social security and taxation. Thus, there is an urgent need to rethink policies and programmes for the mobility of artists in order to overcome these obstacles and promote a greater flow of ideas and diversity of cultural expressions around the world.

  1. Expected results

These four workshops will enable CSOs to define concrete areas of action to recommend to the Convention’s governing bodies.

Such recommended areas for future work will be presented to the seventh session of the Conference of the Parties by the Forum’s Rapporteur (item 5 of the provisional agenda entitled “General debate on the implementation of the Convention by its stakeholders”).

UNESCO will ensure the logistical organisation of the Forum. Simultaneous interpretation will be provided in French and English.

[1] The Convention has two governing bodies: the Conference of Parties to the Convention and the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

[2] Since 2007, the governing bodies have taken 22 decisions concerning the role and participation of civil society in the implementation of the Convention. The Secretariat has prepared more than 20 working and information documents on issues concerning civil society and the Convention to enable them to make informed decisions. By the end of 2019, the Secretariat had organized over 15 events (exchange sessions, Create | 2030 Talks) specifically dedicated to the engagement of civil society in the implementation of the Convention. The decisions and documents are available on the  Convention’s website: https://en.unesco.org/creativity/governance/governing-bodies

[3] See: Reports of civil society organizations on their activities, DCE/17/11.IGC/6REV, eleventh session of the Intergovernmental Committee (December 2017).

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Cultural Diversity, Social Memories and Communities (V)

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Museums as Places of meeting where Bridges are built between Cultures

In general, museums are institutions where they find narratives about the interest of a given cultural formation over others, whether of the past (historical and archaeological museums), or about others (museums of ethnology) or, like mirrors, show narratives of how this formation sees in time (art museums and science museums).

This plasticity of the institution is at the same time one of the reasons for its misery in today’s societies (for incomprehension of its economic value) and its power (for being places of power and creation of life). Both, be as virtues, be as vices, or if we will as we now say advantages and blockages.

In fact, using the tools of strategic analysis the SWAT model emphasizes a dimension of analysis of internal forces: strengths and weaknesses (Strengts and weaknesses); and a dimension of the environment in which it operates, through the analysis of opportunities and threats (opportunities and threats), proves to be a relatively fragile tool in the context of cultural organizations. Its validity is not concerned with studies of quality, social productivity and efficiency and effectiveness. The point is that this type of organizations that use strategic analysis, operate in a competitive market.

Cultural organizations, while somehow competitive with one another, end up valuing themselves in what is specific or good. Museums, or rather, each museum is in a sense a unique case, not having competition, although competing with others, to attract visitors. And between this difficulties of understanding what is specific and what is common these museological organizations often lose some clairvoyance of analysis. And this is where the analysis of the social function of museums can be a useful tool.

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The cultural diversity of memories and communities (III)

Social museology and violence in contexts of memory institutions.

It is recognized that the differences of each community make different ways of responses to the forms of violence to be be worked. By opening a research program close to the target communities of violence, it implies that researchers are prepared to work with diversity. Appropriate responses must be found to each cultural and social context of each community. These types of programs are included within the procedures of Meridional epistemologies, which differ from the research needs of academies.

Research processes require specific times to understand specific problems, which often forces the questioning of our and others’ values, from which knowledge innovation can be reconstructed.

In short, the practice of otherness that cultural diversity demands has the potential to increase the depth and extent of understanding of the cultural territories of communities.

Thinking from the ontology of the community, is not just to apply to the ability to listen to the other. It is from this listening to building innovation. If we consider social processes as rhizomatic flows, we must think that the search for innovative flows for the creation of alive. And among the possibilities of choosing paths, we must make choices for those who present themselves as generators of life (seed cities).

Social museology and its institutions should be thought of as an educational institution for the formation of human beings, and not as a place for the construction of hegemonic narratives or the creation of technicalities.

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Critical thinking and nomad museology

Critical thinking and nomadic museology (cultural diversity and community memory II)

The analyses of contemporary social processes tend to propose a methodology that evaluates flux and rhizomatic configurations. The social reality (given by the awareness of relevance) and the games of the actors in process implies methods of analyzing the changes. Conflicts and actors are in the process. However, in questions of identities there are invariables or constants that constitute values and principles that have lower rates of change.

In the analysis of the construction of memory of the communities, made from the participatory processes, through meridional epistemic practices (the knowledge production in horizontal relations, made through the actors) aims not only to create new relations of power based on dignity human relationship, as well as allowing new relational ties to be rebuilt on the basis of self-recognition and the other.

The recognition of cultural diversity as hermeneutics requires that the validation of scientific production be less focused on the production of hegemonic knowledge, created from hegemonic actors (overvaluation of science); to give space to the emergence of a production of knowledge that is close to the gnosiological architecture of the communities (appreciation of diversity).

This issue is particularly evident in working contexts with violent or traumatic memories. The process of reparation of violence in hegemonic communities implies working from cultural diversity, not to reverse subordinate memories in hegemonic and vice versa, but to recognize the difference, to work from this diversity to create new memories that overcome the trauma.