The analytical tools employed by experts, the indicators that they use to make their predictions, the criteria they form
UNESCO World Decade for Cultural Development CLT/DEC/CD
A Cultural Approach to Development
Planning Manual: Concepts and Tools
Paris, January 1997
"Clarity of cultural identity and its evolving continuity are essential to create an integrated and integrating cultural framework, which is a sine qua non for relevant, effective institutions rooted in authenticity and tradition, yet open to modernity and change. Cultural identity is essential for the self-assurance that societies need for endogenous development. T h e absence of a viable cultural framework in this sense tends to translate into an absence of national self-confidence and social fragmentation with Westernised elites and alienated majorities. [...] This self-assurance is required to create a cultural framework essential to allow modernisation to be something m o r e than a veneer of Westernisation".
Ismail Serageldin Vice President of the World B a n k Culture and Development in Africa. Vol. 1. 1992
2
S u m m a r y Table of Contents A CULTURAL APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT: RESPONDING TO GLOBALIZATION (INTRODUCTION) CHAPTER I: STRATEGIES. 1. Definitions and typologies 2 . Strategy in action - Lessons learnt 3. Planning for a global age: the World Reports 4. Conclusions and proposals 5. Methodological propositions
CHAPTER n : FIELD WORK. 6. Fieldwork: the core problems
7. Fieldworkers : profile and training 8. Communication betweenfieldworker and community 9. Conditions for establishing communication 10. Thefieldworker and the development institutions CHAPTER HI: PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES SUB-CHAPTER 1: PREPARATION-ANALYSIS. 11. Strategies-institutions-projects-fieldwork 12. Identification/rationale 13. Defining target groups and outlining the project 14. FeasibiHty-acceptability. 15. Discussion/co-ordination 16. Adjustment/finaHsation of project SUB-CHAPTER 2: IMPLEMENTATION. 17. Devolution/decentralisation 18. Direct or indirect action (partnership) 19. Flexibility of execution 20. Project monitoring
SUB-CHAPTER 3: EVALUATION... 21. Methods of evaluation 22. The need for new proposals 23. Conclusion: culture, factor or foundation of projects and programmes
PAGE 22 57 58 60 70 82 98
130 134
138 146 150 175 183 192 192 .193 202 205 224 227 247 250 252 256 261
265 268 277 288
CHAPTER TV : THE ROLE OF THE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS (REFORMAND RENEWAL)
305
24. Introduction: The cultural approach and development institutions 25. The decision-making process : points to analyse
306 314
26. N e w tools for the work of the institutions
GENERAL CONCLUSION.
327
358
3
Preface At the beginning of the 1980s, mainstream development thinking, not only in the multilateral and bilateral agencies but also in m a n y national development ministries, did not leave m u c h r o o m for the consideration of culture. Economics w a s reality; culture w a s an abstraction. Economics w a s tangible; culture was intangible. The idea that culture could m a k e an input to development strategies would have eemed then very far-fetched indeed.
T h e crisis through which both the developing and the industrialized countries are currently passing has, however, begun to raise questions about the whole w a y in which development is conceived and undertaken. In developing countries, the policy of economic expansion and technical progress in the manner of "the North" (or "the West") has not really paid off Worse still, the social costs of the race for growth, spurred on by the pursuit of the "Holy Grail" of modernization, are proving to be exorbitant: rural exodus, marginalised peasantry, galloping urbanization, a rash of shanty-towns, mass unemployment and increased poverty, to mention only some of the most obvious problems.
T h e economic crisis in the South, and its repercussions in m a n y of the industrialized societies, are undermining the credibility of a model which, for thirty years, has been heavily promoted among the "developing" and the "least developed countries" ( L D C ) , to follow the categories employed by the U N D P Report on H u m a n Development. Moreover, rapid industrialization, motivated by the desire for short-term profit and based on the exploitation of non-renewable raw materials, is attended everywhere by massive pollution. T h e ecological harm caused by this process is another factor forcing those responsible to reconsider the advisability of disseminating a development model which has proved capable of doing so m u c h damage. In short, the m o d e s of production and consumption practised in the North and the waste to which they give rise can hardly be considered appropriate for other continents, which are themselves facing formidable social and ecological challenges. N o r would they be tolerable if applied to the planet as a whole - the biosphere would simply not be able to support them.
T h e context within which development programmes evolve is not culturally neutral. F r o m the standpoint of the developing nations, those responsible for the political, administrative, technical and financial aspects of development, including both the national institutions and international agencies, are simply passing on, sometimes despite themselves, ideas, m o d e s of organization, values and forms of expression which are typically Northern, and which have little in c o m m o n with the life-style of the local communities into which they are imported.
4
Development strategies are heavily impregnated with their culture of origin, what one might call the "subconscious component of development". T h e values that underlie the donor agency's involvement and its perception of the populations' needs go on to inform the modalities for the transfer of resources. This cultural bias is rooted in the donor agency's inability to imagine models other than those within which it is accustomed to w o r k , to which it subscribes and w h o s e legitimacy is, for the agency at least, indisputable. There is then a risk that the rationality inherent to other cultures will be overlooked, or will even be treated as a residual archaism holding back the "normal" march of progress. Thus, in devising their aid programmes, foreign development planners m a y be more inclined to stress the principles on which their o w n societies operate, such as free competition - thus ignoring the fact that in other societies the spirit of co-operation and community solidarity m a y be an effective m e a n s of mobilizing individuals - or a preference for private property ownership over communal land tenure. T h e same "bias" is also displayed in the w a y m a n y development projects are designed. T h e faith of m a n y experts and technocrats in the technical and scientific methodologies they rely upon sometimes leads them to neglect to ask whether a project is compatible with the requirements of its environment. Under an obligation to meet deadlines, the international expert will endeavour to complete the project in accordance with pre-established objectives, regardless of the realities that m a y be encountered in thefield.His plans, prepared in advance d o w n to the last detail, using variables calculated rationally in terms of time and m a n p o w e r requirements, are nevertheless Hable to be frustrated w h e n confronted with social-cultural imperatives that differ from their o w n .
T h e analytical tools employed by experts, the indicators that they use to m a k e their predictions, the criteria they formulate, and the ideas concerning the nature of progress, modernity and development by which they are guided, all tend to leave out the cultural environment in which their objectives are applied. They arefrequentlyignorant of its workings and underestimate the power and resilience of the social dynamics to which it gives rise. Thus whole areas of production are consistently left out of the equation, the informal sector for example, which, although it operates in parallel with the official economy and obeys its o w n distinct set of "rules", nevertheless, in most developing countries, accounts for m o r e than half of G D P and employs an important part of the population.
For these reasons, the basic notion of this book, the cultural approach to development, and its translation into concepts and tools, should b e of great interest to all those involved in development w o r k generally, and more specifically in designing, implementing and evaluating institutional activities aimed at fostering a culturally-sensitive sustainable development.
5
Detailed Table of Contents
PREFACE FOREWORD ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
PAGE 4 16 21
A cultural approach to development: responding to globalization (Introduction)
22
1. W h y has it been necessary to rethink development? 2 . W h y another n e w approach to development? 3 . Culture: sector or trans-sectoral reality? 4 . "Traditional" vs "modern" society 5 . Cultural Diversity : an asset? 6. Are "universal values" an indispensable condition of development? 7 . Cultural Approach and W o m e n ' s Status 8 . W h a t are the values of development ? 9. Culture, Environment and Development 10. Is globalization irresistible ? 1 1 . W h a t is the cultural approach to development? 1 2 . Is it possible to plan a cultural approach to development? A . Changes to the planning process B . Changes at the level of strategy 13. What is at stake in the cultural approach to development? A . Analysing cultures as basis, resource or barrier in the process of change B . Adopting n e w planning methods
CHAPTER I: STRATEGIES
57
Introduction
58
Definitions and typologies
58
1. W h a t is a development strategy ? 2 . Types of strategic documents A . General orientation papers B . World Reports I. Strategy in Action - Lessons learnt
60
1. The U N Decades: the search for a global development strategy 2 . A Pioneering Document: The Basic Needs Strategy of the International Labour Organisation 3 . Liter-agency strategy: W o m e n ' s advancement A . Previous Conferences and normative instruments B . U N D P - H u m a n Development Report, 1995 C . Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action 4 . World Declaration on Education for All andFramework for Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs (Jomtien, Thailand, 1990) A . The cultural dimension of the Declaration B . The Framework for Action : "Adjusting action to circumstances and needs" 5. A n Action-Oriented Conference: The World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen 1995
6
6. A World Ten-Year Strategy for Cultural Development (The World Decade for Cultural Development - 1988-1997) IL Planning for a global age: the World Reports
70
1. The Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development : Our C o m m o n Future 2 . World Report on H u m a n Development (1990-1995) 3. A Pre-Conference Report: Independent Commission on Population and the Quality of Life (Cairo, 1994) 4 . Learning: The Treasure Within- International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century 5. Towards a Cultural Strategy for Development: Our Creative Diversity, Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development H I . Conclusions and Proposals
82
1. Achievements and shortcomings 2 . Principles for formulating strategies according to a cultural approach and methodological proposals A . Recognising culture as the foundation and driving force of development B . Basic principles and requirements of the cultural approach a. Long-term perspective b . Holistic scope c. Diversity d. Participation e. Predictability/Unpredictability C . H o w can development strategies reflect a cultural approach? 3. Current development strategies : possibilities and limits 4 . Plans of Action and Strategies A . A t the national level B . Involvement of civil society C . Limits of the major programmes of action IV. Methodological propositions
98
1. Analysis of functional interactions between culture and development 2 . Working tools A . Modelling a. A i m of the exercise: b. Principle and modalities of the exercise c. Contents: B . Dynamic systems analysis a. Definition b. Possible uses of systems analysis C . Interaction between actors and levels: the cultural approach and the global system D . Long-term studies of cultures and societies a. Nature and usefulness of long-term studies b. The scenario method c. Prospective studies E . Cultural regularities and diversities
7
F . Participation and strategies of development G . Forecasting and the recognition of unpredictability
Summary
128
CHAPTER n: FIELD WORK.
130
Introduction
131
Taking stock of experience L Fieldwork : the core problems
132 134
1. The situation 2 . The challenge 3. Principles for action 4 . What isfieldwork? 5. W h o arefieldworkers? IL Fieldworkers; profile and training
138
1. Field work begins with self-assessment 2 . Working with local communities : from participation to partnership A . Joint planning and participation B . Partnership 3. Is participation enough? - a radical response H L Communication betweenfieldworker and community
146
1. What is thefieldworker'srole? 2 . From diversity to communication IV. Conditions for establishing communication 1. Getting acquainted with local culture A . Background documentation B . Learning about the community C . Getting to k n o w people D . Guidelines for building relationships 2 . Information A . Building an "Objective" Picture B . Indicators for culturally sensitive development C . Informing people i. Over-information ii. Rushed decisions D . Keeping informed 3. Communication 4 . Facilitation A . Supporting cultural change B . Supporting the development process C . Stimulating debate D . Concrete culture - the interest method E . Mediating conflicts F . Defining activities
150
a. Problems identified b . Local resources c. Changes expected d. Sustaining participation e. Measuring Participation f. Revalorizing local resources i. Material support ii. Technology and k n o w - h o w E . Evaluation a. Indicators of achievement b . Participatory evaluation V . T h efieldworker and the development institutions
175
1. Differences of criteria 2 . Improving communications 3. Field workers : extending their role A . Providing better information to institutions B . Forging a wider network Conclusion
178
Summary
179
CHAPTER HI: PROJECTS AND PROGRAMMES
183
Introduction
184
1. Useful reminders for a cultural approach to programmes and projects A . Definitions B . Major differences a. Sectorial/local projects b. Large-scale programmes and projects 2 . Cultural factors as prerequisites a. Fit in with a long-term perspective b. Adopt an integrated (holistic) approach c. Take into account cultural diversity d. Involve communities in the development process e. Predictable and unpredictable 3. The different forms of planning A . Types of planning a. Sequential planning b. Project Cycle Method c. Top-down/bottom-up planning d. Detailed projects/framework programmes (master-plans) B . Phases or functions a. Phasing b. Functions Conclusion
191
9
SUB-CHAPTER
1: PREPARATION-ANALYSIS.
192
I. Strategies-institutions-projects-fieldwork
192
H . Identification/rationale
193
1. General comments 2. Identifying problems and needs A . Identification of critical issues B . Complexity of the concept of needs 3. Mobilising actors 4. Role of external contributors A . Use of existing data and analyses B . Direct observation a. Experts' missions b. Another possible solution C . Data collection and processing H L Defining target groups and outlining the project
202
1. Target groups 2. Chitlining the project A . Pre-feasibility studies B . Project outline I V . Feasibility-acceptability 1. Preliminary analysis A . N e w methods of preliminary evaluation a. Rapid Rural Appraisal b. Beneficiary Assessment B . Criteria matrices and acceptability models a. Criteria Matrix b. Project Relevance/Acceptability Studies i. Relevance ii. Acceptability 2. General Studies A . T w o Regional Studies a. Indigenous people and poverty in Latin America b . Sub-Saharan Africa - F r o m crisis to sustainable growth B . Case Studies 3. Limitations of these tools A . Rapid methods B . Criteria grids C . Questionnaires 4. A better balance A . Social soundness analysis B . Participatory rural appraisal ( P R A ) C . C I D A guide proposal: participation as an ongoing process
205
V . Discussion/co-ordination,
224
1. Central decision-making services 2. Central services/decentralised services 3. Consultation/co-ordination A . Institutional circuits B . Discussion in the field C . A n innovative proposal: reinforcing bottom-up (inductive) planning V L Adiustment/finalisation of project
227
1. Formulation of objectives A . General objectives B . Operational objectives 2. Planning by programmes, projects, objectives A . Planning by programmes a. A i m b. Structure of programmes c. Duration of programmes d. Programming by country B . Planning by projects C . Planning by objectives: the P I B O method (planning interventions by objectives) 3. W a y s and means A . Funding a. Running expenditure b. Objectives/resources/results ratio c. Volumes and modes of funding B . Technical and physical resources 4. Funding decisions Conclusion 246
SUB-CHAPTER
2: IMPLEMENTATION.
Introduction
247 247
1. Preliminary reminder 2. Implementation: a phase or an ongoing process? L Devolution/decentralisation
250
1. Devolution/decentralisation 2. Conditions for success II Direct or indirect action (partnership) 1. T o do (direct action) 2. T o have done (indirect action - partnership) A . Possible types of partnership B . Conditions for partnership C . Other desirable partners a. NGOs/Institutions b. Institutions/civil society
252
H I Flexibility of execution,
256
1. Funding mechanisms A . Involving the community in credit management B . Budgetary flexibility C . N o t advocating a lax approach to the budget 2 . Variable duration A . Project or "planners'" time B . Communities'time C . Possible solutions D . Short-term/long-term ratio I V Project monitoring 1. The function of monitoring 2 . Levels of responsibility 3 . Main points to be observed and frequency of monitoring A . For institutions and officials B . For the project's partners (ongoing process) 4 . Instruments 5. Decisions to be made
261
SUB-CHAPTER 3: EVALUATION.
265
1. Monitoring and evaluation 2 . Preliminary remarks 3. Content of evaluation L Methods of evaluation
268
1. Preliminary evaluation 2 . Periodic evaluation A . Take-off (or initial) evaluation B . M i d - w a y evaluation 3. Final evaluation A . Results of a project a. Physical/non-physical results: classical method b. Explanation of results c. Limitations of results-oriented evaluation B . Sustainable impact of projects a. Impact on the environment b. Economic impact C . Cultural impact of development: simulation D . In-depth studies H . T h e need for n e w proposals
277
1. Continuous evaluation A . Simultaneous (concomitant) evaluation B . Evaluation as a process 2 . Participatory evaluation 3. Elaboration of n e w instruments for evaluation A . Cultural and social cost/benefit analysis a. W o r k to be carried out b. Difficulties of cultural costfàenefit analysis B . Interest method C . Cultural Cartography a. Cultural areas b. Cultural similarities c. Difficulties in identifying a culture's main features d. Cultural micro-geography e. Cultural macro-geography D . Cultural observatories of development Conclusion: culture, factor or foundation of projects and p r o g r a m m e s
288
Summary
290
CHAPTER W: THE ROLE OF THE DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS (REFORMAND RENEWAL)
305
Introduction : T h e cultural approach and the development institutions
306
1. The Present Situation A . Cultural Approach and Specific Mandates B . Signs of change 2. S o m e underlying methodological problems A . Holistic visions, sectorial divisions B . Long-term aims, medium-term policies I. T h e decision-making process : points to analyse
314
1. The Ihfonnation/Study/Decision Process A . The current situation B . Proposals 2. The institutions as communication process A Consultation and decision B . T h e relative importance of budgetary, administrative and human development issues C . Allowing various planning hypothesis discussion D . Internal flow of instructions and feed-back E . Monitoring and evaluation F . Cultural self-evaluation (within institutions) G . Communication between institutions and the field a. Centralisation/decentralisation of decision-making and services b. Integrating bottom-up information 3 . Inter-institutional communications 4. National Cultural Assessments ( N C A ) H . N e w tools for the w o r k of the institutions 1. Culture and development: quantitative and qualitative indicators A . Constructing indicators for cultural development B . Qualitative indicators of development C . H u m a n Development Indicators 2. Feasibility and utility of cultural indicators for development A . Is it possible to quantify cultural phenomena? B . Is it possible to establish cultural indicators of development? C . The nature and role of qualitative indicators a. Beliefs and natural environment L relationship to time ii relationship to the natural environment iii. relationship to the body and to food b. Political, economic and social structures D . Research needs in elaborating cultural indicators of development a. Objective indicators b . Subjective indicators 3 . Systematising the "bottom-up" flow of cultural information A . The need for cultural information in development B . H o w to systematise the bottom-up flow of cultural information
327
C . Institutional and methodological consequences 4 . Rethinking planning models A . Bottom-up planning B . Transverse Planning (Thematic) C . Action-reflection-project D . Master plans and project clusters 5. Training decision-makers and agents in a culturally-sensitive approach to development A . W h o should be trained? B . S o m e recent initiatives C . Principles and major orientations governing the content and modalities of training systems in the cultural approach to development Conclusion : from actor to facilitator - rethinking institutional intervention 353
Summary
354
GENERAL CONCLUSION
358
Bibliography
362
List of agencies consulted
372
List of abbreviations
374
List of boxes
375
List of
List of tables
figures
379
380
15
Foreword
The present volume is intended as a sequel to the U N E S C O publication, "The Cultural Dimension of Development - Towards a Practical Approach" (1994-95). It is the culmination of the second phase of one of the t w o flagship projects of the W o r l d Decade for Cultural Development. T h e next phase will be devoted to testing the approaches and instruments proposed herein by applying them to innovative projects.
The first volume identified the conceptual foundations of this w o r k (culture, development, cultural dimension of development). It then proceeded to demonstrate the necessity of taking the cultural dimension into account, in order to achieve sustainable h u m a n development. Next, it described to what extent and in what ways international co-operation has so far evolved in this direction. It then defined the cultural impact and functions of the development process. Finally, it presented in general terms the research needs that should be followed u p , in order to help the development institutions base their action on a cultural approach to the situations and problems facing them. It is no exaggeration to say that this work w a s received with great interest both by the major international institutions and by independent experts. Over 2,500 copies were sold, and it has been translated into seven languages, including Arabic, Chinese, Mongol and Russian.
The question to be addressed in the present volume is more strictly methodological. The aim is to s h o w h o w the working methods of the organisations and operatives w h o are involved in development actions can help set in motion a genuinely sustainable process of h u m a n development, by grounding both their theory and their practice in a cultural approach, whether at the level of strategy, institutional action, programmes, projects orfieldwork.
Afirstversion of this text w a s drafted between July 1994 and January 1995. This draft version w a s then submitted to over 150 correspondents throughout the United Nations system, in the Regional Economic Commissions and other institutions in charge of multilateral and bilateral co-operation, in the regional development banks, in national and international nongovernmental organisations, as well as to researchers, experts and specialists. Moreover, direct discussions were held specifically with representatives of the following institutions: U N I C E F , U N D P , W F P , F A O , W H O and JJFAD, and also the Economic Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA).
T h e Canadian Agency for International Development m a d e
an important
theoretical contribution to the project, by preparing the fieldwork guide: "Involving Culture A fieldworker's guide to culturally-sensitive development", from which Chapter II of this Manual draws m u c h of its substantial content.
16
O n the basis of the results of this consultation process, it w a s decided that the draft version of the text would be modified and enlarged, to take into account the m a n y points of agreement, criticisms, propositions and suggestions that had been put forward. In thefirstplace, the usefulness of this w o r k w a s recognised by all the organisations and persons consulted, as w a s the soundness of the principles on which it is based. A t that time, such an exercise in inter-institutional analysis had never before been undertaken. O f course, m a n y planning manuals already exist, produced for example by the World B a n k , the United Nations Children's Fund ( U N I C E F ) , the United Nations Development Programme ( U N D P ) , the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a m o n g others. But the notion of a cultural approach to development had never been used as the central concept in a methodological analysis of the content, objectives, means and results of the development process. The criticisms, observations and proposals which were received varied greatly in their nature, and sometimes even contradicted one another. Thus, those w h o wanted a practical text which would be easy to use could not be expected to agree with those w h o wished to see the conceptual research developed even further.
