Leonardo

The New Unesco International Fund for the Promotion of CultureAuthor(s): Alfred E. DavidsonSource: Leonardo, Vol. 8, No. 3 (Summer, 1975), pp. 223-224Published by: The MIT PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1573242 .

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Leonardo, Vol. 8, pp. 223-224. Pergamon Press 1975. Printed in Great Britain

THE NEW UNESCO INTERNATIONAL FUND FOR THE PROMOTION OF CULTURE

Alfred E. Davidson*

In August 1970 a regional Caribbean Cultural Conference was held in Kingston, Jamaica, under the sponsorship of Unesco, the Government of Jamaica and the University of the West Indies. At the Conference, Edward Seaga, Minister of Finance of Jamaica, suggested that an international fund or bank for the promotion of culture should be established. He stated: 'The truth was that there was no established institution capable of providing enough resources to make a significant impact on the development of culture or the work of conservation in the developing countries of the world. Cultural development had not been a project eligible for World Bank finance. Unesco was an executing agency and was not provided with the necessary resources like other United Nations agencies. Unesco contributions to projects of that kind were considerably limited as regards the funds it could supply for cultural development and conservation projects' [1].

In a series of succeeding Unesco meetings dealing with cultural questions, support for the setting up of such a bank or fund came from many nations. This effort culminated in the establishment by the Unesco General Conference in November 1974 of The International Fund for the Promotion of Culture as an organ of Unesco [2]. The headquarters of the Fund are to be located in Paris.

It would be difficult to find, except perhaps in wartime, a parallel for such speedy action in inter- national affairs. There was a lapse of only a little more than four years between the suggestion for such a body and its actual establishment.

The Fund, in a conceptual sense, rests upon the proposition advanced by Rene Maheu, former Director-General of Unesco, in 1970 at Venice, shortly after Seaga's proposal, that cultural development is an integral part of overall national or regional development. The term culture for the Fund is undefined but includes painting, sculpture, music, dance, writing and other kinds of fine art, their propagation by the mass media and research, training and education in the arts. Underlying this thought is the unexpressed assumption that art

* Lawyer (U.S.A.) living at 5 rue de la Manutention, 75016 Paris, France, and a member of the Unesco Working Party concerned with the establishment of the Fund. (Received 8 Feb. 1975.)

plays an essential part in the lives of all people, not only in the lives of the small percentage of the population that is highly educated or rich.

The view of the Founder-Editor of Leonardo, Frank J. Malina, is different, for he has written to me as follows: 'The likely explanation for the low priority that governments give in their budgets for cultural activities, in particular for the visual fine arts, is that the masses of the people do not find that these arts play a vital role in their lives. Efforts in some countries to develop art appreciation have not met with noteworthy success but artists and others in the world of art continue to assume, unrealistically, that their activities are of general major significance to all people and, therefore, should be given major financial and other support by governments' [3].

The Fund will not be financed through Unesco's regular budget but will depend upon voluntary con- tributions from governments and from private organizations and individuals and such money as the Fund can earn through its own activities. Its ability to mobilize funds for the promotion of the arts on a scale worthy of an international organi- zation will provide at least another monetary test as to whether art plays a vital part in the life of people generally. The fact that the Fund was created at a time of economic crisis in Western industrial nations I find in itself significant, The arts are usually the first to feel the impact of economic crises and, in fact, with few exceptions, artists of all types and museums, concert orchestras and theaters perenially have financial difficulties.

It is my view, however, that, regardless of the extent of financial support given to the Fund and regardless of the relatively small number of people now directly concerned with the arts, the lives of the masses of the people, consciously or un- consciously, are affected by the arts. The art of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans placed a stamp on the character of their societies that is recognized centuries later. The 19-century archi- tecture of Paris and the 20th-century skyscrapers of New York City have undoubtedly influenced the lives of their inhabitants, for better or worse.

The Fund may use its resources in any Member State of Unesco but it is expected to assist mainly the developing countries. Although the Fund's charter does not limit the kinds of artistic activities

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Alfred E. Davidson

that can be supported, priority will be given to innovative projects that are expected to have a multiplier effect. In any case, it will only consider projects that are consistent with Unesco's consti- tution and the principles of its cultural develop- ment programs.

Unesco has a regular program of cultural activities but financial resources for it have been so small that there is no prospect of its being able to undertake the activities now being contem- plated by the Fund.

The resources of the Fund are to be used to provide 'intellectual, technical and financial col- laboration in areas such as: (a) the formulation of strategies of cultural develop- ment regarded as an aspect of the overall develop- ment of individuals and of societies; (b) the establishment or reinforcement of institu- tions, structures and facilities whose purpose is cultural or artistic, and of national or regional machinery for aid to cultural action and artistic creation; (c) the training of specialists in cultural development and cultural action, such as planners, administrators cultural activities organizers and technicians; (d) the production and dissemination of culture; (e) research into cultural development; (f) the organization of exchanges and meetings to encourage the mutual appreciation of cultures and understanding among peoples, in a spirit of peace and international cooperation' [2].

Since the Administrative Council and the Director of the Fund have not as yet been appoint- ed, the procedures to be followed by those seeking assistance from the Fund have not been determined. In principle, public or private bodies and in- dividuals may directly request assistance from the Fund but it seems probable that most requests will be channelled through existing national cultural agencies. It is unlikely that the Fund will have the staff necessary to evaluate a large number of requests. Accordingly, the Fund is expected to designate screening agencies, public or private in

countries in which the requests originate, to work in collaboration with it. The main task of the staff of the Fund will be to search for new concepts and new methods for advancing the arts under the conditions prevailing in different countries.

The Fund's financial assistance might be used in a number of ways: for the publication of manu- scripts; for the sponsorship of art exhibitions and of presentations in the performing arts within a country or abroad; for the training of personnel; for the purchase of equipment and materials to facilitate the execution of a project, including the construction of cultural centers to provide, for example, a library, a theater, an art exhibition gallery, a lecture hall and broadcasting facilities.

The framers of the charter of the Fund were keenly aware of the need to by-pass the often bureaucratic procedures of large international governmental organizations, such as Unesco, while realizing that the policies of the Fund would be subject to control by the Member States of Unesco. The Fund is to carry out its work independently of the Secretariat of Unesco. However, its Admini- strative Council and Director are to be appointed by the Director-General of Unesco.

The Unesco General Conference authorized a sum of $84,000 for putting the Fund into operation during the period 1975-76. The first task of the Fund will be to obtain money for programs of assistance from voluntary contributions, from fees for special studies and from promotional activities such as the UNICEF program for seasons' greet- ings cards. Readers interested in further informa- tion on the Fund should write to the Office of Public Information, Unesco, 7 Place Fontenoy, 75700 Paris, France.

References

1. Report of the Caribbean Cultural Conservation Con- ference, Kingston, Jamaica, 29 July-4 Aug. 1970.

2. Charter of the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture, Unesco document No. 18C/87, 1974.

3. Personal communication of F. J. Malina addressed to A. E. Davidson, May 1974.

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