Similarly, field workers often expressed
reservations about the benefits of institutional action, while readers w h o were more at h o m e with the institutional logic felt that the hypothesis of a cultural approach w a s not sufficiently operative and could only complicate the technical aspect of their work.
Emerging from all these remarks, the following main points were adopted as criteria to guide both the material presentation of this Manual and the revision of its methodological proposals and analyses: 1. The different elements which were initially planned - the Manual for Planners and the Guide for Fieldworkers - should not be published separately, but should be presented as a single work, so as to promote a better understanding of the interdependency of the problems concerned and of the methodological responses they require. 2. T h e Introduction should serve to remind the reader of the basic concepts that were discussed in the preceding volume, namely, culture, development, and the cultural dimension of and approach to development, and the relation of these elements to the phenomenon of globalization should also be discussed. 3. There should be a systematic attempt to define the conditions of methodological compatibility between the logic of the institutions and the logic of the "field". 4. The preliminary methodological propositions that were made at the end of the preceding volume should be reconsidered and developed in its sequel.
17
5. The principles of the cultural approach to development should be systematically applied to the definition and evaluation of strategies, institutional action, programmes, projects and field work. The task thus defined w a s both time-consuming and complex. It w a s undertaken with t w o priorities in mind: •
O n the one hand, to develop the methodological suggestions m a d e in the previous volume and to propose, - either the strengthening or the modification of existing instruments; - or the use of methods which are presently employed only rarely or not at all in the field of development; - or n e w methods and approaches, on the basis of the observed dis-functionality of existing methods and the persisting lack of understanding of situations encountered in the field. These propositions are intendedfirstlyto enable cultural elements to be integrated into all stages of the planning process, and secondly to open the w a y to an entirely n e w approach to development planning.
•
O n the other hand, to stimulate reflection and discussion o n the need to rethink existing tools so as to redefine the content and the objectives of the development process. Thefinalefforts have been concentrated on this last aspect. O n the conceptual level, it
is necessary to s h o w h o w interactions between cultures and development in fact represent the interface between the so-called "traditional" cultures and a corrected form of the industrial cultural model,
accompanied by a generalisation
of the market
economy.
O n the
methodological level, the proposal is put forward that the institutions should m o v e from a centralised, technical model of their role, based on a technical conception of planning, to a m o r e diverse and m o r eflexiblearray of methods. These methods would no longer be regarded as the central core of every project, but as the translation into administrative and budgetary terms of the intervention of the institutions. This intervention should always be adapted as a function of those situations in which action has been proposed by countries, peoples and/or communities w h o have m a d e their propositions of their o w n accord, in proportion to their o w n needs, and calling o n external assistance only if they so wish.
A series of methodological propositions then follow from this reversal of the traditional perspective: • bottom-up planning; •
continuous participation of local development actors, tending to a balanced partnership between local and external forces;
•
adaptation and diversification of the modalities and paths that lead to change;
• re-evaluation of the calendar of every action;
18
•
transformation of programmes and projects into master plans within which m a n y smaller-scale initiatives that emerge from the grass roots level can be situated.
At a time w h e n there is more and more active debate going on, in m a n y different forms, within the United Nations and all the institutions in the U N System, o n h o w to give fresh impetus to the efforts of all countries to change their economic, social and human destiny, the proposals put forward here do not pretend to offer ready-made answers. Instead they seek to s h o w that possibilities exist, even if they are far from being c o m m o n practice, and even if recent methodological innovations are still far from being assimilated. It is therefore hoped they will open the w a y to further methodological reflection on the concepts and tools of the planning process, as it is still usually practised today, and encourage inter-agency debate and experimentation in the framework of development projects and initiatives currently underway or in preparation.
19
Practical R e m a r k
Certain of the boxes in this text are taken from documents prepared for the Manual by experts or from publications that deal with the problems discussed here. These quotations have been chosen for the light they m a y shed, as complement or contrast, on the m a m running text. They have sometimes been slightly abbreviated, but always in such a w a y as to preserve their original intention and force.
20
Acknowledgments
This is thefifthvolume in the U N E S C O series of publications on Culture and Development. It was drafted by Claude Fabrizio, with the assistance of Peter Snowdon, Naren Prasad and, for thefirstdraft, Guiomar Alonso Cano. Documentary research was carried out with Guiomar Alonso Cano and Madelon Cabooter.
The authors owe a special debt to studies carried out by Djamshid Behnam, Gabriel Cárceles Breis, Bernard Clergerie, Denis Goulet, Khadija El Gour, Philippe Engelhard, F L A C S O , Samba Sarr, as well as comments and contributions from Javier Albo, Richard Billsborrow, Robin Harger, Cynthia Hewitt de Alcantara, Arno Klausen and André Magnen.
During the preparation of this book, an enquiry by questionnaire was undertaken and two
rounds of consultations were conducted, both through direct interviews and through
written comments and proposals, with a large network of specialists and institutions, and in particular with the U N agencies. In this regard, w e should especially like to thank those agencies whose continuous intellectual support to this research w a s invaluable, and more specifically, the World Bank (Division for Environmentally Sustainable Development), U N D P Headquarters and Resident Co-ordinators, F A O , JJFAD, W F P , W H O , U N F P A ,
UNRISD,
U N U , JIU, and the U N Regional Economic Commissions ( E S C W A , E S C A P , etc.). W e also wish to thank all the other experts and organizations that have given us their support in this work, including, of course, our colleagues here in U N E S C O headquarters.
W e also wish to express our gratitude to the Canadian International Development Agency ( C I D A ) , and in particular to Rémy-Claude Beaulieu, Principal Advisor for Social Policies, and to Professors Helgi and Glen Eyford, whose support and intellectual contribution have been crucial to the succès of this project from its inception to its completion.
Finally, w e would like to thank M s Khalissa Ikhlef and M s Nadjia Ounini w h o took on the secretarial tasks involved in this work.
Maté Kovács Head, Section of Cultural Dimension of Development
Francis Childe Co-ordinator, World Decade for Cultural Development
21
A RESPONSE TO GLOBALIZATION : TOWARDS A CULTURAL APPROACH TO DEVELOPMENT Introduction
Development work has undergone m a n y substantial changes in the course of the last few decades. These changes have not been restricted to the arena of intellectual and academic debate, but are also reflected in the attitudes of those w h o are practically involved in such w o r k at all levels, from decision-makers in the major international institutions to field-workers in the small local N G O s . T h e terms in which the strategies of the international agencies are defined have changed, as has the language in which the populations concerned and their representatives voice their needs, their demands and their criticisms.
These changes reflect a growing disenchantment with the exclusively economic model of
development which dominated the relationship of the rich countries to their poorer
counterparts in the decades immediately following decolonization. In the place of the classic economic model of development there have been a number of successors, intended to remedy the inadequacies of the classical approach. This is reflected in the evolution of U N policy o n development, where the focus has shifted a w a y from the classical approach, first to sustainable, then h u m a n , and n o w , most recently, social development.
A second set of reasons for this change and the subsequent search for n e w development strategies has been the growing trend towards the rapid dissemination of what could be called macro-cultural values and behavioural models, as sub-products of globalization and trade activity. "Whether this is a passing phenomenon or a long-term trend, the end of the twentieth century is in any case characterised by the triumph of finance over production"1. This fact lies close to the core of m a n y of the major issues that confront the world today, and its cultural consequences are far-reaching. T o do full justice to this change, a n e w perspective is required, one
in which the economicist model of development will give w a y and be replaced by a
completely n e w approach to economic and social transformation at the world leveL
1
Source : From social exclusion to social cohesion, M O S T , Policy Papers 2,1995.
22
4
T o w a r d s a globalized system The world has entered into a period of transition since the 1970s, which will not end for at least another two decades. The signs that old arrangements are crumbling have been multiplying for a number of years. Since the end of the Socialist System, neo-classical liberalism has become the sole existing model, which all countries are expected to follow. This major transformation has inaugurated the reign of a pensée unique in the area of economics, considered by its proponents as universally valid in both its premises and applications. Competitiveness (of the short-term, commercial brand in particular) has become the only true objective of the dominant economy of the "Norths" of the planet. Another important sign of humanity's transition toward novel forms of planetary organisation is the globalization - or transnationalization - of trade and economic activity. This globalization, resulting mainly from the extraordinary development of transportation and communications technology, was accompanied and facilitated from the mid-1970s onward by an accelerated process of deregulation. T h e abandonment of the system of fixed exchange rates, the proliferation of the strongest currencies, the end of controls on the movement of capital, and the rise of trans-national corporations have upended the bases on which the world economy had functioned up to then. The sphere of high finance n o w possesses its o w n circuits : the financial markets in which capital is in constant search for the highest rate of return in the shortest period of time, and consequently n o longer invested in productive activities, thus contributing to the slow-down of the real economy. This evolution towards a globalized system has a strong impact on the forms of political organisation. In relativizing the notion of borders, taking away from the state some of its prerogatives and reducing its margin for manoeuvre, and consecrating the reign of global enterprises, the n e w global system has led to a profound crisis of the nation-state, whose authority is n o w increasingly challenged by the world market. T h e nation-state is also contested by the resurgence of particularistic identities, which represent a negative reaction to globalization by people w h o mainly witness and experience its negative effects. Falling back o n national, ethnic, or religious affinities, those w h o agitate in favour of these exasperated expressions of identity are unable to identify with the nation-state as it n o w presents itself. Source : Roskilde Symposium: F r o m social exclusion to social cohesion - U N E S C O ( M O S T Programme, 1995). Boxl However, acknowledging the cultural dimension of development has lagged behind the transformations that make such a shift of perspective necessary. A s a result, there has been only limited change in the practical development work carried out by international institutions. The importance of recognizing this n e w order of priorities w a s recently pointed out by M r Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the United Nations, in an interview with the French newspaper "Le Monde" : "Development cannot be limited to economic growth only. It also embraces apolitical, social, human and environmental, as well as a cultural dimension"2.
Significant work has indeed been carried out along these lines by U N E S C O since the 1980s, and in particular, since 1992, within the World Decade for Cultural Development. The motive behind this work has been to meet the challenge which certain commentators have defined as : "From let's to how".
2
Interview in Le Monde, Paris, 4 October 1994.
23
Another major contribution has been the w o r k of the World Commission on Culture and Development, chaired by M r . Perez de Cuellar, former Secretary-General of the U N . (cf chapter I)
A s research into these matters progressed, it rapidly became apparent that using the w o r d "dimension" to refer to the interaction between culture and development m a y lead to the "instrumentalization" of culture in the activities of the development institutions, above all in their methods of planning and evaluation. .»
This is w h y it is n o w necessary to go further, in order to give full justice to the core role of culture in socio-economic transformations. It is in order to meet this need that the present b o o k will propose a cultural approach to development. 1.
W h y has it been necessary to rethink development? The shift in development thinking referred to above can be seen as a m o v e towards an
ever-more inclusive definition of development. In the classical definition which emerged gradually after World W a r H , development w a s seen purely in terms of economic growth. The purpose of development w a s to gain access to increased productivity. It w a s supposed that all the other problems facing a nation would be solved as a more or less direct consequence of achieving this goal. The means of their solution did not have to be specified as part of the development strategy; it would arise automatically, once the society in question had reached a certain level of wealth creation. This definition began to be questioned from the 1970s onwards, and that for two reasons. First, on the grounds that those countries, both in the developing and in the developed world, which did achieve s o m e measure of economic growth, were often still saddled with serious problems in other areas which impeded their progress towards social harmony and stability. Economic growth in itself could no longer be presented as a panacea. Other problems than national productivity required other, distinctive solutions. Secondly, further analysis began to reveal the limits of economic growth, considered as the key factor to a society's development. Such growth
w a s itself conditioned by, and
dependent upon other, non-economic factors. A s one project after another failed around the world, it soon became clear that the difference between success and failure, even in purely economic terms, w a s not determined by purely economic criteria 24
¿
A s a result, then, the international institutions began to look for a broader framework in which the question of h o w to secure the most effective development could be answered.
This concern w a s reflected for thefirsttime at a global level b y U N E S C O ' s World Conference o n Cultural Policies (Mexico City, 1982) w h e n it w a s agreed in the Final Report and Declaration o n Cultural Policies that development goes far beyond any merely economic approach.
Development Development is a complex, holistic and multidimensional process, which goes beyond mere economic growth and integrates all the dimensions of life and all the energies of a community, all of whose members must share in the economic and social transformation effort and in the benefits that result therefrom. The principle is therefore proposed that development must be founded on the will of each society and express its profound identity. Source : Declaration of Mexico on Cultural Policies and Final Report - World Conference on Cultural Policy, Mexico, 1982. Box 2 The
Mexico Conference had also recommended that a World Decade for Cultural
Development be celebrated under the joint auspices of the United Nations and U N E S C O , with four major objectives, thefirstof which was to be: "Acknowledging the cultural dimension of development".
A.
The idea of sustainable development was popularised by the Brundtland Report3 () in
its application to environmental sustainability. This report qualifies the requirement of economic growth, b y setting it in a larger historical and ecological framework: genuine growth must not use u p resources faster than they can be renewed, or today's riches will b e the direct cause of tomorrow's poverty, and the Irving willflourishb y stripping the earth of its assets and leaving it bare, unable to support future generations. B y doing so, it offered a serious critique of the unsustamability of certain Western development m o d e s which were then being held u p as models for the "developing" countries.
The environment is where all h u m a n beings live; and 'development' is what they all do in attempting to improve their lot within that abode. The t w o are inseparable. Furthermore, development issues must be recognized as crucial by those political leaders w h o m a y too easily feel that their o w n countries have reached a plateau towards which other nations must strive. M a n y of the development paths of the industrialised nations are clearly unsustainable. T h e 3
Our Common Future, The World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987.
25
development decisions of these countries, because of their great economic and political power, will have a profound effect upon the ability of all peoples to sustain h u m a n progress for generations to c o m e (cf chapter I).
Sustainability is also used to refer to the capacity of an organisation or set of activities to b e c o m e self-supporting. A sustainable livelihood means that an individual or group has the capacity to maintain or improve their social, political, economic and other opportunities, without jeopardising the opportunities of others or of future generations, and that they are able to survive "shocks" and sudden changes, and go beyond them to create n e w opportunities4.
B.
H u m a n development, as the term has been used by U N D P
in determining the
concepts and methodology of its annual H u m a n Development Report (since 1990), proposes to measure the progress of a country towards development through a variety of indicators which, while they are all quantitative, go well beyond the merely economic, to include such factors as sexual discrimination, health, education and training, and even political freedom
H u m a n development defined H u m a n development is a process of enlarging people's choices. In principle, these choices can be infinite and change over time. But at all levels of development, the three essential ones are for people to lead a long and healthy life, to acquire knowledge and to have access to resources needed for a decent standard of living. If these essential choices are not available, many other opportunities remain inaccessible. But h u m a n development does not end there. Additional choices, highly valued by m a n y people, range from political, economic and social freedom to opportunities for being creative and productive, and enjoying personal self-respect and guaranteed h u m a n rights. H u m a n development has two sides: the formation of h u m a n capabilities - such as improved health, knowledge and skills - and the use people m a k e of their acquired capabilities - for leisure, productive purposes or being active in cultural, social and political life. If the scales of human development do notfinelybalance the two sides, considerable human frustration m a y result. According to this concept of h u m a n development, income is clearly only one option that people would like to have, albeit an important one. But it is not the sum total of their lives. Development must, therefore, be more than just the expansion of income and wealth. Its focus must be people. Source : U N D P Report, 1994. Box 3 C.
Social development gives a more specific sense to the w a y in which development must
try to define itself beyond purely economic criteria. The 1995 Copenhagen Summit for Social Development established three major priorities for action, which the international corrnnunity must undertake to work towards: the eradication of poverty; full employment; and the pursuit of social integration. Thus, while it retains an economic core, the agenda of social development goes well beyond the simple criterion of growth in national productivity. Like the concept of 4
From the O X F A M Handbook of Development and Relief, O X F A M , 1995.
26
h u m a n development, social development is an attempt to formulate the necessary minimiim conditions which can translate economic growth into tangible h u m a n well-being. Unlike h u m a n development, which tends to see h u m a n beings as essentially individuals, social development recognises that the cohesion and integrity of the community is an essential condition for making this transition from wealth to happiness.
D.
Participatory development The lack of involvement of the populations in those development actions which were
"
being undertaken for their benefit from the 1960s onwards, either through multilateral or bilateral co-operation, did not become an important issue until the mid-Seventies. B y then, sufficient development projects had failed to raise the question of the effectiveness of external support as a substitute for endogenous development.
For this reason, and also because it chimed with the search for more democratic social and economic processes, participation w a s established as a n e w governing principle for selfdevelopment in all countries.5 Participation and exclusion thus became key concepts in U N E S C O ' s Programme, and a range of traditional applications of these ideas to development w o r k were gradually adopted and explored throughout the development institutions. O n e good example of this is the World Bank publication "Putting People First", which w a s published as early as 1985.
2.
W h y another n e w approach to development ?
Each of these n e w concepts of development qualifies the classical approach
to
development. Each of them keeps as its underlying article of faith the belief that growth in productivity is the basis of development. W h a t each of these concepts then does is to propose a set of conditions which are intended both to facilitate the long-term viability of economic growth, and to protect against the negative effects for society as a whole. A s such, these different concepts are not mutually exclusive, but represent complementary perspectives on a 4
single problem.
T w o essential motives govern the conditions which these concepts lay d o w n : 1. the search for equitable development based on a form of development which would be, in the broadest sense of the term, sustainable - not only in relation to the natural environment, but also in relation to the h u m a n resources of the society in question (which is the justification for participatory methods);
See for instance "The Nairobi Recommendation" on "Participation by the people at large in cultural life and their conribution to it", adopted by U N E S C O ' s General Conference at its 19th session in 1976. 27
2. the search for a certain idea of justice, represented both by a m o r e inclusive conception of h u m a n well-being and by safeguards intended to correct a too unequal distribution of wealth and opportunity (human and social development). This search for sustainability coupled with justice has led over the last twenty years to a growing awareness of the essential role of social structures in securing equitable and enduring patterns of development. This realisation has in turn m a d e developers aware of the impact of culture on the outcome of development strategies and projects. This awareness w a s first formulated w h e n a few development agencies began to talk about "factors" ensuring sustainability, a m o n g which socio-cultural aspects and w o m e n were listed. "Cultural factors" m a y take m a n y forms. A project to build a hammam
m a y run into
opposition because it would represent a privileged allocation of funds to the w o m e n in an essentially patriarchal community. A plan for a d a m , a road or a well m a y founder because the external actors fail to take into account local religious beliefs or "taboos" which influence possible land use. The attempt to mobilise a community around a certain initiative m a y be m a d e easier by the developers' ability to secure the approval of a local elite - or more difficult, depending on h o w power is distributed and contested in the community. A project m a y collapse because development institutions often, under financial constraints, are obliged to cut out an element which to them seems superfluous or trivial, but which for the society where they w o r k has been crucial in securing their support.
Seen in this restrictive perspective, culture would be just an amorphous reservoir of values, attitudes, beliefs and practices, some of which m a y individually and from time to time interfere or interact with the conception and execution of a project. A s an increasing number of projects were found to have failed because of the unforeseen consequences of these so-called "cultural factors", it became important to try and understand h o w these failures could be prevented in the future, and to discover if possible h o w culture could be instrumentalized to serve the ends of development.
The results of this investigation, however, were paradoxical. In the search for the logic of "cultural factors" which would allow these factors to be predicted and controlled, the development agencies have been forced to recognise that the reality of culture is m u c h more complex and, in its social effects, m u c h more powerful than the conventional approaches to development had reckoned. Culture cannot, as had previously been hoped, be reduced to a series of discrete elements which can be integrated, w h e n necessary, into existing projects. Rather, culture is its o w n perspective and implies its o w n values and its o w n imperatives for action. If w e are to take on board this anthropological truth, w e m a y have to be prepared to rethink from the base our approach to development in all its aspects. It is perhaps for that 28
reason that a cultural approach to development, which is the logical consequence of this n e w understanding of culture, while more and more widely endorsed in its principles throughout the United Nations system and a m o n g the major development institutions, has not yet been systematically applied. 3.
Culture: a sector or a trans-sectoral reality?
Figure 1: Cultural Concept 6 Culture as one of several sectors (A random number of sectors has been selected)
In industrialised societies, culture is often used in a restricted sense to refer to a certain class of objects and activities which are distinguished b y their lack of utilitarian justification, their exclusive purpose of providing pleasure. Grand opera, rock concerts and rugby or soccer songs are all examples of this sort of culture. But in this book, the term culture is used in a m u c h broader, anthropological sense. It is not limited to a particular set of activities connected with heritage and the arts, but encompasses all those activities which define the identity of a particular h u m a n society or group. A s the preamble to the Mexico Declaration o n cultural policies puts it: "In its broadest sense, culture today can be viewed as a set of distinctive spiritual and material, intellectual and emotional characteristics which define a society or
6
Source : Arne Martin K L A U S E N , Socio-Cultural Factors in Development Assistance, The Norwegian National Committe of the W D C C , Jan., 1995.
29
social group. In addition to the arts and letters, it encompasses ways of life, the fundamental rights of the person, value systems, traditions and beliefs"1. This definition m a y appear very general or even vague. But it is in fact rigorous and precise enough to account for the phenomenon of culture as it is expreienced in the context of development, and to provide the grounds for a productive analysis which m a y open research into the "ways and means" of interaction between culture and development. It encompasses t w o essential points: 1. Culture is not the possession or accomplishment of an individual, but defines a w a y
i>
of being together with others; it is essentially social. 2. Culture is not m a d e up of a given range of activities, but consists of all and only those activities through which a society defines and identifies itself; any activity can, at some time, b e cultural; any activity m a y have a cultural dimension; culture is not an exclusive category, but exists as a perspective in which an activity is seen and valued, and as the creative energy in every society and in each of its members.
The definition of culture adopted at the Mexico Conference on Cultural Policies is applicable to all societies, both Western and non-Western, "developing" and "developed". But it applies with special force to m a n y communities in the developing world, where the identity of the group still has priority over any sense of individual identity in structuring the psychological reality of its m e m b e r s and determining their ability to act confidently and in their o w n names. Indeed, the "narrow" definition of culture is very precisely both a condition and a product of the industrial development of the Western countries that culminated in the nineteenth century. The idea of culture as a specific category of activities, amongst which the individual is able to choose at w h i m those which match his or her personal taste, is one which is really only available to the educated middle classes of the "developed" nations, and then only with a significant number of qualifications.
Elsewhere, in mining villages, inner city ghettos, shanty-towns and remote rural communities around the world, the survival of the group has always been and still is the best policy, even the only policy to choose from, to ensure the survival of the individual T h e individual w h o is able to put him or herselffirst,before the interests of his or her community, is for most societies a comparatively recent historical invention, and at best only an intermittent and partial reality even today, derived from their mercantile philosophy and from the later evolution of Christianity.
7
Declaration of Mexico on cultural policies, Preamble -World Conference on Cultural Policies, Mexico, 1982.
30
„
A cultural approach will therefore be one in which all the activities which constitute the life of a society are respected, not merely for what they are in themselves, but for the contribution they m a k e to expressing and reflecting on that society's identity. Culture is where a society meets in order to think about itself and determine collectively what sort of society it is and wants to be; it is not a consumer product, but a collective project.
This definition shows the central importance of culture in the life of a society. T o s o m e this importance m a y seem unusual, because it gives culture a m u c h wider scope than it has in the elite intellectual conception of the developed world, where the concept and practice of "development" arose. That is w h y it is important to begin by insisting at some length on its consequences. These consequences have m u c h to tell about the nature of society in the "developing" world, and it is by taking them into account that it becomes possible to start shaping a properly cultural approach to development. Figure 2 : Culture as an aspect of every sector8
Source : Arne Martin K L A U S E N , op. cit.
31
4.
"Traditional" vs " m o d e r n " society The ideology of individualism rests upon the separation of life into t w o spheres, the
public and the private. In a " m o d e m " society, there are substantial areas of life in which personal taste and desire are supposed to rule uncontested and the interference of society in any of its public forms (the State, etc.) would be deemed wholly inappropriate. In most existing societies, this non-interference is far from absolute, but a considerable freedom does nevertheless exist.
A "traditional" society, on the other hand, m a y be defined as one in which n o such separation between the public and the private exists. This does not m e a n that individuals in such a society enjoy no privacy; rather, it means that their right to privacy is always subordinate to the rights of the community. The claims that the community might m a k e upon t h e m can always override their personal priorities, at any time, and without warning. It does not m e a n that such societies are "backward", ignorant and authoritarian. Their identities are the product of a survival strategy which has to w o r k without the technological "advantage" which, in material terms, empowered the Western world through the agricultural and industrial revolutions. For the individual to have some sense of him or herself as being defined by a certain number of freedoms and rights, she or he must feel confident that the basic battle for survival has already been w o n on his or her behalf For those societies to w h o m the outside world remains an inherently hostile place, the society always comes first.
In a traditional society, therefore, - and all societies carry within them their o w n traditional forms, to which they resort in times of crisis (such as war) - all activities have to bear s o m e part in the continuous w o r k of defining and redefining that society's identity and their future. Culture, then, is not a specific domain, but is the w a y of seeing all of the society's activities as interrelated for the purpose of articulating its fundamental identity and values. T o reduce culture to a series of separable factors is therefore to run the risk of missing the point. For the meaning and value of any one part of a society's culture m a y not be visible in that part in isolation, but m a y well only be intelligible w h e n viewed in the context of the whole.
In such a society, culture possesses both an enormous dynamic force for change, and an enormous capacity to resist change ("inertia") w h e n it is imposed artificially from outside. T o interpret this force as a series of "cultural factors" is already to place oneself outside such a society, in a perspective which is foreign to its o w n immediate, non-analytical sense of integrity and unity. Thus, if w e wish to harness culture to development, identifying the problems facing development in terms of "cultural factors" will be part of the problem, not part of the solution.
32
Traditional knowledge ... traditional knowledge must be understood within the framework of the cultures of indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples value traditional knowledge, because it is fundamental to their cultural values, spiritual beliefs, and collective identities. T o separate traditional knowledge from its cultural context is to lose sight of the meaning that it has for the survival and integrity of indigenous peoples. Source : Shelton Davis, Katrinka Ebbe, Introduction, Traditional Knowledge and Sustainable Development, The World Bank, Environmentally Sustainable Development Proceedings Series N o . 4,1993. Box 4 5.
Cultural Diversity : an asset?
Featuring Human Beings H u m a n beings do not define themselves or organise their social behaviour by exclusive reference to one distinctive feature. For instance, a w o m a n m a y simultaneously be a subsistence farmer, a mother, a wife, a market vendor, the carer of an elderly parent, a victim of h u m a n rights violations, a traditional birth attendant, a credit and savings co-operative member, a disabled person, a Delegate of the W o r d , a member of a national peasant union, and so on. In other words, she m a y potentially fall into a dozen or more "target groups", each of which relates to an important area of her life. Source: Featuring H u m a n Beings, The O X F A M Handbook for Development and Relief O X F A M , 1995. Box 5 This statement of the cultural approach to development m a y appear alarming to m a n y , in its apparent acceptance of the diversity of existing cultures m o r e or less as is, without seeking to judge or to assess. N o t only are there very few purely "traditional" societies today, but m a n y of the societies that do exist fall far short, not only of the economic standards of the World B a n k , the I M F or the O E C D , but also of the standards of h u m a n e and ethical behaviour which m a n y m e m b e r s of the developed elite would like to take for granted. Is the cultural approach not tantamount to writing a blank cheque for the backward and the barbarous? Isn't respect for cultural diversity the return of moral relativism in politically-correct clothing? A n d doesn't this belated broad-mindedness on the part of the international community sacrifice the search for justice, in its eagerness to secure sustainability?
Such questions deserve a careful answer.
The cultural approach to development is committed to enabling cultures to develop according to their o w n values and their o w n sense of their identity, without simply imposing conditions and criteria upon them that are wholly foreign to their sense of themselves and of their place in the world. Thus for instance, it makes n o sense to speak in terms of economic gain and effective exploitation of natural resources to a people w h o have always seen their
33
relationship to nature and the earth in religious or mythological terms, as custodians, or as guests, or as joint actors in a sacred drama.
T o dispossess a people o f the "language" in which they have always m a d e sense of the world is to deprive t h e m of the only resource that they possess and o n which they can rely in times o f crisis. Indeed, it is to provoke a crisis, in the n a m e of bringing t h e m aid.
A t the s a m e time, the cultural approach is not committed to valuing and maintaining all cultures and all their components without reservation or criticism. N o r should it lead to classifying and categorizing cultures, dividing t h e m into those which are worthy o f the n a m e , and those which have been "deformed" and "corrupted", the g o o d and the bad. Rather, the cultural approach seeks to recognise that any real development must start from the real existing cultures that structure and give sense to the societies o f the world. Unless w e recognise that other peoples have as m u c h right as w e have ourselves to define their o w n values and concepts, w e disqualify ourselves from entering into meaningful dialogue with t h e m about w h a t those values should, eventually, be. If the a i m o f development really is to e m p o w e r all nations so as to enable t h e m to achieve full capacity for independent development, then it must begin b y recognising and valuing the o n e intrinsic asset which they can possess and without which they w o u l d cease to exist in their o w n eyes: their culture. This fundamental imperative remains true, even if a set o f shared values has been agreed u p o n through the U N system as high-level and long-term objectives for all countries and peoples.
Indivisible cnltnre The major asset of any people is its culture, and since this is an inseparable component among the assets making up its heritage., it is to their culture that any internationalfinancialinstitution (XFI) should channel its investment. A n d if, in reply to the question as to what the investment should be made in, w e have said 'culture', then [to] the question as to how such investment shall be made, the reply must be to acknowledge that a culture is indivisible and admits no fragmentation. A manifestation of a people's culture, such as its productive technology, is bound up with language, with an environment whence it draws its sustenance, with a pattern of distributing the end product, and with a religious view of the world and practice. Source: Roberto Haudry de Soucy, Project Officer, IFA D , quoted in Traditional Knowledge and Sustainable Development, World Bank Environmentally Sustainable Development Proceedings Series N o . 4,1993.
Box 6 T h u s , the cultural approach does not require that one abandon one's capacity for critical judgement and l u m p all cultures together in the s a m e bag. It simply requires u s to recognise the undoubted truth, that n o culture is without value in itself. That value m a y b e the minimal o n e of enabling the m e m b e r s ofthat "society" to remain alive, b y defining for t h e m the m i n i m u m sense o f self-respect that m a k e s life worth living. M a n y o f the cultures and sub-cultures of groups w h o live in a state o f permanent marginalisation and crisis m a y b e o f this sort. D r u g users, the homeless, those forced into prostitution or slavery, the extremely poor in all societies 34
*
- all these groups, w h o m w e might tend to think of as possessing literally nothing, have their o w n culture, w h i c h provides t h e m with the m i n i m u m of mutual recognition and support to prevent t h e m from sliding definitively towards self-destruction, a n d thus motivates t h e m to protect themselves, even if only in extremis, against an inherently hostile environment.
These cultures m a y s e e m paltry things w h e n compared with the great civilisations o f history, yet for the anthropologist they are part of the s a m e family. T h e y enable a w a y o f life to survive, even if it is not a w a y of life the materially m o r e fortunate might envy. It is only if one can recognise the value of such cultures to their m e m b e r s , and h o w threatened they m a y feel if asked abruptly to alter t h e m or to give t h e m u p , that one will b e able to help t h e m in m o v i n g b e y o n d m e r e survival to define their o w n development.
International documents talk about the ideal o f a diversity o f cultures, but in practice even well-intentioned economists still see the ideal as integrating cultural values into their o w n growth paradigm or putting such values at the service of technology, rather than putting both technology and economics at the service of the cultural values and goals of local people.
Drinking beer as "social capital" Dr Terry Ryan, economic secretary to the Kenyan Ministry of Finance, told m e h o w he waits for the day when a local economist will propose an economic analysis based on how Africans are really motivated, an analysis that gives evidence of understanding h o w "social capital" can be built up in the present African context. For example, not many foreigners, it seems, easily understand h o w an African can by "wasting time" - drinking beer with a friend in local pub - be building up "social capital", since trusted personal relationships can often provide more guaranteed security for an individual than the insignificant wages available for work. Ryan attributes the lack of appreciation for local African cultural and religious values to a Western perspective of privilege and individuality- Rich Westerners simply do not understand the idea that even slaves have an advantage over the poor. Slaves, after all, have some identity; they belong to someone, whereas today's poor, especially in Africa, belong nowhere and to no one. Source: After William F Ryan, S.J., Culture, Spirituality, and Economic Development. Opening a Dialogue, International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, 1995. Box 7 6.
A r e "universal values" an indispensable condition of development?
M a n y of the cultures of the world, however, appear to a Western (or Westernised) observer not only undesirable as ways of life, but in some respects morally unacceptable. They contravene the moral consensus of the developed world as embodied in the idea of universal h u m a nrights.Precisely because they place the survival of the community before the freedom of the individual, they can seem to perpetuate forms of oppression which should not be tolerated.
Conversely it m a y appear that development thinking in some of its aspects tries to link financial assistance and certain moral standards.
Moreover, participative development
35
introduced a trend towards democracy into the planning process. The h u m a n development indicators of the U N D P explicitly attempt to assess the degree of political freedom and abuse of h u m a n rights to be found in different countries, including the status of w o m e n , and the rights of minorities and groups subject to traditional discrimination. The Copenhagen Summit constantly referred to respect for universal human rights as one of its overall goals, and the Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development set d o w n the establishment of a "global ethics", inspired by the idea of human rights, as one of the major actions on its international agenda.
This emphasis on the importance of respect for human rights is not in contradiction with the cultural approach to development. The cultural approach to development is not a form of moral relativism, but rather a psychological and sociological perspective on reality. Hitherto, some development institutions have tried to express their attachment to the values of universal h u m a n rights, by confusing their long-term mandate with immediate minimum conditions for the granting of development aid. Such demands m a y easily win moral approval in the developed world, and indeed they should be a permanent focus for concern for public authorities in every part of the world. However, viewed over the longer term, an abrupt change in cultural values m a y be counter-productive. In this sense, the discourse of individual rights should not be conveyed only through the principles of the globalfree-marketconsumer society. The question to be asked is: when and through which approach is progress towards the protection of universal rights culturally sustainable? and not are human rights, as understood in the developed world, universal rights?
7.
Cultural Approach and W o m e n ' s Status
Development workers m a y find themselves in a dilemma when faced with a cornmunity in which w o m e n are more heavily discriminated against than elsewhere. If they work with the cornmunity as it exists, they m a yfindthat the assistance they bring to them in their project area in turn serves to strengthen the power of the male ruling elite and the values they enforce. O n the other hand, if they try to impose respect for w o m e n ' srightsas a pre-condition before the project begins, the society m a y close ranks against their criticisms and they m a y lose the confidence and openness not only of the m e n , but also of the w o m e n w h o m they had hoped to defend.
The choice m a y seem to be a straightforward one between complicity and rejection. But the cultural approach in such a situation is precisely to argue that the real choice lies elsewhere, in the w a y in which the community adapts and readapts to its situation. If w o m e n are discriminated against, the reasons for this m a y well he less in their nature as w o m e n , than in their function in relation to the whole culture of the community. T o change these w o m e n ' s 36
situation, it will be necessary to understand h o w the culture as a whole is organised to preserve itself and where points of leverage might already exist around which sections of the community could be mobilised for change.
In other words, the problem of w o m e n ' s rights is insoluble only as long as it is separated from the whole culture and viewed in relation to an isolated sectoral project. W h e n the goal of development is n o longer an isolated project, but the culture of the society as a whole, then the problem of w o m e n ' s rights will not be a stumbling block for the developer's *
conscience, to be dealt with by threat or bribe, but one aspect of the problem of sustaining a dynamic and creative culture. It will have ceased to be one of the problems that gets in the w a y of the developer, and will have become one of the problems that a society is led to confront in the course of its reflection on itself
This does not, of course, guarantee that this society will reach the same conclusion as has been reached in some industrialised democracies about the place of w o m e n in society. But it is only if the position of w o m e n changes in a w a y that makes sense, culturally, for the society's survival as a society that this change has some chance of becoming permanent. There are n o quick fixes w h e n it comes to changing a society's underlying values. For this reason, universal values should be considered in the development process, not as a short-term criterion, but as a long-term horizon and a permanent source of ethical concern.
8.
W h a t are the values of development ?
The 1994 H u m a n Development Report offers a sobering assessment of the first fifty years of the United Nations' efforts to bring peace and prosperity to a united world: [It is] a striking picture, in which unprecedented human progress coexists with unspeakable human
misery; in which humanity has advanced on many fronts, only to retreat on many
others; and in which the astonishing globalization of wealth has been accompanied
by a
9
terrifying globalization of poverty .
H o w is this possible? H o w has a period which has coupled extraordinary technological advance with a greater degree than ever before of international co-operation, been able to y,
produce not only some of the most horrific wars in h u m a n history but also a degree of injustice beyond description in the distribution of wealth across the planet within countries and between countries? A n d this despite the concerted efforts of the international community to ensure the development of even the least-favoured countries?
9
Source : An Agenda for the Social Summit, Human Development Report, U N D P , 1994.
37
Part of the answer might he in the nature of "development" itself A s the quotation from the 1994 H u m a n Development Report suggests, the developed elite tends to conceive of social evolution in linear terms. A society m a y either progress, regress, or stand stilL Implicit in this w a y of thinking is the idea that the development of all societies is directly comparable and m a y be measured by a single scale, based on exclusively economic criteria.
The classical approach to development measured all societies in relation to the epochal change in Western culture that w a s brought about b y the industrial revolution. "Development" or progress, in this sense, is an essentially nineteenth-century notion. It rests upon a small number of hypotheses: that the resources of nature are, in effect, limitless, because their actual limits are continually being transcended by man's technological advancement; this progress is itself endless; and therefore the industrial countries' capacity to produce goods and to generate economic growth is also without limit, and can (at least in theory) be shared with all the other inhabitants of the planet.
This theory developed t w o different versions during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, one liberal capitalist, the other state socialist. According to thefirsttheory, it w a s not necessary to plan this progress; indeed, the m a x i m u m amount of progress for society as a whole would c o m e about precisely through energy generated by free competition a m o n g nations and individuals. T h e second theory adhered to the progressMst-productivist tenets of the development model, but held that their maximal exploitation required their rational organisation and the fair distribution of the wealth thus generated by a central national or international authority. Both capitalism and communism, however, shared what n o w seems a naive confidence, both in the inexhaustibility of wealth itself, h o w ever m a n y individuals might compete for it or look to the state to be sustained in their labour, and in the effectiveness of their preferred m o d e s of organisation. Either rationality would just happen as a mathematical result of summing individual rationalities, or it already existed (at least in theory) in a universal form which had simply to be applied in order to solve any particular case.
The widening gap in today's world between the rich and the poor, both between rich and poor states, and in the growing sectors of society that are effectively excluded from their fair share of wealth and opportunity in even the richest states, is simply the most obvious demonstration of the inadequacy of both these systems. A n d what both these systems have in c o m m o n , is that they are basically acultural in their approach to the development process.
38
Ignoring the role of traditional and local cultures in the poorer regions of the world, whether in rural and urban working-class areas within the "developed" nations, or in the countries which these "developed" nations colonised elsewhere in the world, the process of development over the last t w o centuries has attempted to bind the world together into a single economy, in which the poorer regions can be exploited as suppliers of labour and materials for the rich. E v e n the "development" sponsored by the international community over the last fifty years in the n a m e of an altruistic duty towards the less fortunate has served largely to obscure the persistence of the unequal relationships of dependence that were created during the •••
colonial period, and the continuing reinforcement ofthat inequality to the short-term benefit of international business andfinancialconcerns - a fact which is n o w openly acknowledged by the agencies of the U N system.
Foreign aid and local needs H o w can w e compensate for the insensitivity shown by m u c h foreign aid not only to local needs, but above all, to cultural differences in the societies of the Third World? H o w can w e reorient development programmes so that they respond in a realistic manner to real problems (by insisting less o n the need for shorttermfinancialgain, and more on the importance of subtle social transformations)? T h e activities carried out as projects have often been organised around technology-intensive solutions, so as to enable engineering and construction businesses in the donor country to sign lucrative contracts (for large-scale dams, nuclear power stations, state-of-the-art agricultural machinery). The massive debt of the Third World is one of the most striking consequences of this kind of misguided "development". W o u l d the countries of the North be willing to organise a public information campaign to explain that what in the past was called "aid" to the South was rarely selfless, and that all future aid worth the n a m e should result in a net transfer of resources, adapted to local situations, and controlled by the beneficiaries themselves? Source : Rural poverty, employment and food security issues, F A O , World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, 1995.
Box 8 Is culturally-sustainable development condemned to failure in an era of globalization? While the international community is more and m o r e aware of the need to reverse this trend, they are at the same time m o r e and m o r e powerless to act effectively to reverse it. The rapid globalization of the world economy over the last twenty years has effectively weakened the p o w e r of national governments to set limits and establish policies which can protect local and indigenous cultures from the invasive effect of the global free-market and the seductions of an individualist ideology which glamorises a society oriented by the promise of affluence for all and the "freedom" of consumer choice. At the same time, the international institutions which could replace those national authorities are either not yet in place, or where they exist lack either the institutional structures or the political will to act effectively.
39
Opportunity or risk? National, sub-national and local economies are n o w linked in extremely complex networks which are as geographically extensive as they are inherently fragile. The commitment to deregulation evinced by most governments in the 1970s and/or 1980s reinforced the extent of global economic interdependence, as well as its fragility. Obviously, expanding the boundaries of exchange and cultural contact creates both opportunity and risk. H u m a n history has been played out against a background of expanding contacts a m o n g peoples, in which the life chances of some groups are improved and those of others are devastated. In this sense, growing social and economic integration always givesriseto conflict. But the latter is particularly acute in hard times, when there is relatively little tobe distributed. Source : Social Integration: Approaches and Issues, World Summit for Social Development, U N R I S D Briefing Paper Series 1, 1995. Box 9 These hard times are bound to continue, for they are caused not by a particular coincidence o f environmental accidents, but b y rapidly established a n d enduring imbalances in the control a n d dissemination o f wealth which is concentrated in the h a n d s o f a very limited elite, the rich minorities in m a n y developing countries and in the countries o f the "North", at a time w h e n the population o f the world as a w h o l e is expanding rapidly.
9.
Culture, Environment and Development
After the Earth S u m m i t in Rio in 1 9 9 2 , a world-wide consensus w a s established o n the crucial importance o f environmental problems at the end o f the twentieth century. M o r e precisely, it w a s recognised that it w a s necessary to organize at the international level to c o m b a t a series o f threats that h a d been observed, and situation o f w h i c h w a s either worsening or likely to d o so in the future: •
the uncontrolled exploitation o f renewable and non-renewable resources (for example, the industrial exploitation o f major forested areas in the A m a z o n , Central Africa, South-East Asia);
•
over-consumption a n d pollution o f water resources (through excessive urban development, industrial waste, pollution o f ground water and o f seas and oceans, etc.);
•
over-exploitation o f certain species o f animal b y the food industry, industrial fishing and the clothing industry;
•
over-exploitation o f rare r a w materials and fossil fuels, causing pollution and conflicts o f interest (coal, petrol), and the resulting search for n e w sources o f energy (nuclear);
•
threats to h u m a n life: fragilization o f the ozone layer, global w a r m i n g , desertification, dissemination o f toxic materials, etc..
40
These dangers threaten the future of the whole of h u m a n kind, to the extent that they are in the process of eliminating the biological means of the survival of the species. A s such, they have taken on a truly planetary and catastrophic dimension. T h e consequences have been called "an ecologically suicidal process" (L. Arizpe). They require solutions which can match both the scale and the urgency of the challenge they present. They also require that humanity call into question the means and aims of a "development" which has, so far, been exclusively economic, in favour of an ecologically and humanly viable transformation of societies and of their relationship to the natural environment.
The impact of population on the environment m a y differ markedly from one locality to another depending on a number of factors, including level of technology, level of consumption, availability of resources and absolute number of people. Most environmental damage stems from the activities of the industrialised countries. For example, energy consumption in these countries amounts to more than 80% of the world's total consumption, whereas 80% of the world population lives in countries which are responsible for only 20% of the world's total energy consumption.
Yet despite this situation, the pervading global culture of consumerism and the doctrine of unlimited economic growth continues to provoke excessive pollution of the Earth and to amplify and accelerate the dangerous demands being m a d e on the resources of a finite, closed and non-growing ecosystem. The main victims of this process are the poor of the developing countries, w h o have to cope most directly with the degradation of their natural environment. A n d still the free-marketeers, whether indigenous or international, persist in their race to intensify the exploitation of global natural resources, while the dispossessed strive to rescue the natural resource base on which their survival depends. Thus excessive exploitation of natural resources by certain industrialised countries, and excessive industrial pollution, whether direct or indirect, in the non-industrialised countries, seems set to continue on its w a y , largely unhampered by the conclusions of the Rio Conference.
Beyond these strictly ecological concerns, there is also a concern to preserve the natural environment founded on the recognition of its importance as part of the cultural heritage (the World Heritage list of U N E S C O and the preservation of bio-diversity), as an aesthetic and ethical reference point, and as an example to all the peoples of the world. This recognition also represents a commitment to respect for life and a search for a n e w ethic which might be able to establish or maintain the balance of both natural and h u m a n ecosystems.
H o w e v e r , the overall relationship between culture and environment has not been emphasised enough in recent debates. Indeed, the natural environment affects m a n y types of cultural pattern - the w a y w e build our homes and live our lives, what w e eat and drink, the 41
w a y w e bring up our children, etc. It is also true that our culturally-conditioned behaviour has important and sometimes devastating effects on our environment. These interrelationships are complex and vary from one part of the world to another according to different cultural traditions.
T o bring culture into environmental management also means that one must address religious systems, the place of the spiritual and the sacred in the relationship of people to nature. Western thought, for example, has been accused of being at the very root of our current global environmental crisis. T h e separation of humans from nature and the domination of h u m a n s over all living things, are tenets of a distinctly Western world-view. This same world-view has been inherited by secular Western science and translated directly into a conception of nature as serving first and foremost the economic advancement of humankind 10 .
At the same time, in the Western countries, a tradition arose which depicted almost the opposite relationship between m a n and nature. This tradition dominated thought, art and culture by the end of the eighteenth century. Out of the first industrial revolution w a s b o m the romantic idea of the pre-eminence of nature over m a n , its value as a refuge and as the locus of the soul's elevation. In later years, the progressive disappearance of wild natural space in the face of the advance of modern agriculture and intensive urbanisation and industrialisation, reinforced yet further the feeling that the natural environment w a s uniquely important, as a relic of the state of the world before man's intervention.
Conversely, in pre-industrial societies, the relationship to nature is ambivalent: the world that surrounds m a n is both supportive and sacred. In so far as it is sacred, it is both benevolent and eviL Certain animals and plants are seen as divine, and form the object of religious worship and ritual practices. Equally, there are sacred or taboo spaces: mountains, forests, the territory of the dead or of the ancestors. Relationships between m a n and nature are thus managed both at the everyday level, through activities such as agriculture, hunting, fishing and food collecting, and at the symbolic level, by the practice of prayers intended to obtain the favour of the G o d s and to protect m e n from the harmful effects of their powers (bad harvests, natural catastrophes, etc.).
W h a t then is the relationship with the natural world that is envisaged by different religious philosophies, such as Buddhism, Confucianism, Hinduism or Islam, or b y the animistic and shamanistic traditions of numerous indigenous peoples? A n d h o w does religious
10
Source : Nakashima Douglas, Culture and Environment : the cultural dimension of natural resource management, 1996.
42
thought translate into everyday practice and influence concrete interactions with the natural world? 1 1
Example : A M a y a approach to environmental issues It is worth noting a single, idiosyncratic interpretation of the natural world in which a Choi peasant farmer, A m a r o Martinez, declared that "... the devil grabbed everything there is on earth and said it is his, and he doesn't like one to grab or kill animals because they are his....The devil feels he is the owner of the world but G o d gave us all the animals to eat, to have as food; if w e kill m a n y animals, G o d doesn't get angry but the devil does..." This and other testimonies also point at something which is often forgotten in the mainstream, rather patronizing, view of Nature prevalent in urban culture. This is the customarily benign and bucolic view of Nature by those of us living in such a domesticated environment that w e don't realise that the rain-forest, that is, what was called jungle just a few years ago, is also inhabited by poisonous snakes, predatory carnivores and a host of illness-carrying insects. Thus, it is important to remember that, for m a n y of those w h o live in it, especially after nightfall, the rain-forest also becomes a dark, devilish place. Source : ArÍ2pe Lourdes and Paz Fernanda, Culture and sustainability, in Environment and Development : Problems and prospects for sustainable development, U N E S C O , 1992. B o x 10 In general terms, sound management of the environment should rely on striking a balance between protecting natural resources and meeting the basic needs of the people. T h e central consideration here is h o w to reorient the economic system of production, so as to reduce pollution and manage resources, both non-renewable (coal, gas, etc.) and renewable (water, w o o d , etc. ), which are either in the process of disappearing or need to be replenished.
The profound differences in the relationship to nature of different cultures and societies must therefore be taken fully into account w h e n elaborating policies and projects in the areas of agriculture, livestock breeding,fishing,the w o o d industry and forestry management, etc. In each case, the aim should be to maintain or to reconstruct a balanced system of relationships between h u m a n activities and the surrounding natural environment.
The problems posed by the interaction between the populations of the world and their living environment, whether these interactions are productive or destructive, cannot be limited to their relationships with nature. In a world that is increasingly urban, the relationship between m a n and the city is a source of serious social and cultural problems. It is vitally urgent that these problems be debated at both the national and the international level. T h e influx of large numbers of rural migrants into the great cities of the world is creating living and housing conditions which are humanly and culturally unbearable, and is producing effects of social and cultural segregation and disintegration on an ever greater scale. In addition, the construction and
11
evolution of the urban environment are also a source of cultural problems. T h e
Source : Nakashima Douglas, op. cit.
43
organisation o f cities can produce specific sub-cultures, which define the use that is m a d e o f the urban space, whether that use deviates from or conforms to previously existing models.
Urban Culture If we define culture as a way of life, there can be no doubt that urbanisation and the growth of cities are the most significant cultural shifts in this century. Living in a city or in the country makes a big difference to the way in which w e organise our lives! Cities create and nurture their own culture. Urban culture brings with it dynamic, creative tensions arising from population density and spatial proximity. The optimism that linked, urbanisation with creativity, innovation and modernity later turned into pessimism as the ills of city life became visible: the under-class, panhandling, drugs, crime, violence, hatred and low mass culture were seen not as frictional phenomena linked to the rapid pace of change, but as permanent and enduring features of urban life. Urban air and water pollution and the dumping of rubbish in residential areas have made urban life hell. Source : Our Creative Diversity, U N E S C O , 1995, page 216-217.
Box 11 In the year 2 0 0 0 , half of humanity - 3.2 billion individuals - will live in cities or towns. F r o m 1980 to 2 0 0 0 the n u m b e r o f citizens of the South will have doubled, increasing from 1 to 2 billions, and in the next 2 5 years it will double again, bringing their total n u m b e r to 4 billions12.
Humanising the city is therefore an urgent and long-term challenge. It m e a n s serving the people w h o live in the city, respecting the right to housing as a h u m a n right, promoting responsible urban development with a v i e w to controlling the far-reaching and intractable effects o f urban expansion o n social structures and the natural environment, and constructing an "educational city" w h i c h will b e ruled b y participatory urban governance 13 . Housing, urban planning, social and educational policies all have a basic cultural component which will have to be taken fully into account in order to build cities that have a " h u m a n face".
10.
Is globalization irresistible ?
O n m a n y different levels, the problems facing the world at the e n d o f the twentieth century are intimately tied u p with the belief in the existence o f a single, universal rationality w h i c h w o u l d underlie and guarantee the progress o f the h u m a n race. T h e present climate o f uncertainty and stability, a n d the evidence which is increasingly difficult to ignore that the world's development over the lastfiftyyears has been anything but equitable and sustainable, represent both a renewed threat to the survival o f cultural diversity in a global society, and an overwhelming reason to re-centre the w o r k o f "development" o n restoring a n d renewing our 12 13
Source: M O S T , 1995, op. cit. Source : Note by the Director-General of U N E S C O , Habitat II, City Summit, June 1996.
44
m a n y different h u m a n cultures, which are both our best defence against adversity, and our best m o d e l of w h a t a sustainablefixturefor the planet might look like.
APluri-cuItural and multi-polar world
v
r
Culture will undoubtedly be one of the major issues of sustainability, development and governance in the twenty-first century. This is because it provides the building blocs of identity and ethnic allegiance; moulds attitudes to work, saving and consumption; underlies political behaviour; and most important of all, builds the values that can drive collective action for a sustainable future in the new global context. Already scientists, national and international institutions and non-governmental organisations all over the world are taking up this challenge, and putting forward proposals in thisfieldwhich has always been present in anthropological research. Yet the perspective must n o w be different, as is the language. Instead of comparative studies in a world converging on the nation-state, w e n o w face a world of micro-nationalities and macro-regional markets; instead of thinking that cultures shall eventually merge, w e envisage a pluricultural and multipolar world; yet this new world is emerging from a new web of communications and information technology. T o put it simply, the parameters for thinking about the world have changed. In this n e w global context, w e have to rethink our understanding of culture and development. Source: Lourdes A R I Z P E , The Cultural Dimension of Global Change, Introduction - U N E S C O , 1996. Box
12 The
entire world is today faced with the spread of a global "mono-culture" whose
progress around the world is supported by the power of Western technology and wealth. The ideology of the consumer society - unconstrained individual choice in a mythical context of affluence for all - is both unrealisable and destructive o f local needs and traditions, as it turns all realities into virtual clichés. B u t the cultural traditions of the world are not simply a n immobilising force resisting modernity. T h e y are the result of a process which, over a period o f countless generations, has almost unconsciously attuned traditional societies to the particular needs of their specific physical and cultural environment. Such traditions play an active role in the present, because they represent the capacity to receive, respond to and store information w h i c h exceeds the consciousness and the time-frame o f an individual life, and w h i c h responds to pressures which are m o r e subtle and slower both to register and to change than those w h i c h can b e m a d e intelhgible to the individual w h o lives in a context dictated b y his or her o w n desires. •
Preserving tradition can sometimes be confused with preserving the existing balance of power in some societies and conmiunities. But tradition in itself is not afixedstate; it is a reservoir of alternative experiences of time which transcend the linear experience of the rational individual on which classical development theory is based. Tradition represents a medium-term between the long-term perspective of ecological evolution and the short-term perspective of human desire for progress and change. A s such, it constitutes an essential store of knowledge about the relationship between human beings and their environment, which encodes deeper truths than those immediately available to rational consciousness. The erosion of traditions which w e see throughout the world today, is the destruction of a vital resource for 45
sustainable development, without which w e will have only ourselves to fall back on, w h e n w e need to manage the forces of change in the present. Culture, then, is the vital intermediary between thefiniteperspective of the individual w h o sees his or her life as an apparently linear progress towards determined ends, and the fabulously complex order bidden beneath the apparent chaos of nature, which it is beyond the capacities of any one individual life to begin to encompass. A s such, the survival of the culture and the survival of the individual are always and everywhere interlinked. If development is to be sustained for the benefit of future generations, it will need not only the wisdom of past generations, but also the impersonal w i s d o m with which tradition unfolds the processes of social and natural time, to help and sustain human societies and communities
11.
W h a t is the cultural approach to development? T h e Mexico Declaration provides a starting point for defining a cultural approach to
development, w h e n it says that development must be founded on the will of each society and express its profound identity.14
If culture is the matrix in which the identity of a society is m a d e and remade, development is the full n a m e for that process of making and remaking. Which is to say, that the culture of a society will only cease to constitute a set of unmanageable obstacles (and tools) for development, w h e n development is no longer defined in terms foreign to that society's identity, and is seen instead as a process of endogenous change and interaction between societies, through which they m a y evolve in accord with their o w n identities, on their o w n terms.
T o define development in terms of the aspirations inherent to a culture, rather than to assess culture in terms of its potential to help or hinder development, represents a substantial transformation in the attitude taken towards development work, which, if fully realised in deeds as well as in words, could constitute an epochal change in international relations. It is a change to which the major international institutions are already committed in principle, as the logical consequence of the process of rethinking development which they have been carrying out over the last twenty years.
In the last few years, development agencies have indeed begun to realise that the n e w objectives they had set for themselves - whether in terms of participative, sustainable, h u m a n or social development - can only be achieved if they are prepared to rethink the central place of culture in making these various processes possible. It is precisely because the cultural 14
Source : Declaration of Mexico on Cultural Policies and Final Report - U N E S C O ' s World Conference on Cultural Policies, Mexico, 1982.
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dimension has tended to be ignored, except as a series of little or least important factors isolated from the complex interrelationships that bind them together, that m a n y of the attempts to enact n e w models of development have fallen so far short of their inventors' expectations. The recent World Summit on Social Development provided an opportunity for m a n y of the international institutions, in the documents they presented during the Summit's preparation, to draw on their o w n experiences of failure and success in order to m a k e just this point. Thus, the F A O , in a statement about the causes of rural poverty, stressed the need for a properly cultural approach to participative planning: "For many years now, the notion of popular participation has been devalued by being overused and abused. Will the idea of reviving the social and community responsibilities of the authorities concerned be able to restore its original meaning to the notion of participation, by grounding it in local cultural values?"15 Likewise, the U N D P in their agenda for the Social Summit, published as part of the 1994 H u m a n Development Report, reaffirmed the necessity of grounding human security on respect for cultural diversity: "We are completely convinced that the diversity of our societies is a strength and not a weakness, and we intend to protect it by guaranteeing that there is no discrimination between human beings, whether on grounds of sex, race, religion or ethnic origin"16.
The general message coming from these institutions is clear: "development" must be so as to become rooted in the existing cultures of the world, or it will cease to be able to develop anything. Indeed, there m a y soon, in m a n y places, be nothing left to develop. 12.
Is it possible to plan a cultural approach to development? "It has been 500 years that colonialism has been trying to offer us something different,
and yet for 500 years the world has still not recognised our traditional knowledge. You must respect our culture, our social structure, and our way of living before you can offer us anything different"11. Respect for other cultures, then, is not the same as accepting them uncritically. But it does m e a n that they should be judged in relation to the essential function which they fulfil, of
15 Source : Rural poverty, employment andfood security issues, F A O , World Summit for Social Development, Copenhagen, 1995. 16 Source : An Agenda for the Social Summit, Human Development Report, U N D P , 1994. 17 Source : Jorge Terena, Regional Support Program for Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin, in Traditional Knowledge and Sustainable Development, World Bank-Environmentally Sustainable Development Proceedings Series N o . 4, 1993.
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providing a sustainable life for a specific population living in specific natural and historical circumstances. T h e first prerequisite of the cultural approach is therefore to seek to understand a culture as an organic and indivisible whole. It is easy to extract elements which, out of context, will seem irrational or unjust, from any culture. T o replace these elements in their context is not thereby to condone them, but to recognise that their rationality m a y not be immediately apparent. It is only w h e n it is possible to assess the contribution they m a k e as a function of the whole, that it will be possible to see both h o w what at first appears superfluous m a y be valued as necessary by those w h o live b y it, and h o w that necessity m a y perhaps be open to the suggestion of change.
T h e cultural approach to development thus points to a complete reversal of the classical development perspective. Instead of analysing culture into a series of factors, which have then to b e integrated as best they can into a development process which is already defined, development agencies need to learn to begin by seeing the culture of the "target" population as a functioning whole. It is only w h e n this "identification" with the perspective of the local community has been achieved, that one can start to assess h o w suitable the "development factors" which the agency can propose might be for integration into that community's life.
For the cultural approach, it is the culture which is the independent reality, and "development" which is the dependent variable. There is not, therefore, one cultural approach to development. Rather, there are as m a n y forms of development as there are cultures. O n c e it is accepted that this transformation in attitude is necessary, the question arises: h o w are the international institutions to put that transformation into practice? A n d h o w far will it be necessary for them to change not only their explicit goals, but their institutional structures and working methods? For "development", too, is a culture, and like any culture, will have to change at its o w n rhythm, not overnight, and through a process of trial and error, not simply in conformity with s o m e external dictate. Certain requirements for any serious attempt to adopt a cultural approach are already clear from the discussion that has gone before. They can be summarised here under t w o headings: those that concern changes to the planning process as applied to particular projects, and those that concern changes of policy at the level of strategy and of the organisation of the development institutions themselves.
48
A.
C h a n g e s to the planning process
It is necessary to replace the analysis o f culture into cultural "factors" with an integrated vision o f culture as both basis and resource. Basis, in the sense that it is itself a source o f objectives for development and o f criteria for success. Resource, in that an evolving culture will tend to interpret the problems b y which it is confronted in a form which, while it challenges its creativity, will not overstretch its capacities to act effectively and efficiently according to its o w n time-scale for change 18 .
Development must b e defined according to the culture's indigenous concepts o f r h y t h m and p a c e in change t h r o u g h time. Every culture has its o w n unique resources for understanding h o w the transition from past to future is possible. These can themselves b e altered and developed, but only as a by-product o f s o m e concrete experience o f self-directed development in other spheres. If they are simply uprooted or denied, then the changes imposed u p o n the culture will never b e properly assimilated.
Development must g o hand in hand with participation. T h e objectives o f the project must b e needed or desired b y all that project's beneficiaries, and this need must b e manifested b y the active participation o f the beneficiaries at every stage o f the project, from conception through execution to evaluation, and o n all levels, in decision-making, and in the investment o f time, labour, m o n e y or whatever resources are appropriate to ensure a satisfactory o u t c o m e . S o participation must g o together with taking responsibilities andfinallywith e m p o w e r m e n t .
Every culture has its o w n modalities o f participation and representation, w h i c h are an integral part o f it. It is these modalities and mechanisms that m u s t b e mobilised in calling u p o n the participation of the population. If they are modified, the changes must b e the fruit o f experience and b e sought and approved b y the population, and not simply imposed b y the developers as a condition of their support.
Projects must then b e defined o n the basis o f existing situations and concrete realities, apprehended through the categories o f the population, and not simply through an external grid o f "foreign" categories. T h e developers m u s t not impose pre-established schemata u p o n the situations they encounter, but m u s t begin b y trying to understand through which models the population themselves w o r k to see the w o r l d and their situation in it. T h e project then, h o w e v e r carefully planned, m u s t b e continuously evaluated and continuously flexible in
N B : If a culture seems to be an "obstacle" to its own development and to the secondary development projects which grow out of that primary aim, this can only be because it is passing through a period of crisis. In every other case, it is its own best (though not its sole) resource.
49
response to changes in the local context and the perceptions of the population, which cannot always be foreseen or allowed for in advance.
The culture of the group is not only what the development worker m a y discover in advance of the project's execution, but also what he will discover during and after the project's execution and which he m a y not have bargained for. It is also the n e w cultural forms which will be brought about by any significant societal change.
B.
Changes at the level of strategy
Institutions must adapt both their strategic planning policies and their means of preparing specific projects so as to facilitate the flow of information from the bottom u p , the use of pilot-projects and other action-research methods of assessing local response, and must c o m e to allow the overall direction of development policy to b e c o m e gradually m o r e permeable to the patterns of interaction and organisation which are thus enabled to emerge from below.
T h e function of the global control of strategy must shift from the top-down imposition of ever m o r e precise goals and objectives, preferably quantifiable, to the elaboration of criteria of convergence with which to supervise and where necessary adjudicate between the loose accumulating structures created by the bottom-up generation of project "families".
Institutions and agencies must be prepared to re-model their role and modes of intervention so as to give greater freedom and responsibility to fieldworkers, w h o are the institution's main channel of communication with developing communities and, as such, its principal "resource" at all stages of the planning process.
The aim of these measures is not to replace existing models of development, but to allow these models - those of participatory, sustainable, h u m a n and social development - to themselves develop in a w a y that is culturally-sensitive and culturally-sustainable. The result, in the long term, win not be to establish and fix a single cultural approach to development, but to promote across the real diversity of existing societies the effective participation of all communities in a multiplicity of culturally-sustainable approaches which m a y lead to a fully h u m a n and social development.
T o propose a cultural approach to development is therefore not simply a question for theoretical and conceptual debate. It also requires the analysis of the planning systems currently in use and of the development models which he behind them. In this sense, the debate
50
about methods is a debate about the notion of development as a culture, and the w a y it interacts with other cultures. These interactions must be taken into account w h e n analysing the elaboration and the application of international development strategies, the working methods of the institutions, the methods of planning programmes and projects, andfieldwork. All these tools implicitly carry the same fundamental message: that of the potentially universal validity of the rationahst model of economic, institutional and societal thought that originated in the industrial societies, the organisational methods it implies (planning or regulation by the market), budgetary analysis as benchmark of the validity of an action, and the division of roles between different development actors (with the predominance of the professional agents, and the m o r e or less effective participation of those principally concerned by the outcome). In addition, the mutual articulation (or not, as the case m a y be) of strategies, institutional actions, programmes, projects andfieldw o r k is a problem in itself Strategies are not adequately taken into account w h e n determining institutional policies. These policies in turn can often seem unconnected to thefieldwork. A s a result, programmes and projects, which should be the place where the needs and possibilities of the field converge with the contribution of the institutions, frequently encounter m a n y problems which c o m e between them and the meaningful and lasting results they are looking for. A s far as strategies are concerned, adopting a cultural approach wouldfirstof all imply taking into account the cultural components and effects of globalization, in the face of the "fruitful diversity of cultures" that is emphasised in U N E S C O ' s constitution. This evolution then forms the backdrop against which guiding principles for the international community's actions are drawn up, so as to reduce the risk of economic and social alienation between the different peoples of the world. The importance of these guiding principles lies precisely in the ambitious nature of the goals they set out, and underlines the need for sustained effort in the long-term and for effective mobilisation of all partners, in order to achieve real changes which can be accepted by all the M e m b e r States, all the co-operation institutions of the United Nations, and all non-governmental organisations and movements representing civil society.
Strategies should also be prepared through broadly-based and effective consultations, undertaken sufficiently far in advance, and extending beyond the immediate circle of privileged partners, so as to generate a rich, detailed and concrete vision of the situations in which action is envisaged.
51
T h e adoption of the cultural approach would also require that in drafting strategy documents, an effort be m a d e to go beyond the over-conventional formulae in which their underlying intentions are often imprisoned. Finally, strategies should be systematically extended b y appending to them a plan of action, sufficiently concrete to encourage those involved to push forward with the struggle against those evils which are recognised b y all the partners, and at the same time sufficiently open to a plurality of possible responses to those evils.
Field w o r k m a y be seen as representing the enactment of all the principles and models of intervention defined in the guiding documents which have been drawn up in other circumstances: strategies, medium-term plans, programmes and budgets, documents, project models, manuals and guides for planners and for agents.
It is also the place in which there can be a real meeting between the institutions with their k n o w - h o w and predictive competence on the one hand, and the principal development actors on the other. Dialogue, partnership and the w a y s in which the different actors intervene or stand off from one another, determine the basic rules that govern the effective participation of the communities, according to their differences and the creative force of their cultures. Finally, it is from field w o r k that precise lessons can be drawn for revising the existing models for programmes and projects, and the working methods of the institutions.
Considered within a cultural approach to development, programmes and projects are certainly that part of the development process which present most difficulties for the present methodological analysis. There are m a n y obstacles here to the effective adoption of a cultural approach to development: their division into separate domains and areas of intervention, the use of the sequence aims/means/results, the preference for existing models of preparing, realising and evaluating the effects of actions, the imperative of calendars, the pre-eminence of budgetary constraints over the reality of any given situation, and the relative weight of the institutions in the decision making process. Each of these difficulties must be examined one b y one, and appropriate adaptations proposed for each of them. But it is clear that any propositions m a d e in thisfieldwill have to be the subject of a great deal of further discussion, if they are to combine the demands of technical rigour with the need to give full weight to the cultures and the existing strengths of a project's actors and beneficiaries.
T h e same remark applies to the w o r k of the institutions. In this case, the cultural approach implies the need to co-ordinate the institutions' o w n actions better with overall development strategies, so that their intervention falls clearly within the master plan governing a series of actions. It also points to the need to m a k e considerable improvements in the 52
information available to institutions about the interactions between culture and development. It is in relation to these interactions that they should re-evaluate their o w n policies, their m o d e s of action and their capacities for intervention. The flow of information towards the institutions must also be complemented by significantly extending their contacts with all categories of development partner, so as to bring them as close as possible to thefield.T o the extent that this is achieved, they will be able to re-imagine their o w n role, and so they will b e c o m e m o r e and more sought after as partners, or rather, as "facilitators". They will n o longer be overdirective managers of discrete projects, w h o are above all responsible for accounting for their r
financial
actions to national and international donors, instead of applying themselves to seeing
h o w they can be useful, wherever necessary, to populations w h o are in difficulty, with full respect for their diversity.
13.
W h a t is at stake in the cultural approach to development?
Rethinking development on the basis of culture means seeing the cultural traits of a h u m a n society or group as its core element, as the most complete manifestation of its economic, social, political, ethical, spiritual, intellectual and ideological operation, and as representing all those processes by which it is able to solve its o w n problems.
It is o n the basis of this reality that actions and programmes intended to facilitate desired change within continuity can be designed and carried out, with the active support and participation of the groups concerned. The positive character of these changes will only be revealed in the long term, as these groups' culture is able to assimilate them and so evolve without being destroyed.
For these interventions to be sustainably useful to the group concerned and to be assimilated by them, two conditions must be met: • they must be based on in-depth knowledge of the specific cultural traits which m a y stand in the w a y of change, and of the cultural resources of the population; i
• external intervention must only be undertaken with the necessary precautions: - the principles and models of the planning process must be suitably adapted; - the interactions between external actors and internal demand must be observed using appropriate means.
The success of plans and projects depends upon the synergy which they can create, on the quality of the process by which the population is mobilised for the development operation, and on the acceptance and understanding by this population of what is brought in from outside.
53
The rhythm, the time-span and the financing of development actions need to be evaluated accordingly, so as to guarantee the necessaryflexibilityfor all m o d e s of institutional intervention. A.
Analysing cultures as basis, resource or barrier in the process of change
This analysis will distinguish between two types of requirement: •
T h e need to ground development on elements that are linked to mentalities, traditions, beliefs and value systems, which m a y not be directly related to the actions to be undertaken,
->
but which must be taken into account, both for ethical and practical reasons, and which m a y form an obstacle even to changes desired by all, if they are not correctly identified. •
The need to mobilise the cultural resources of the populations themselves in order to bring about the desired changes: these resources include knowledge, k n o w - h o w , technologies, m o d e s of economic, social (including family) and political organisation, and above alL their "cultural dynamics", by which is meant their creativity, self-confidence and will to resolve problems 19 .
In order to establish the basic principles of strategies, programmes and projects, it is necessary to identify and evaluate the following elements: •
Systems of spiritual and ethical values, customs and traditions which might, at certain m o m e n t s in the process of change, enter either into conflict or synergy with the aspirations and conditions which allow solutions to the societies1 problems to be identified.
•
Criteria b y which the populations identify their needs, aspirations and centres of interest in matters of development.
• Role and place of the need for continuity and for change in the value systems of the cultures of the countries or groups concerned. • Importance and usefulness of the modes and norms of family, social and economic organisation which exist in the societies and communities where development projects or policies are to be established, and their role in endogenous development processes. • Role and importance of networks of interest, power, influence and communication, whether formal or informal, institutional or not. • Possibilities of using in preference or conjointly traditional knowledge, k n o w - h o w , technologies and economic activities alongside modern knowledge, technologies and management methods. •
Internal capacities and needs for innovation and adaptation.
See Chombart de Lauwe, Paul, La Culture et le Pouvoir,Paris, 1985.
54
^
Taken together, these elements should be considered as both the justification for strategies, plans or projects, and as an integral part of the means for carrying out activities that have been designed by c o m m o n agreement.
Projects for institutional intervention must be situated in relation to the existing situation, if institutions want to respond to the needs, aspirations and preferences of the populations, so as to maximise their chances of success in the actions undertaken.
Evaluating the means by which development actions can be carried out will allow those activities to draw on local cultural resources as well as the resources that belong to the project itself These m e a n s will be taken into account through the analysis of the interactions between actors, factors, levels and domains. Each of these elements must be analysed in concrete terms. A n overview should also be attempted of the dynamic aspects of cultural interactions, or of those aspects onto which it might be possible to "graft" projects, so as to prepare the w a y for taking cultural diversities into account at an even m o r e general level. T h e results of these analyses will also form the basis for strategies of information and communication between thefieldand the decision makers, and strategies of education aimed at the populations, covering areas relating to the projects. At a m o r e general level, cultural diversity should not be "levelled out" by the search for recurrent cultural traits (regularities). Observation shows that, along with their internal coherence, the diversity of cultures is indeed their most striking feature and the most relevant for observation, research and action relating to development. Certainly, the phenomenon of globalization has led to a certain uniformity in m o d e s of behaviour and life styles, under the influence of certain models of consumption. But that is not true of all societies, nor of every group within society. For instance, for certain societies in certain countries in Eastern Asia, the confrontation between identities, modernity, n e w technologies and the market economy does not seem to pose a problem in the short term, to the extent that these societies have a strong trading tradition. But the same is not true of other cultures, such as certain African, Amerindian or Central Asian societies. This fact is even m o r e obvious, the closer one is to thefield,where cultural and socio-cultural differences, whether conflictual or not, require correspondingly differential solutions.
55
B.
Adopting n e w planning methods
T h e twofold need to take into account both cultural regularities and cultural diversities, imply that precautions must be taken in programming interventions. These precautions will be h u m a n and professional in nature for those w h o are in direct contact with the "field"; but related technical precautions must also be applied to the planning methods themselves.
In the short and medium term, it would be unrealistic to advocate radical changes to present methods, all the more so as significant improvements have been m a d e to earlier methods.
The viability of applying n e w approaches, which are more prospective and holistic in nature, must be carefully studied, developed and tested. W h e n c e the importance of applied research in this field.
In any case, improvements currently being made must be followed up and encouraged to converge with the aims and methods of the cultural approach.
In the longer term, however, if the question what tools and processes would allow the cultural approach to development to be realised through the planning process is to be treated seriously at the highest level, proposals will be required that are both general in their application and innovative in their perspective. Other requirements will include a significantly greater improvement of existing tools, the use of those untried tools that do already exist, and finally, the creation of completely n e w tools expressly designed for this purpose.
4).
CHAPTER I - STRATEGIES Synopsis : Firstly, this chapter provides basic definitions of and summarizes the various types of strategic document. Then it reviews the evolution of international development strategies over the last four decades. It highlights the increasing importance given to the non-economic, and m o r e specifically to the cultural dimensions of development, in the various types of strategic documents. It goes on to review in m o r e detail those documents which bear explicitly on the interactions between culture and development. Secondly, it points to the achievements and shortcomings to b e met with in even the most advanced strategies. It then formulates methodological proposals for drawing u p development strategies according to a cultural approach, based onfiveprinciples : long-term perspective, holistic scope, linking unity and diversity, participatory development, and limited predictability. The chapter closes by poposing and describing certain methods and instruments. These are: functional analysis of interactions between culture and development, long-term studies, scenario methods and dynamic system analysis, matrix-making (culture/development, unity/diversity), participatory development planning, and ways of testing the feasibility and limits of global planning.
INTRODUCTION Definitions and typologies
This chapter will examine the m a n y lessons which can be learned from studying the evolution of strategic documents from the perspective
of the cultural dimension of
development. It will also propose instruments and tools which can help construct a cultural approach for future strategies. But first, it will be useful to define what exactly a strategy is, and to review the various types of strategic documents and their functions. 1.
W h a t is a development strategy ? Strategy (general meaning): an ensemble of large-scale actions co-ordinated to achieve
major objectives in the medium- to long-term, taking into account availability of resources and potential obstacles20. The word is often incorrectly used to refer to the practical management of a situation. Strategy is the most general level of planning in the development process. It is meant, first to provide development actors at all levels with a long-term global representation of the process in which they are involved, and secondly, to co-ordinate and integrate policies at the trans-institutional level.
2.
Types of strategic documents Strategies m a y be formulated in different types of documents which can vary, in the
practice of both the U N system and other organisations, with respect to their subject, timeframe, geographical scope and the actors involved in their implementation. A.
General orientation papers In many cases, strategies are set out in general orientation papers which m a y address
long-term or medium-term objectives. Such documents m a y have different enchases, focussing on: •
the issue of development in general, at the trans-institutional and world-wide level (for
example, the United Nations International
Development
Strategies), or
concentrating on a given region (United Nations N e w Agenda for the development of Africa in the 1990s).
20
Le Robert, Dictionnaire de la langue française, 1988.
58
•
a specific urgent world-scale problem which cuts across the domains of competence of more than one international agency (for example, World Strategy to
Combat
AIDS); •
the action of a given institution (for example, Health for All in the Year 2000,
WHO); Other strategic documents relate to the different major challenges to human rights in development : - I L O Basic Needs Strategy (1976) (later adopted by the United Nations). - Interagency strategies: the case of w o m e n . - World Declaration on Education for All and Framework of Action to Meet Basic Learning Needs (Jomtien, Thailand 1990). - World Decade for Cultural Development (1988-1997).
B.
World Reports
There are four types of world reports : •
Pre-World Conference Reports - A d hoc International Commission Report on Population and Quality of Life (Cairo Conference, 1994); - World Commission's Report on W o m e n ' s Life (Beijing Conference, September 1995).
• Diagnostic Reports: - Our Common
Future, United Nations Independent World Commission on Environment
and Development (Brundtland Commission, 1987); - U N D P Annual Report (since 1990: Evaluation of the world situation regarding H u m a n Development and contributions to World Conferences (Copenhagen, 1994 Report; Beijing, 1995 Report)). •
Reports with an Agenda or Policy Recommendations: - International Commission on Education for the 21st Century - Delors Commission; - World Commission Report on Culture and Development, 1995.
•
A n action-oriented strategy: Copenhagen Declaration and Plan of Action (1995)
59
L
STRATEGY IN ACTION - LESSONS LEARNT The documents which are described below are not analysed in full, but are discussed
simply so as to demonstrate the evolution from an essentially economic approach to development towards a growing concern for the non-economic aspects of development.
1.
T h e U N Decades; the search for a global development strategy
In 1960, the U N proclaimed an International Development Decade. The relative failure of what w a s meant to be a one-off action led the M e m b e r States to adopt the Decade as a continuing time-framework in which to co-ordinate their development efforts across different sectors and between institutions. The result w a s a series of International Development Decades, running right up to the present day (1970s, 1980s, 1990s).
Each of these Decades is defined through an International Strategy. This enables the U N Agencies and M e m b e r States to: - situate their o w n development action as a coherent and constructive contribution in relation to a set of international policy recommendations; - define their role in relation not only to each other, but to the economical, political and technological forces which influence the process and the outcome of development.
The subsequent U N Decades since the 1960s have reflected the evolution of development thinking over this same period, in response to the profound and sometimes traumatic changes that have taken place in conditions throughout the world, (as outlined in the Introduction).
T h e Strategy for the 1970s simply affirmed that social objectives would be attained through economic growth. In 1974, the difficulty of putting the 1970s Plan of Action into effect led the U N General Assembly to draw up a Recommendation for the establishment of a N e w Economic Order, and to adopt, in 1976, the Strategy for meeting Basic Needs of the I L O (see below). The purely economic approach w a s already perceived to be inadequate. This w a s a first step towards recognising the importance of the non-economic dimensions of development.
The Strategy for the 1980s still urged the necessity of accelerating economic development, but it linked this objective to considerations of justice, peace and stability. For the first time, the World Plan of Action went beyond financial and economic measures to propose specific actions in other domains such as the environment, housing, disaster relief and
60
social development. H o w e v e r , there w a s n o explicit reference to the cultural aspects of development. The Strategy for the 1990s marked a significant departure in this respect. T h e protection of diverse "cultural entities" is specifically listed a m o n g the objectives of the strategy. The economic and social goals of the strategy are envisaged throughout in terms of sustainable h u m a n development, and this is explicitly interpreted to m e a n that each c o m m u n i t y should be encouraged to choose its o w n approach to the use of h u m a n resources and the creation of institutions, according to its o w n priorities, its values, its traditions, its culture and its stage of development. Renewed emphasis is placed on the notion ofparticipation.
The evolution of these strategies thus represents a significant advance towards recognising the part played by human and qualitative aspects in successful economic and social development. H o w e v e r , until culture is explicitly affirmed as a central concept both in defining policy and in guiding action, the full significance of its role will not b e apparent, and cultural aspects will continue, albeit with the best intentions, to be instrumentalized and so undervalued. 2.
A Pioneering D o c u m e n t T h e Basic Needs Strategy of the International L a b o u r Organisation 21 This strategy, presented by the I L O at the World Employment Conference in 1976, and
subsequently adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, went far further than other strategies at that time in acknowledging the cultural aspects of development. •
. Basic needs "include two elements. First they include certain m i n i m u m requirements of a family for private consumption... Second, they include essential services provided by and for the community at large, such as... education and cultural facilities."
•
The cultural implications of satisfying these basic needs were defined in two ways: •
variation of the objectives that should be adopted, according to variations in level of development, climate, social and cultural values;
•
the need for communities to be involved in decisions that concern them, including the establishment of strategic aims.
21
Source: Declaration of principles and programme of action adopted by the Tripartite World Conference on Employment, ILO Geneva, 1976.
61
•
Furthermore, the concept of basic needs "should be placed within a context of national independence, the dignity of individuals and peoples and their freedom to chart their destiny without hindrance."
•
Concerning the international migration of workers and the role of multinational companies in the creation of jobs, the Strategy recommended that the cultural rights of migrant workers be respected and that their links with their cultures of origin be protected, and that multinational companies should operate in such a w a y as to respect the socio-cultural identity of the host countries.
3.
Inter-agency strategy: W o m e n ' s advancement
A.
Previous Conferences and normative instruments Since 1946, the Technical Commission on the Condition of W o m e n has prepared and
presented to the General Assembly a series of recommendations and conventions concerning the condition of w o m e n such as Convention on the Political Rights of W o m e n (1952), Convention on the Nationality of Married W o m e n (1957), Convention and Recommendation on Consent to Marriage, the Legal A g e of Marriage and the Registration of Marriage (1962, 1965), and Declaration and Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against W o m e n (1967, 1979).
1975 w a s declared the International Year of W o m e n . The First World Conference on W o m e n , which took place that year in Mexico, adopted a Declaration on the Equality of W o m e n and their contribution to Development and Peace, and a World Plan of Action aimed at the realisation of these objectives. The General Assembly also adopted the Declaration and Plan and proclaimed the period 1976-1985 the U N Decade for W o m e n , thus extending the scope of time allocated to the enactment of the Plan.
In 1985, the Third World Conference, held in Nairobi, adopted a forward-looking strategy for the advancement of w o m e n for the period to the year 2000. This strategy raised problems that had not been mentioned before, such as the value of under- and un-remunerated w o r k by w o m e n , their access to positions of responsibility, violence against w o m e n and the enlargement of w o m e n ' s role in international relations.
62
B.
UNDP-Human Development Report, 1995 Most of these documents did not make any explicit reference to the cultural factors that
affect the situation of w o m e n and their participation in development. The first document to do so was the U N D P H u m a n Development Report 1995 in its assessment of the present situation regarding gender disparities. This Report focuses on persisting gender disparities within and between societies, in spite of "a relentless struggle to equalise opportunities between m e n and women".
T h e cultural message of the Report is that "human
development must be
engendered". The report w a s explicitly targeted to provide analysis and information that could contribute to the concrete Plan of Action for the Future, set out by the Fourth World Conference on W o m e n (Beijing, September 1995).
The major points advanced by the Report are as follows: •
Every country has m a d e progress in developing w o m e n ' s capabilities, but w o m e n and m e n in all societies livr in an unequal world, as a consequence of persisting under-evaluation of w o m e n ' s economic contribution, continuous legal discrimination and violence against women;
•
Sustainable human development requires equity, especially between m e n and w o m e n , as well as between generations and among generations.
The U N D P Report recognises that gender and the complex of social relations between m e n and w o m e n are more crucial to promoting equity in this matter than is the impact of development action regarding w o m e n ' s education and health. Similarly, economical and political freedom will not automatically deliver equality, because of the prevailing structure of power (usually dominated by m e n ) . Moreover, the debate on equal rights needs to be extended further - as is n o w beginning to happen - to encompass not only the public domain but also the private sphere. In every country throughout the world, a legal framework should be created to help protect equality in the public and private spheres, and steps taken to ensure that this legal corpus is put into practice.
Given the fact that 90 countries have not yet accepted all the tenets of legal equality between m e n and w o m e n , the Report proposes a Five-point strategy for the future: •
A timetable to eliminate ^crimination through, for instance, changing social and institutional norms, legislation on tax and social security, property, inheritance, divorce, and information on w o m e n ' s work, especially unpaid work;
•
A 3 0 % critical threshold for w o m e n occupying decision-making positions at the national level;
•
K e y programs for increasing w o m e n ' s
opportunities : education, information on
reproductive health and alternative credit schemes; 63
•
Greater access to productive resources, political and social opportunities, poverty reduction, capacity building and empowerment.
H o w e v e r , says the U N D P report, "there should be no attempt to offer a universal model of gender equality", adding that "the interpretation of some rights will differ in different societies depending o n religious traditions and cultures". But at the same time each society must debate whether the outcome of the process is what the society really desires or just a reflection of structural barriers which they ought to work to remove. Thus, future efforts to build awareness o f gender into the n e w development paradigm should be based o n three principles: •
Equality of rights between genders should be "enshrined" in a fundamental principle and legal, economic, political or cultural barriers should be identified and removed;
•
Justice: w o m e n should be regarded as agents and beneficiaries of change;
•
T h e engendered development model should not predetermine h o w different cultures and societies will exercise these choices.
C.
Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action
In
the Declaration adopted b y the Beijing Conference itself, the particcating
Governments assessed the progress achieved and the shortcomings that had been observed since 1985. O n this basis, they declared the necessity of defining and implementing a n e w Platform of Action for the Decade to come, in order to continue the efforts required by such a long term process of change.
Expressing their determination "to advance the goals of equality, development and peace for all w o m e n everywhere", they took note of "the diversity of w o m e n and their roles and circumstances" in the present world. They also noted that, in spite of advancement in w o m e n ' s status in s o m e respects, the overall situation still shows major differences and inequalities, exacerbated by the increasing poverty which affects the lives of the majority of the world's population.
The Conference also expressed the conviction that w o m e n ' s advancement can b e achieved through participation in decision-making and access to power in allfields,balanced responsibilities in family life, economic independence, access to education, vocational training, scientific and technological knowledge and skills, protection against violence, and sexual and reproductive health care. Similar determination w a s expressed regarding the eradication o f discrimination against w o m e n on grounds of "race, age, language, ethnicity or indigenous origin, culture, religion, disability,..."
64
In order to inclement the major commitments of the Declaration, fifty-three strategic objectives were defined in the Platform for Action under which various types of general measures were described. Similarly, the Declaration asserted that, in order to realise equality, development and peace, it is necessary "to fully respect women's rights regarding thought, conscience and religion or belief in worshipping, observance, practice and teaching which can contribute to w o m e n ' s and men's moral, ethical and spiritual needs, and to realising their full potential in society".
M a n y other prepared actions are to be implemented by governments through political, administrative and legal measures in order to eliminate certain institutional obstacles and to open u p n e w opportunities for w o m e n , or to penalise certain practices or activities, such as violence, sexual exploitation and prostitution, unremunerated heavy work, and degrading representations of w o m e n in the media and in the products of the cultural industries.
Other proposals are more closely related to societal patterns and clichés, to the behaviour of m e n or families, or even to w o m e n ' s o w n cultural value systems. These issues deserve m u c h further in-depth analysis, in order to shed light on their links with other cultural components, and to identify paths for a cultural approach to these values, so as to encourage the culture to evolve towards a full recognition of w o m e n ' s rights and role in society. 4.
W o r l d Declaration on Education for All and F r a m e w o r k for Action to M e e t Basic Learning Needs (Jomtien, Thailand, 1990) T h e World Conference on Education for All (Jomtien, Thailand, M a r c h 1990) adopted a
World Declaration and a Framework for action to meet basic learning needs, which are intended to guide Governments, international institutions, educators and development professionals in designing and carrying out strategies and policies to improve basic education services. In conceptual terms, education and culture can be grouped together into a single field defined as the creation, transmission and preservation of the knowledge, k n o w - h o w and value systems of a given society, or of m a n y different societies, past and present. Designing, implementing and evaluating education policies and action, especially at the world level, is a cultural challenge and requires a cultural approach, given the diversity of the societies concerned and the need to adopt a long-term perspective.
65
A.
T h e cultural dimension of the Declaration
It is no surprise then that the cultural dimension and cultural approach are very m u c h a part of in the Declaration, as also of the Framework for Action. T h e Preamble states that "access to printed knowledge, n e w skills and technologies could help adults shape and adapt to social and cultural change". These are significant words, given that only 3 0 % of the world's adult population currently benefit from access to such resources.
T h e Declaration itself emphasises that education can contribute "to social, economic and cultural progress, tolerance and international co-operation", while recognizing that "traditional knowledge and indigenous cultural heritage have a value and validity in their o w n right and a capacity to both define and promote development".
T h e first purpose of the Declaration is to meet basic learning needs, "the scope and conditions of which vary with individuals and countries, and inevitably change with the passage of time". The satisfaction of these needs "confers upon individuals a responsibility to respect and build upon their collective cultural, linguistic and spiritual heritage", and to promote education, social justice, environmental protection, tolerance, humanistic values and h u m a n rights, and peace and solidarity in an "interdependent world".
Another aim of education is "the transmission and achievement of c o m m o n cultural and moral values", in which "individuals and societiesfindtheir identity and worth".
Special attention should be paid to under-served groups: the poor, street and working children, rural and remote populations, nomads and migrant workers, indigenous peoples, ethnic, racial and linguistic minorities, refugees, displaced persons, occupied countries and the disabled, given "the diversity, complexity and changing natures of basic needs of children, youth and adults, and the plurality of education channels: family^ mother-tongue, working milieu, and communication process, whether through mass media information circuits or nontechnological communication channels".
B.
T h e F r a m e w o r k for Action : "Adjusting action to circumstances and needs" In the F r a m e w o r k for Action appended to the Declaration, the principles of action
mentioned include, a m o n g others, identifying existing traditional learning systems, and multisectorial and multi-partner strategies and action. A t the national level, priority action should assess needs and design plans of action, paying due attention to the need to constantly adjust objectives, resources, actions and constraints. These plans should "couch objectives only in broad terms", in order to m a k e it possible to adapt those frameworks to working conditions 66
and circumstances at the local level (languages, participative education, family and community support, traditional education system and more generally the social, cultural and ethical dimensions of development). Basic education should also mobilise, besides education and teaching staff, family, community and voluntary organisations, N G O s , employers, political parties, co-operatives, religious bodies, and all possible n e w partners.
At the regional or sub-regional level, linguistic and cultural links can help build a supplementary basis for developing relevant Plans of action which will be of mutual benefit.
At the world level, U N E S C O ' s mandatory responsibility in education gives priority to implementing the Plan of Action, facilitating reinforced international co-operation and coordination and priority initiatives at the national and regional levels, in areas defined with respect to the notion of relevance in primary education, and with priority granted to the economically poorer countries, disadvantaged groups, and w o m e n and girls. All these choices have an obvious cultural and societal dimension. 5.
A n Action-Oriented Conference: T h e W o r l d S u m m i t for Social Development, Copenhagen 1995
The World Summit for Social Development met in Copenhagen in March, 1995. The Declaration and the Plan of Action adopted by the Summit represent a major advance in establishing an integrated strategy for sustainable h u m a n development, both in the scope of their terms of reference, and in their ambition to co-ordinate action well into the next century.
The Plan of Action arranges the substantial commitments of the Summit under three m a i n headings: •
the eradication of poverty;
•
the expansion of productive employment and the reduction of unemployment, towards the ultimate goal of full employment;
•
the pursuit of social integration.
Separate chapters also emphasise the importance of constructing an enabling economic, political, social, cultural and legal environment, and the need for a proper procedure of evaluation and review to sustain and monitor the process. Throughout, great care is taken to define and distinguish the proper spheres of responsibility of the international community and its Agencies, the Nation States, N G O s and civil society. The Plan of Action points out that these aims will not be achieved without a favourable evolution in the global context which conditions the scope of voluntarist action. They also 67
stress that the core values of social development cannot be dissociated either from the imperative of respect for universal human rights, nor from the need to assert and defend the rights of disadvantaged groups, among them w o m e n , children, the disabled, indigenous peoples, religious and ethnic minorities, refugees and migrants.
The Plan of Action, translates the objectives of the Declaration into policy guidelines on the basis of which the different institutions and actors will be able to formulate and assess their o w n programs and projects. The degree of precision of the "actions" proposed varies greatly. They do at times impose specific targets by which their success is to be measured (for instance, " B y the year 2000, a reduction in maternal mortality by one half of the 1990 level; by the year 2015, a further reduction by one half'); but they leave open the choice of appropriate means b y which these objectives m a y be achieved.
6.
A W o r l d T e n - Y e a r Strategy for Cultural Development (The W o r l d Decade for Cultural Development -1988-1997) The international community's action for equitable development since the 1960s has led
to the interim conclusion that development efforts that neglect the cultural context produce few positive results. T o underscore the need to take local culture into account in the development process, to affirm and enrich cultural identities, to stress the importance of creativity and participation in a period of rapid scientific and technological change, and to reinforce acceptance of cultural diversity in the interest of international peace and understanding, the United Nations proclaimed 1988-1997 the World Decade for Cultural Development. The Decade, with U N E S C O as lead agency, is a joint endeavour of the whole United Nations family. In the context of the World Decade, culture is to be understood in its broadest sense. It includes not only artistic activities, such as literature, music, visual arts, and dance, but beliefs, values, attitudes, customs, and social relations. In other words, it is everything that shapes the specific characteristics and originality of a people or a community, and gives each h u m a n being his/her cultural identity. T h e four m a m objectives of the Decade, as defined in its Plan of Action, are: •
acknowledging the cultural dimension of development;
•
affirming and enriching cultural identities;
•
broadening participation in cultural life;
•
promoting international cultural co-operation..
These objectives are fully in line with the concerns of the U N as a whole, as regards : 68
•
searching for a sustainable h u m a n development ;
•
developing a sense of tolerance towards others, cultural diversity and cultural pluralism, through cultural development ;
•
combating exclusion and enchancing participation in development, with special reference to those w h o are excluded for economic, social, political or cultural reasons, with a view to fostering more democratic societies ;
• promoting understanding and solidarity a m o n g cultures and societies with a view to building a culture of peace. A m o n g its major outputs, the Decade has contributed to establishing n e w methods for a cultural approach to development, and to the setting up of a World Report on Culture and Development. Another major achievement of the Decade is the project "Cultural Pluralism in Europe", which is designed to promote peace and understanding between communities belonging to different cultures within or between the countries of Central Europe.
69
EL
PLANNING FOR A GLOBAL AGE: THE WORLD REPORTS Since the early 1980s, international institutions have increasingly felt the need to base
long-term strategy on in-depth research and analysis of the global situation relative to a specific theme or problem, whether on a world or regional scale. A s a result, strategic planning is n o w increasingly founded upon World Reports prepared by commissions of independent experts. This shift inevitably puts the emphasis on research and analysis. This is in itself indicative of a growing consciousness of the inherent complexity of world problems and the difficulty of constructing an appropriate, effective and systematic response to them. Such reports m a y be the result of a process of consultation by an ad-hoc commission (e.g. the Brundtland Commission), or the annual publication of a critical assessment by a permanent specialised team (e.g. the U N D P H u m a n Development Reports). Their main function is to alert the international community to a serious planetary danger, or to periodically remind those involved that development has not yet achieved the pace of change called for and committed to by the United Nations system as a whole.
A second kind of World Report is represented by the preliminary documents which prepare an international summit or conference. Examples are the report of the Independent Commission on Population and the Quality of Life, drawn up in preparation for the Cairo conference, and the World Report on the Role of W o m e n in Development (see above), which w a s drafted preliminary to the Third World Conference on W o m e n (Beijing, September 1995). The third category of world reports comprises the documents produced by specially appointed Commissions, with a view to producing recommendations, agendas, or plans of action (e.g. the Delors International Commission for Education in the 21st Century, or the World Commission on Culture and Development). In this case, while the process focuses on research and analysis of existing knowledge, the purpose is to provide a basis for action: • to enable the setting of targets, • to further the discussion of possible means, • where appropriate, to record concrete commitments m a d e by the participating governments, institutions and organisations. O n e particularly detailed Plan of Action is that which resulted from the World Summit on Social Development (Copenhagen 1995). This document has already been considered in the previous section of this chapter.
70
1.
The Report of the World Commission on Environment and Development : O u r C o m m o n Future
Sustainable development and social disruption In its original meaning, the concept of sustainable development emphasised inter-generational solidarity, that is to say our moral obligation to leave to the n e w generations as good an environment and as abundant resources as those w e have found. This is the diachronic ("through time') meaning of sustainability. Nevertheless, if this diachronic solidarity has a sense in healthy, prosperous countries, it is almost meaningless in countries where both environment and development are pitifully disrupted. The people in those countries have little to pass on to their future generations, with the exception of theirrichcultural identity. Accordingly, sustainable development can only be achieved at the world-wide level if the foundations for an inter-generational 'synchronic' solidarity are established between rich and poor, among countries and within any given country. ... It is not unusual to observe countries where the 'state of the environment' and the level of environmental awareness are fairly acceptable, but where all the signals of social disruption are emerging with all their train of marginalization, exclusion, racism and fundamentalism. Moreover, environmental awareness m a y also coexist with economic stagnation and recession, unemployment and the appearance of a n e w extreme poverty within rich countries, as well as with the progressive loss of cultural identity, of the sense of belonging and the family structure. Source : The Chair of Sustainable Development, F . di C A S T R I , Nature and Resources, U N E S C O , voL 31, no. 3, 1995. Box 13
The World Commission on the Environment and Development, presided by M s Gro Harlem Bruntland, and mandated by the United Nations, was created in 1983 to draw up a report on the possibility of environmentally-sustainable development as far as the year 2000. The Report was submitted to the General Assembly in
1987.
The Report seeks to establish h o w it may be possible to reconcile the economic growth and the biological resources of the
search for
planet. The concept of sustainable
development deals not only with the interface of economics and ecology, but also takes into account such concerns as population growth, human resources, food supply, energy provision, industrialisation and human development. By drawing attention to the
social and human
changes that will be necessary, the Report implicitly raises the question of the cultural impact of current development strategies, and of the cultural conditions for sustainable development. B u t the concept of a culturally-sensitive sustainable development
is not explicitly developed,
and the interdependence o f cultural a n d biological diversity is not analysed in the R e p o r t .
T h u s the Report points the w a y towards further w o r k to b e done. T h e definition o f environmental protection w h i c h it adopts (understood essentially as the preservation o f the
71
natural environment and its non-renewable resources) is, in itself culturally-specific, and could be fruitfully re-examined in the light of the idea of cultural diversity set out in the World Report on Culture and Development (see below). Thus, for example, a cultural approach to the problems raised in the document would include an examination of the development and sustainability of the built environment, which is so crucial in a rapidly urbanising world, but which was not included within the Brundtland Commission's terms of reference.
The Report's re-examination of the critical environmental and development problems of the planet and its attempt to formulate realistic proposals for solving them, for both the present and future generations of humankind, paved the way for the work of the Earth Summit in Rio (1992). Nevertheless, the Rio Summit still did not explicitly take culture on board as a key problem in creating a culturally and environmentally sustainable development for the years to come.
Environment and cultural diversities Expressions such as those of environmentally sustainable development, socially sustainable development, culturally sustainable development, agriculturally sustainable development... reflect the sectorial organisation of the United Nations and of the governmental and academic structures concerned, they do not have any meaning in the real world... Even some environmental groupsfeilto understand that the maintenance of a dynamic cultural identity is the best cohesive web for development, and that 'environment' is not such a global and allembracing concept that it can be conceived of everywhere in an identical manner. Source F. di C A S T R I , op. cit.
Box 14 2.
World Report on H u m a n Development (1990-1996) Since 1 9 9 0 , the United Nations Development P r o g r a m ( U N D P ) has produced an annual
H u m a n D e v e l o p m e n t Report. Its attempt to provide a regularly up-dated a n d all-inclusive picture o f the state of the world represents a major innovation.
Given the definition o f h u m a n development adopted b y the Reports, it is perfectly possible for a society with a l o w G D P per capita to have reached a high level o f h u m a n development, while a society with a m u c h better economic performance according to traditional criteria m a y still lag well behind in these terms.
This redefinition o f development in h u m a n
terms points towards differences in
achievement a n d ambition which m a y ultimately only b e explicable in cultural terms. This explanation is itself implicit in the emphasis placed b y the Reports o n social factors in defining the focus of its interest.
72
Widening choices f o everyone Set forth for the first time in the Human Development Report in 1990, the concept of h u m a n development aims to enlarge the choices offered to each person to lead a satisfying, and productive life. It involves the formulation of both macro-economic and sectorial policies in order to attain this objective. It is a process which leads to a widening of the range of choices open to everyone. Three key principles underlie this concept: equity, participation, and freedom. It is the responsibility of each country to formulate its o w n strategy for h u m a n development and the programs through which it can be achieved. Source: U N D P , Human
Development Report, 1994.
B o x 15 H o w e v e r , this focus is not uniform, as is shown b y the difficulties that have been encountered in constructing h u m a n development indicators. U p until 1995, the Report did not apply the same indicators to all countries. In the developing world, the indicators used were chosen essentially to assess the material conditions of life, which concern, for instance, the strength or weakness of social structures, sexual equality, education, etc. For this reason, the annual reports do not provide a uniform definition of development that would permit direct comparison between industrialised and developing societies. A s a result, the very significant h u m a n development of certain developing countries m a y be inadequately represented.
This differential treatment w a s partly corrected by the introduction, in 1992, of a chapter devoted to indicators of political freedom. In this context, it would be especially desirable to introduce explicit reference to cultural values and cultural differences, in line with certain recent recommendations for relevant action on cultural rights. Participation for social integration In 1993, the thematic introduction to the Report w a s centred on the question of participation. Unfortunately, the lack of appropriate quantitative indicators means that the cultural dimension of participation w a s still seriously under-represented. A s the authors of the 1995 Report admit in Appendix 2, this gap between the notion of h u m a n development and the instruments which are supposed to define it continues to place significant limitations on the progress they have been able to make.
For 1994, the H u m a n Development Report explicitly aligned its perspective with that of the Copenhagen Summit on Social Development, to which it w a s intended to provide a significant contribution.
73
•
The report's fundamental proposition is as follows: in order to resolve the continuing world crisis (under-development, poverty, rapid demographic growth, environmental degradation), "a long and considered process of sustainable h u m a n development" is required.
•
The aims which are assigned to any strategy for social development can be defined as follows: equitable distribution of the fruits of growth; regeneration of the environment; participation and empowerment of populations, especially of the poorest, in their o w n development.
•
The priorities are therefore : populations, employment, nature and w o m e n .
The Report also contains some methodological propositions: •
Creation of indicators for h u m a n security and for the prevention of conflicts: food supply, employment/income, h u m a n rights, purchases/sales of arms, ethnic or religious conflicts.
• Establishing indicators for
discrepancies in h u m a n
development: developing
countries/industrialised countries, m e n / w o m e n , incomes, by country and by region within countries, and by ethnic origin. These propositions could usefully be complemented by the following suggestions: •
Refine the distinction between industrialised countries and developing countries (Hong K o n g , Korean Republic, Bahamas, Kuwait, Singapore, for example, are en route for the industrial model). The less advanced countries: all the others, especially the African nations.
•
Create cultural indicators of development in specific domains, both economic (agriculture-livestock, development,
businesses,
communications)
savings-loans,
transport,
habitat/urban
and social (population-family, health,
food-
nutrition). •
Develop methods for cultural cost-benefit analysis of development (macro-micro) 22 .
A m o n g these methodological requirements, the major challenge facing the
UNDP
H u m a n Development Working Group is the need to extend the range of indicators so as to include a full range of cultural indicators for development. Whether such indicators should be quantitative indicators compatible with the current h u m a n development indicators, or whether the need to take the cultural dimension into account should lead to the invention and adoption of n e w , non-quantitative criteria for assessing the situation of different societies, is a fundamental question (Cf Chapter IV).
^ h e s e propositions wil be studied in detail in Chapters III and IV.
74
As
a policy paper circulated within U N E S C O (Social Sciences Section, Division o f
Social Research and Policies) recently pointed out, the h u m a n development indicator has not been without its critics23. D o e s the desire to translate development into a numerical calculus inevitably betray the nature of the aspirations of the majority o f m a n k i n d ? This is both a theoretical question and a technical problem. (See Chapter IV: Role of institutions)
Quantitative a n d purely economic indicators such as G N P , w h o s e adequacy has b e e n widely criticised for a n u m b e r of years n o w , die hard, and have only b e e n partially replaced b y m o r e precise evaluations o f the state of a society. T h e indicator o f h u m a n development elaborated b y the U N D P - w h i c h attempts, a m o n g other things, to correct the rigidity o f G N P by emphasising purchasing p o w e r parities in its calculation of real i n c o m e - is o n e o f the attempts that have b e e n m a d e to perfect this kind of analysis. B u t it is still considered insufficient b y researchers, w h o criticise the use of an overall indicator in order to c o m p r e h e n d a c o m p l e x reality. Development, having and being The complexity of reality poses the all-important question as to the choice of indicators capable of apprehending and measuring phenomena that do not boil down to their material dimension. H o w m u c h weight should be assigned to qualitative evaluation and h o w much to quantification ? Put it in another way, h o w should measurement and. evaluation be balanced ? This represents a strategic area for research, insofar as indicators have a normative and determining value for policy. Those who judge the state of world according to thefluctuationsof the stock market and interest rates do not see it the same way as those who judge it by the health of its population or environmental costs of economic growth. But quantitative and purely economic indicators such as G N P whose inadequacy has been abundantly criticised for a number of years now, die hard and have only been partially unseated by more precise evaluations of the state of a society. The indicator of human development elaborated by the U N D P - which attempts, among other things, to correct the rigidity of G N P in emphasising purchasing power parities in its calculation of real income - is one of the efforts made at perfecting the analysis in question. But it is deemed too reductionist by numerous researchers, who criticise the use of an artificial indicator in order to comprehend a complex reality. In point of fact, what is measured implicitly anticipates the policy framework that is eventually put in place. It is therefore necessary, as Ignacy Sachs advocates, to decide on the objective before selecting a method of measurement and evaluation. The preliminary questions as to the choice of any indicator should be: "What development, for w h o m and within what institutional structures ? What place should having and being have in them ?" If the social aspect of development becomes a priority for policy - thus reversing the drift toward the economism of recent decades - social accounting will have to take the place of the economic accounting that currently guides development strategies. Indicators that allow one to work towards a development centred on human beings should, to use Sachs's expression, open the way for the construction of an "anthropological economy", far removed from today's "quantitative economy". Source: Sophie BESSIS, From social exclusion to social cohesion: a policy agenda, M O S T , no. 2, 1995.
Box 16
Source : Sophie Bessis, From Social Exclusion to Social Cohesion : a Policy Agenda, M O S T , 1995. 75
T h e seventh Report (1996) of the U N D P still recognises the world situation as highly alarming. In this respect, it states that "widening disparities in economic performance are creating t w o worlds - ever m o r e polarised". T h e same Report focusses o n economic growth, and reaches the conclusion that "human development is the end - economic growth a means". H o w e v e r , policy-makers are often mesmerised by quantitative growth. Throughout the world, the structure and quality of growth d e m a n d m o r e attention, in order to understand h o w they can contribute to h u m a n development, poverty reduction and long-term sustainability. Rootless growth Determined efforts are needed to avoid growth that is Jobless, ruthless, voiceless, rootless and futureless. Rootless growth causes people's cultural identity to wither. There are thought to be about 10 000 distinct cultures, but many risk being marginalised or eliminated. In some cases minority cultures are being swamped by dominant cultures whose power has been amplified with growth. In other cases governments have deliberately imposed uniformity in the pursuit of nation-building. Source: Human Development Report 1996, U N D P , 1996, p. 2-4.
Box 17 3.
A Pre-Conference Report: Independent
C o m m i s s i o n o n Population a n d
the
Quality of Life (Cairo. 1994Ï Established in 1992, the Independent Commission on Population and the Quality of Life has been responsible for elaborating a n e w approach to the population problem which is deigned to inspire all the relevant actors to commit themselves to working towards a solution, as part of the follow-up to the Cairo Conference of 1994. This approach, founded on the notion of "quality of life", and which seeks to analyse the interactions between demographic, socio-economic and environmental change, is innovative in its emphasis on the multi-dimensional nature of the population problem. T h e cultural implications of this problem are clear, and deserve to be articulated m o r e openly: they concern differences in family structures, relations between the sexes, and sexual behaviour, and in the perception of the "quality of life" and the value of the environment. Awareness of these implications m a y m a k e it possible to analyse and efaninate unwanted bias in the concepts deployed. T h e Plan of Action of the Cairo Conference is aims to address the following major world issues: •
sustainable development;
• poverty; 76
• the environment; • w o m e n ' s condition and the participation of m e n ; •
adolescents, youth, native populations;
• Aids, mortality, etc.
The Conference Recommendations are assembled in a single document which contains m a n y general proposals. Consequently, the demographic problems can appear to have been somewhat diluted into a set of general questions, not sufficiently related to the essential underlying question, and reflected mainly in terms of general policies. Moreover, considering its official theme, the Plan of Action does not emphasise strongly enough the interaction between population growth and the development process. The indicators of development are not clearly defined and concentrate on w o m e n ' s role in development, in employment and in professional life. Besides, it is not m a d e sufficiently clear in the Plan of Action whether poverty is simply the result of population growth which impoverishes the basic resources and aggravates environmental pollution - or if unequal growth and distribution of wealth production should not be seen as the main reason for this recurrent situation. The U N D P Report for 1996 points out that the question of population and growth has always been and remains a core world issue: "although very rapid population growth explains part of the negative per capita income growth, blaming population growth for all or even most of the decline is too simple". During the Conference, two positions were dominant: one stating that population policies can be efficient and sufficient to reduce fecundity, and the other based on development which allows for adjustment of demographic (fecundity) behaviour. Moreover, the quality of life dimension, people's capacity for choice, and the cultural dimension, were not discussed at any length. T h e Conference w a s supposed to deal with population and development problems, but the question of development w a s more or less left to one side. Instead the emphasis w a s laid on reproduction and the condition of w o m e n , envisaged in an individualistic perspective.
77
4
Learning; T h e Treasure Within - International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century 2 4
Created in 1993, this Commission's mandate w a s to reflect on the challenges education must meet in the coming years. Its report aims to provide an overview of the present situation, drawing attention to the strong and w e a k points of policies presently in place, the acceleration of world-wide evolution in every field, and the intensification of social, economic and environmental
tensions.
O n this basis,
the
report
then
presents
suggestions
and
recommendations on educational reform, aimed at concerned national and international institutions, while addressing the needs and role of learners and educators of all types and ages.
A t the same time, it seeks to take into account the diversity of situations, needs, means and aspirations to be found in different countries and regions. Finally, it set out as a general objective, the putting into practice of the right to education for all, and the mobilization of the educative potential of all, in all societies.
Learning: T h e Treasure Within T h e Report of the International Commission on Education for the 21st Century is based1 on an assessment of the world challenges to come and of the unique capacity of education to meet them, •whether they take the form of poverty, exclusion, ignorance or war. It first pays h o m m a g e to the massive extension of teaching facilities over the last decade, to the trend in education planning towards greater equity and democracy, to the growing concern for quality and to the committment, in principle at least, to lifelong education. But the Report also emphasises that objectives need to be more realistic, attitudes more innovative and policies concerning societal and cultural diversities more relevant, if there are to be convincing achievements in this field. T h e coming century, dominated by globalization, will bring with it enduring tensions that must be overcome: tensions between the global and the local, the universal and the individual, tradition and modernity, long-term and short-term considerations, competition and equality of opportunity, the unlimited expansion of knowledge and the limited capacity of h u m a n beings to assimilate it, and the spiritual and the material. Whatever the diversity of cultures, and systems of social organisation, there is a universal challenge: to reinvent the democratic ideal, and to create, or maintain, social cohesion. T h e central role of teachers, and the need to improve their training, status and conditions of work, are stressed. A n d , in a world increasingly dominated by technology, emphasis must be placed both on h o w to use technology in the service of education and h o w to prepare people to master it in their lives and work. Getting the reform strategiesright,through broad-based dialogue, and by increasing the responsibility and involvement of stake-holders at every level, will be a crucial element in educational renewal. M o r e resources should be devoted to education, both nationally and internationally, and international co-operation in education should be reinvigorated, with U N E S C O as a key player. A fresh approach is proposed to the different stages and bridges in the learning process, whereby routes through education systems can be m a d e more varied and the value of each individual choice enhanced. While universal basic education is an absolute priority, secondary education has a pivotal role to play in the individual learning paths of young people and in the development of societies. A n d , higher education institutions should be diversified so as to take into account their functions and duties as centres of knowledge, as places of
Source : E D C , Mandat et composition de la commission, U N E S C O , Paris 1993.
78
professional training, as the cross-roads of learning throughout life and as partners in international cooperation. In this context, learning throughout life will be one of the keys to meeting the challenges of the twentyfirst century. This is why the Report proposes that, building on the four pillars that are the foundations of education - learning to be, learning to know, learning to do, and learning to live together - all societies aim to move towards a necessary Utopia in which none of the talents hidden like buried treasure inside each person will remain untapped. Source : Learning : The Treasure Within, Jacques D E L O R S , Report to U N E S C O of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century, U N E S C O , 1996. Box 5.
18 T o w a r d s a Cultural Strategy for Development: O u r Creative Diversity. Report of the W o r l d Commission on Culture and Development M a n y recent reports had focussed on the non-economic aspects of development and on
the need to define n e w approaches, conceptual, procedural and institutional, towards the process of social transformation. Yet the creation of a World Commission on Culture and Development still represented a significant "first". For thefirsttime, a World Commission w a s explicitly mandated to consider the interactions between culture in their diversity and in their capacity to respond creatively to the homogenising effects of development. In addition to the Report proper, the main questions addressed by the Commission and its research team have resulted in an 'International Agenda", which is intended to act as a springboard to n e w initiatives in development and cultural development policy-making, and to give new impetus to research efforts in this complex field. The Report and the International Agenda constitute a major achievement of the World Decade for Cultural Development, alongside the methodological project on the cultural dimension of development, of which this Manual is one concrete output. Together, these two projects represent a significant step towards understanding better both the theoretical and the practical implications of the cultural approach to development, and elaborating future-oriented strategies for cultural development on this basis. The Report also reaffirms the necessity of building a world in which the rights of the deprived and the excluded, together with respect for cultural diversity, will be a m o n g the permanent concerns of all decision-makers. Li this respect, the Report should serve as a stimulus towards greater awareness of their responsibilities for all those w h o are engaged in working towards a more humane and m o r e fully cultural development.
79
In pursuance of a Resolution adopted in November 1991 by the General Conference of U N E S C O , the World Commission on Culture and Development w a s constituted jointly in December 1992 by the Director-General of U N E S C O and the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The Commission's w o r k resulted in the publication of a World Report on Culture and Development, entitled "Our Creative Diversity"25. In the General Conference Resolution it w a s specified that the Commission would be independent. Its mandate w a s defined as follows: "prepare a World Report on Culture and Development and proposals for both urgent and long-term action to meet cultural needs in the context of development".
The W o r l d Report focusses on three principal objectives : •
promoting n e w development models, linked to n e w cultural strategies ;
•
promoting cultural diversity, but also a set of shared values ;
•
promoting a n e w dynamic for social change.
Based on an overview of the present global situation, it formulates recommendations from a cultural perspective for development strategies and policies for thefirstdecades of the 21st century, making clear the decisive importance of culture for all human development. It is in this perspective that the Report discusses the following topics : •
a n e w global ethics ;
•
a commitment to pluralism ;
•
creativity and empowerment ;
•
challenges of a media-rich world ;
•
gender and culture ;
•
children and young people ;
•
cultural heritage for development ;
•
culture and the environment ;
•
rethinking cultural policies.
Its final chapter defines research needs related to the interactions between culture and development. In the spirit of the Report, the World Commission has also formulated an "International Agenda", intended to "mobilise the energies of people everywhere in recognition of the
25
Source : Our Creative Diversity, Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development, U N E S C O , 1995.
80
challenges of today", which it considers as "a short list of actions that can help energise and motivate people throughout the world". These actions seek to : •
enhance and deepen the discussion and analysis of culture and development (Annual Report on Culture and Development);
• foster urgently an international consensus on culture and development, particularly through the universal recognition of cultural rights and the need to balance these rights with responsibilities (Protection of cultural rights as h u m a n rights) ; •
ensure that through the advancement of h u m a n development, wars and internal armed conflicts can be reduced (Preparation of n e w culturally-sensitive development strategies);
•
apply the balance of rights and duties to the media and mass communications ("Enhancing access, diversity and competition of the international media system" and "Media rights and self-regulation").
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m.
CONCLUSIONS AND PROPOSALS
1.
Achievements and shortcomings In the Strategies and World Reports analysed above, w e can observe a c o m m o n
orientation and concern, most clearly manifest in the World Report o n Culture and Development, but present to varying degrees in different document. There is a growing recognition of the need to take fully into account the interactions between culture and development, as well as a certain methodological convergence with the focus of the w o r k in progress in the context of the World Decade for Cultural Development. Yet m u c h remains to be done, if a properly cultural approach to development in general, and to certain of the major problems that it poses, is to be adopted in future Strategies and World Reports.
Thus, in the United Nations Development Strategy for the 1990s, the formulation of the fundamental objectives and, in a more fragmentary w a y , the identification of specific objectives, embraces themes which are either directly or indirectly cultural: the preservation of cultural identities; the restoration or maintenance of individual and community creativity in the context of development; adapting development to the social needs, values, traditions and cultures of different countries, according to the stage and system of their development and of the evolution of their societies.
H o w e v e r , most of the aims and objectives that are set out in this strategy relate to the notions of sustainable development and h u m a n development, whose implications for the life of societies remain to be spelled out. It is even more striking that the policies and measures that are recommended, the priorities for action that are defined and the evaluation that is planned at the end of the Decade, do not take into account the need to recognise and assess the cultural implications and aspects of development at the deepest level. Even less do they recognise the need for a fully-fledged cultural approach to development.
Cultural aspects also play a key role in the evolution of those customs and mentalities which condition the evolution of the status of w o m e n . These include the different forms, open or concealed, o f discrimination, the social division of labour, and w o m e n ' s access to and participation in public economic, social and cultural life and in the decision-making process.
Moreover, beyond assertions of a general character, the importance of w o m e n ' s role in the transmission of cultures, languages and values (including, frequently, even today, those on which áfecriminatory practices against w o m e n are founded) is still not sufficiently recognised at a concrete level. Through their capacities for social participation and creation, w o m e n contribute to social innovation and to cultural change. In particular, they play an ever more 82
active role in public life, where they n o w occupy important posts in the public sector and in
NGOs. Finally, the evolution of the condition of w o m e n is directly determined by the major development challenges: demographic change, economic and scientific/technical problems, and the tendency to cultural globalization. Strategies for the promotion of w o m e n will therefore only be credible if they are conceived in terms of a response to these challenges. In the light of the conclusions of the Beijing Conference, it will be necessary to undertake in-depth studies of the contribution which the cultural approach might m a k e to creating n e w strategies for promoting the role of w o m e n in development.
It is vitally important that analogous research be undertaken in relation to social development. The Copenhagen Declaration and Programme of action explicitly recognise the importance of the role of culture in development. At the same time, since they represent a series of strategic propositions rather than an analytical document, they do not offer a functional model of the m o d e s of interaction between culture and other domains. Thus, while they emphasise the need to take into account the culture that is specific to each society w h e n formulating precise plans of action, these documents do not discuss the methods and mechanisms which would enable these cultural aspects to be examined, evaluated and integrated as such into the planning process.
Thus the problems posed by the place of the cultural approach in international development strategy in general or in certain aspects of the strategic process, must be examined on three levels: • the need to ground development strategy in culture, and the principles of the cultural approach; • the structural and functional analysis of the strategies discussed above, in relation to the adoption of the cultural approach; • the methodological conditions which would permit this approach to be adopted. 2.
Principles for the formulation of strategies according to a cultural approach a n d methodological propositions
A.
Recognising culture as the foundation and driving force of development For thefirsttime, the fundamental role of culture in development strategy has been
explicitly recognised in an evaluation report by the United Nations Joint Inspection Unit, which assesses the execution of the N e w Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s. A m o n g other assertions, the report states that only w h e n the development process is truly rooted in the 83
system o f rationality o f the African populations, will those populations take full responsibility for mastering the m e c h a n i s m s of modernisation. U N N e w Agenda for the development of Africa in the 19Ws ( U N Joint Inspection Unit Evaluation, 1995) At the request of the U N Committee on Programme and Co-ordination, two inspectors of the JIU carried out a comprehensive evaluation of the implementation, from 1991 to 1995, of the U N Agenda for the development of Africa in the 1990's, complemented by Recommendations to the U N System as a whole, the United Nations, the Organisation of African Unity and African Member States, through the General Assembly of the United Nations. S o m e aspects of this document, relating for instance to enhancing awareness of their responsibility a m o n g international and national civil service staff working for Africa's development, or to taking fully into consideration the diversities between sub-regions and countries in the Region, promoting joint and inter-agency policies and action, building a culture of peace and democracy, technical co-operation between developing countries, achieving a better balance between men's and women's role in development, and even giving priority to agricultural and rural development in bringing about the take-off of sustainable development in Africa, could certainly be seen as contributing to a cultural approach. It is then all the more important to note that the JIU Evaluation Report emphasises that, without full consideration of the cultural dimension of strategies, programmes and projects in Africa, viewed in an integrated, long-term perspective, and of the cultural diversity shown in the various parts of the Region, together with environmental, economic and political differences, all efforts to provide a sustainable and h u m a n development in Africa will fail. Beyond the priority that should be given to investment, transport and communication infrastructures, debt management, poverty, economic policies and population growth, among others, the Joint Inspection Unit Report states that "one of the most fundamental issues to Africa's modernisation efforts concerns the indigenous cultural factor, more precisely the interplay between traditional socio-cultural values and practices and modern development imperatives". It also emphasises "the indispensable need to anchor development initiatives in the value structures of the beneficiary communities to guarantee their full involvement in and ownership of such initiatives". The Report also points out that complete ignorance and under-estimation of the indigenous cultural factor have in the past resulted in a "disturbing dualism verging on polarisation.,., as the modernisation process and indigenous value systems evolve along parallel tracks". Examples would be the formal and informal economies, modern banking and traditional credit and loan societies, supermarket stores and c o m m o n marketplaces, European and local languages, modern and customary law, senior administrative officers and traditional chiefs, modern medical doctors and local healers... The Report comes to the conclusion that "Africa's development process, as n o w conceived and implemented, does not strike a responsive chord in the depth of civü society because the process is still not adequately rooted in the indigenous system of rationality. Only when that happens, will the mass of Africa's population release all the creative energies needed to take control of the modernisation process". Source : JIU/REP/95/12 : Evaluation of the United Nations N e w Agenda for the development of Africa in the 1990s ( U N - N A D A F ) .
Box 19 B.
Basic principles a n d r e q u i r e m e n t s of the cultural a p p r o a c h
In order to elaborate a properly cultural approach to the planning process, there axe certain essential elements that m u s t b e integrated into both the theory a n d practice o f the institutions, at all levels.
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a. Long-term perspective Societal problems and the evolution o f culture in the development process can b e assessed only in the long term, which by definition incorporates the concept of sustainability and, m o r e broadly speaking, a historical perspective both for understanding the past and its consequences for the present, and for defining future-oriented strategies. Such a perspective is especially valuable in dealing with those general objectives which the international community has set itself: h u m a n rights, and equality in economic, social, political, gender and cultural conditions.
b . Holistic scope "Culture is not limited to a set of activities connected with heritage and artistic activities. It must b e recalled that it is m a d e u p of all of the characteristics that define a society or h u m a n group: traditions, beliefs, value systems, mind-sets and w a y s of thinking, but also knowledge, k n o w - h o w , technology, behaviours, models of economic and social organisation, creativity, dynamism and self-confidence"26.
In short, culture represents all the existing w a y s of thinking, living a n d acting in society. It is, therefore, a holistic rnanifestation of h o w a society functions, and of its relationship to change, whether endogenous or exogenous. In this sense, culture and development are in a state of holistic interaction, as are cultures themselves, by the very fact of their diversity. This interaction is both instantaneous and evolutionary: cultures evolve at times in a continuous manner, at times through a sequence of ruptures, even upheavals, whether intellectual or spiritual, and which m a y include very rapid changes in physical and social conditions.
c. Diversity Cultural diversity must be related to bio-diversity. M a n has inherited from the Enlightenment the Utopian dream that he m a y one day dominate nature. T h e idea that the road to progress is through deforestation dates back even further in time. T h e n e w ecological sensibility points to the need to rethink in its entirety our relationship to nature and its role in our co-evolution. F r o m this point of view, the debate surrounding the relationships between bio-diversity and socio-diversity, between ecosystems and cultures, is crucial.
Source : The Cultural Dimension of Development: Towards a Practical Approach, U N E S C O , 1995.
85
Fruitful diversity of cultures ( U N E S C O , Constitutive Act, art. 1) Since its foundation U N E S C O has striven to develop dialogue between cultures as an essential element of any peace-building strategy. B y encouraging exchanges between the world's principal cultural areas and by helping newly independent countries to affirm their cultural identity, U N E S C O has helped to promote broad awareness of the fruitful diversity of cultures and it has contributed to their mutual enrichment. U N E S C O has, a m o n g other things, helped to bring out the concept of the " c o m m o n heritage" of humankind, to m a k e m a n y cultures better acquainted with one another, and to mobilise intellectual communities for projects that promote cultural diversity and cultural interaction at one and the same time. Today there is a pressing need to strengthen dialogues, not only between the major cultural areas and the various peoples but, above all, within individual societies experiencing far-reaching change that, for m a n y of them, has to do with their increasingly multicultural nature. The internationalisation of exchanges and the consequent standardisation of norms and behaviour have given rise to a veritable awakening of specific identities. B y adopting a perspective of renewed intercultural dialogue U N E S C O will, over the period covered by the M e d i u m - T e r m Strategy, endeavour to seek ways of achieving genuine cultural pluralism in societies that encompass communities with highly diversified identities, [...] focusing especially o n protection of rights of persons belonging to minorities, and on giving greater recognition to the development needs of indigenous peoples. Source: M e d i u m - T e r m Strategy of U N E S C O , 1996-2001. B o x 20 Cultural diversity is a source of creativity and of innovation. It is as fundamental a principle in h u m a n life as bio-diversity is in the biological sphere. Respect for diversity, which sees it as an asset, not an obstacle, is fundamental to understanding the different values that societies m a y place u p o n the same objectives w h e n they consider their need for continuity and change, in order to confront world-scale challenges. There are not just m a n y paths to development, but m a n y different development goals to which societies m a y aspire. Yet the fundamental rights recognised by the United Nations should be acceptable to all M e m b e r States as a model that underpins their o w n different strategies. Globalization and Diversity Excess globalization can lead to cultural uniformity as "well as to the appearance of winners and losers. Both these are at the origin of highly unstable situations from social and geopolitical points of view. In the long-term, even the situation of a winner is uneasy and ambiguous, if it has to be surrounded by losers w h o have no more to lose, and whose behaviour becomes almost ineluctably desperate. In relation to diversity, both biological and cultural, the existence of different evolutionary and historical identities (species, ecosystems, landscapes, h u m a n societies and ethnic groups) is at the very foundation of development based on quality rather than on quantity. Creativity, originality, technical expertise and diversification of products are the m a i n elements of a n e w development, not simply a quantitative policy of prices. In this context, bio-diversity can be a formidable asset for economic development. A good example of the paramount importance of economic diversification is the transformation of Chile, formerly a one-sided economy based on the.export of copper, into a country with multiple export products derived from its comparative advantages of geographical and ecological location and use of rich genetic resources (in terms of fruits, vegetables, wine, forestry, fishery and aquaculture products). In addition, keeping diverse options open is the only viable approach to our unpredictable and non-linear future. Source: F. di Castri, Nature & Resources, op. cit
Box 21 86
d. Participation D e v e l o p m e n t will only persist a n d g r o w in the longer term if it is culturally as well as environmentally sustainable. Projects m u s t b e the projects o f the society itself, not o f its "developers". T h e problem o f participation m u s t b e c o m e the problem o f h o w development institutions can participate in the development m o d e l a society has chosen for itself, a n d not vice versa. Projects will only b e culturally sustainable if the m e c h a n i s m s of participation b y w h i c h they are chosen, designed, executed and evaluated are themselves chosen and widely accepted b y the society in question.
Taking cultural aspects into account and inter-institutional strategies in the fight against A I D S There are two aims to the education programme for the prevention of A I D S led by U N E S C O in collaboration with W H O and certain N G O s . One is to convey information which is appropriate to the socio-cultural context. The other is to encourage a sense of public responsibility, so as to bring about changes in attitudes and behaviour in relation to this illness as a social phenomenon: thus its spread can be limited and ideas and values disseminated which will encourage social awareness, the will to co-operate and respect for h u m a n rights, U N E S C O Ö s action in thefieldof preventive education is underpinned by an interdisciplinary approach, for the complexity of the problems relating to A I D S requires knowledge of socio-cultural and ethnic, as well as scientific, aspects. The U N E S C O / W H O pilot projects are based on collaboration with and participation of educational officers, teacher, parents and community leaders. In the framework of these projects, various approaches are adopted, according to the diversity of the socio-cultural contexts. So as to extend the analysis and integration of socio-cultural factors yet further in relation to actions to prevent A I D S , W H O has issued protocols on three priority subjects for research: sexual behaviour^ particularly in relation to young people, family and community reactions in the face of A I D S in the developing countries, and w o m e n ö s attemptstoconvince their partners to adopt lower-risk sexual behaviour. Research is underway in ten developing countries. Source: W H O 1991, Progress Report Global Programme on Aids, Geneva. O M S , 1994 Activité de l'OMS 1992-93, Geneva O M S / U N E S C O , 1992 L'éducation sanitaire à l'école pour le prévention du SIDA et des maladies sexuellement transmissibles, OMS/UNESCO Genève, 1994. Box 22
e. Predictability/Unpredictability
Unpredictable Future There remains a long way to go to achieve sustainable development in our biosphere. T o borrow a phrase from Holling, T h e future is not just uncertain ; it is inherently unpredictable". Source: Castri di F. op. cit.
Box 23
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T h e evolution of a culture is never linear or deterministic. A culture develops through creative acts of individual or collective initiative and imagination, either in response to specific problems, or "by accident", in the course of recreation and "play". The planning process must leave space for what cannot be foreseen, not as a marginal possibility or a problem it is hoped •will not arise, but as one of the essential components of a culture's resilience and strength. Development planners must find ways to draw on the resource represented b y the spontaneous and the unanticipated.
C.
H o w can development strategies reflect a cultural approach?
Such strategies should clearly enunciate a commitment to the principles of the cultural approach, and recognise the central role of culture in the planning process.
A fully adequate integrated strategy for development according to the cultural approach should be centred on an analytical model of the relationship between culture and the sectorial aspects of development activity (economic, social, environmental, etc.). This model is essential in order to ensure that all the principles on which a strategy is based, together with the policy proposals of its plan of action, are coherent with the cultural approach.
Development strategies should also be aware of, a n d as far as possible free from hidden/unconscious bias towards the values of any one group of nations as opposed to any other. In fact, they should serve as a point of reference which can help to prevent any such bias from creeping in w h e n the strategy is translated into programs and projects.
They should contain an explicit commitment to participation, and should provide clear guidelines for taking cultural differences into account in this crucial area.
Recommendations for time-scales, and for procedures of evaluation and revision, should be designed specifically to help planners to recognise and react to unpredictable changes in the cultural context of their work.
T h e most difficult issue of planning at the strategic level is the tendency to homogenise both the analysis of situations and the types of action proposed in response. A cultural approach to strategy should, on the contrary, place the greatest possible emphasis on the need for sensitivity to the diversity of development problems and of their possible solutions.
88
3.
Current development strategies : possibilities a n d limits
T h e strategies that have been analysed in this chapter demonstrate an important evolution in respect of two points:
1.
T h e shift from a model of change which originates in the industrialised countries and
from the market economy, to an attempt to adapt ("qualify") this model: development that is sustainable, h u m a n (for all and by all) and social (thefightagainst poverty, unemployment and social disintegration).
2.
T h e specific characteristics of those societies which are working to adapt to this model
(developing countries) and of those cultures which are still mainly pre-industrial ( L D C s ) are n o w recognised and are, in principle, to be taken into account. But the collision between the industrial, market model and pre-industrial models, while it m a y enable a certain improvement in living conditions, also leads to disparities, divisions and conflicts. The interaction of these two models has not yet been explicitly placed at the centre of the development debate.
T h e nature, impact and implications of this "culture clash" should provide the basis for the definition of objectives, priorities and methods to be envisaged at a global level, so as to attenuate the damage that has already been done andso as to try to distribute a little more equitably the benefits of development. All the research that is undertaken into the interactions between culture and development should therefore begin with this question: is the current phenomenon of globalization identical with the spread of the industrial model and of the culture that goes with it? Can other cultures continue to evolve in this context, and yet retain their originality? The international strategies that are to c o m e must be seen to adopt a decisive attitude to this question.
3.
There are important differences between these major strategies as regards then-
chronological perspectives (short-, medium- or long-term) and their scope of action. S o m e aim to mobilise the international community in the face of an urgent world-wide problem: for instance, the United Nations Programme against A I D S . Others have objectives situated in the long-, or even the very long-term, the stages towards which are marked out by medium-term (5 or 6 years) or short-term (1 or 2 years) plans of action. This is particularly the case in relation to development, h u m a n development, and sustainable development, which are to be compatible with the equilibrium of the natural environment, fundamental h u m a n rights, w o m e n ' s rights, children'srights,andtherightsof minorities.
T h e importance of such strategies lies in their authority, on the one hand, tofixmajor objectives for the international community, and on the other hand, to bring these objectives 89
back periodically to public attention, and reaffirm them in the face of those violent struggles which so often dominate our vision of the evolution of the world w h e n viewed from the perspective of the short- and medium-term. The difference between these perspectives must not be forgotten, even if it is often obscured by the political or economic strategies that are predominant at the global leveL 4.
M o r e and m o r e frequently these documents mention the need to take into account and
to respect the diversity of societies and cultures. Moreover, in their application, it is n o w always clearly radicated that the action of the international institutions must be extended, or mediated, by that of States, N G O s and civil society in all its forms. This is one means a m o n g others to counteract the effects of globalisation and the economic, social and cultural uniformity which is increasingly visible at the planetary level Another m e a n s would be to redistribute responsibilities at the international level between the various categories of development partners, and possibly to exercise s o m e form of "positive discrimination" in favour of the least influential.
A s the U N D P document Beyond
aid puts it, "The most important 'customer' is the
neediest person in the neediest country the United Nations serves". Thus, the concept of development cannot be used as a universal n o r m , but can only be a reference point for the process of change/continuity in the life of societies, as it unfolds according to their o w n objectives and their o w n evolutionary paths. The
concern that is shown in these Strategies for the long term and the global
perspective goes hand in hand with confidence in the continuity and rationality of economic, political and cultural evolution on a world scale, and thus in the scientific status of international prediction. Yet it is clear that, even in a domain such as scientific and predominantly quantitative as demography, there is m u c h that cannot be predicted, and that this is so for reasons that are related to the existence of different kinds of rationality. Examplesof such different rationalities can be seen in the w a y people imagine the relationship between the supernatural and the natural, or in their description of what in Western thought is referred to as the
"affective" or the "emotional". These differences are intimately related to the cultural
configuration of every society. Strategies must therefore strive to include the hypothetical alongside cultural "regularities", and must not seek to offer a global vision of problems that is based too exclusively on a single set of general norms. This principle applies, even w h e n seeking to define the means by which poverty is to be fought.
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Poverty in the World: beyond the global figures major societal diversities Poverty is a complex notion. Certainly it is a result of insufficient income, which prevents the poor from satisfying their essential needs and denies them access to a certain number of services: health, education, etc. ... It is therefore intimately connected to the situation of the labour market. But w e must distinguish between poverty resulting from exploitation in the context of work itself, from the type of job done and from the income it produces, and poverty produced by unemployment, whether declared or not Poverty is a factor of exclusion, but it does not necessarily lead to exclusion. In m a n y Southern countries, the poor are still part of family and extra-familial networks which provide social protection and mutual assistance, and this belonging produces integration not exclusion. In m a n y countries, the disruption of community and family solidarity is one of the most important factors in leading people to fall below the poverty threshold. Poverty is also a consequence of a series of political and social exclusions. Discrimination grounds of sex or minority status also increase theriskof poverty for the marginalised group. Poverty is also linked to more subjective notions: need, inequality or deprivation, which cannot be evaluated in purely material terms. Thus, the social perception of poverty is not the same in a poor society as in a rich society. Poverty cannot therefore be entirely captured by defining a m i n i m u m revenue, below which an individual would belong to the poor. The analysis of poverty and the policies which are intended to eliminate it can obviously be based on the close links it has with the level of income, the labour market and type of work. But the different categories of the poor do not all need the same treatment in order to help them improve their condition. H o w can w e best measure the rate of occurrence of poverty? W h a t criteria of well-being should w e use to define it* available income, social income (access to basic services: health, education, drinking water, etc.), or indicators of the quality of life? W h o is poor, and h o w poor are the poor? The choice of the thresholdfigurefor poverty can in itself produce considerable changes in the numbers of the poor, and has a direct effect on the proportion of public resources made available to combat this phenomenon. Source: U N E S C O S H S / M O S T , op. cit., 1995, p. 22-23, 33-334. Box
24 It is o f course important for the international community to mobilise in order to deal
with, the situation of the poorest populations of the world, but there exists no uniform model of how
to fight poverty. There is not one poverty, but m a n y poverties. Moreover, poor
populations cannot be defined in relation to that criterion alone. They have their o w n strategies for managing their daily problems, and these must be reinforced, not replaced in a short- to medium-term perspective, b y solutions "parachuted" in from outside, which might deprive them of their ability to deploy a social and cultural dynamic which they already master.
Finally, it is difficult to elaborate and adopt international strategies that can help to achieve real participation by populations in the solution of their o w n problems. Such a policy is relatively easy to implement at the local level, but more complicated to enact at the national level, and even more so at the international level. T h e United Nations system must therefore privilege programmes which are people-centred, and w o r k closely with community groups, N G O s and w o m e n so as to facilitate positive changes in the life of the populations ( U N D P , "Beyond Aid", 1995).
91
If this is to be brought about, top-down approaches must be replaced by bottom-up approaches in elaborating strategies. This reversal of perspective implies processes of gathering and synthesising information which m o v e from the field towards national, international, governmental and non-governmental centres of decision. This work will require close collaboration between development agents and researchers, on the one hand, and cultural and social actors at all levels, on the other. The present processes by which strategies are elaborated and implemented are part of the existingt planning systems, which are founded on the principle of reducing differences and specificities in favour of major consensual objectives and a dynamic which spreads out from the apex towards the base. This situation is shown by the schema below: Figure 3 : T h e planning process: a model outline (Presently in use)
Strateev
Assessment of current situations Declaration of generalprinciples/goals Plans of action/Agendas
Programs
Medium-term
programs
(Institutions) Short-term plans (Institutions 1-2 years) Proiects
— Project — Project — Project — (etc.) (Institutions, others -NGOs, field)
Fieldwork
Implementation /Local Projects
Furthermore, institutions often "translate" the strategic and trans-sectorial perspectives of strategies to bring them into line with their o w n mandates, levels of responsibility and domains of competence. This tendency becomes all the more obvious as it m o v e s closer to the point of intervention (programmes, projects), where the search for efficiency and precision leads to targeting actions towards strictly limited goals. This inconvenience might be partly 92
corrected b y extending the w o r k of evaluation-information and research to all stages in the process. T h e results of such w o r k are in general part of the upward flow of cultural information, which will be discussed below in m o r e detail, and of the continuous triple function: reflection-action-planning (see chapter DI).
93
Figure 4 : Research results V s planning and decision making (proposals) Experience and evaluation of existing development work (success-failure) feedback to higher institutional levels à t
Research/analysis/evaluation of present situation (synthesis) > Definition at highest appropriate level of development problems to be tackled à L
Research/analysis/evaluation of present situation (synthesis) t.
^ General princçles/objectives to be pursued
Research/analysis/evaluation of present situation (synthesis) A.
^ *
Plan of action-plan of action, etc.
•
Programme-programme, etc.
à h
Research/analysis/evaluation of present situation (synthesis) i
t
Research/analysis/evaluation of present situation (synthesis)
Project-project-project-projectproject, etc.
94
4.
Plans of Action a n d Strategies T h e Programme of Action which follows the Declaration of the World Summit for
Social Development is an interesting example of h o w to concretize a set of general principles. Its aim is nothing less than the realisation of the major objectives laid d o w n at Copenhagen: eradication of poverty, expansion of productive work, and social integration, through specific measures and b y the creation of a favourable national and international environment. T h e document also specifies that the implementation of the Programme of Action is, in the first place, the responsibility of Governments, even if international assistance and co-operation are essential for its full realisation.
A.
A t the national level, strategies, evaluations and implementation must follow an
integrated approach, which will require: •
analysis and evaluation of macro- and micro-economic politics, both general and sectorial, and of their impact on poverty, employment and social integration;
•
reinforcement of co-ordination between national and international actors;
•
qualitative and quantitative evaluation of poverty, unemployment and social disintegration, and the adoption of corresponding measures;
•
formulation and reinforcement of inter-sectorial and trans-sectorial strategies at the governmental and intergovernmental levels, in partnership with representatives of civil society, the private sector and co-operative movements;
•
integration of the aims of social development in national plans, policies and budgets for development, overriding traditional sectorial divisions and with the participation of the concerned parties;
•
definition of aims and targets with precise deadlines;
• training of national and local personnel to co-ordinate their w o r k both vertically and horizontally, •
elaboration of quantitative and qualitative indicators for social development (distinction by sex, level of poverty, employment, social integration) in order to assess the impact of social policies and programmes, improve their efficiency and introduce n e w measures;
• reinforcement
of mechanisms of implementation and monitoring, with the
participation of civil society, and the collaboration of the international institutions; • periodic national reports (success, problems, obstacles) in the framework of a unified reporting system, which will take into account the different reporting procedures that obtain in the economic, social and environmental domains; • with the support of bilateral and multilateral co-operation agencies, the formulation, realisation and monitoring of integrated national strategies for social development;
95
•
development, drawing on the support, advice and experience of international cooperation organisations, of improved concepts and programmes for the collection and diffiision of statistics and social development indicators, so as to facilitate the evaluation and analysis of policies.
B.
Involvement of civil society This aim should be implemented through the following policies:
•
Creation and development of community organisations and N G O s (education, health, social and h u m a n integration, quality of life...) to elaborate and implement social development policies.
•
Establishment of legal and regulatory frameworks,
institutional arrangements and
consultative mechanisms for the elaboration, execution and evaluation of strategies and programmes for social development. •
Support for training programmes for the officers in these organisations: participatory planning, elaboration, execution and evaluation of programmes, economic and financial analysis, budget management, research, information and advice.
•
Financial support (programmes of small-scale subsidy, technical and administrative support) for initiatives taken and managed at the community leveL
•
Reinforcement of networks and exchange of expertise and experience between these organisations.
•
Development of planning and implementation procedures for policies designed to facilitate partnership and co-operation between Government and civil society.
•
Encouragement to business to invest in job creation, social services at the w o r k place, access to productive resources and construction of infrastructure.
•
Assistance to unions, with a view to their participation in planning and executing social development programmes: stable jobs, training, sanitary assistance and the creation of an economic and social environment favourable to sustainable growth and development.
•
Assistance to representative agricultural organisations and co-operatives in the same area.
•
Encouragement to co-operative movements in poor sectors in general.
•
Support, especially in the developing countries, for research centres and universities working in the domain of social development and facilitation of the collection, analysis and diffusion of information and conceptual w o r k on social development.
•
Encouragement to the educational system, the media and public information sources, with special priority to problems of social development, assistance with informing public opinion and facilitation of widespread discussion of these problems.
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c.
Limits of the major p r o g r a m m e s of action
Despite their desire for concrete recommendations, the major programmes of action cannot deal with a number of fundamental questions: •
"the environment", in the sense of the societal and cultural context in which social development strategies and policies can - or cannot - be implemented;
•
the need to preserve cultural diversities, the originality of different paths towards change, and different responses to the challenge of change.
Cultural diversity, and the centrality of cultures in the form and fabric of societies and their evolution, are at the basis of all change in the economic and social domains: education, health, employment, agriculture, environment, habitat, the situation of w o m e n , youth and minorities, must all be located in relation to societies, their functioning and their meaning.
The cultural approach is therefore indispensable at every level, even for the construction of strategies. It requires the establishment or reinforcement of tools which will enable the description of interactions between different geo-cultural zones, between past, present and future, and between the major decision centres and the field. These are the purposes of the tools for globalization, forecasting and decision analysis which will n o w be described.
*
IV.
METHODOLOGICAL PROPOSITIONS
1.
Analysis of functional interactions between culture and development Although strategic documents emphasise the need to take into account the specific
culture of each society w h e n formulating plans of action, they do not discuss the methods and mechanisms b y which these cultural aspects m a y be studied, evaluated and integrated specifically into the planning process. There are t w o major problems which have been insufficiently studied for us to be able to m o v e directly from strategic propositions to a functional representation of m o d e s of interaction between culture and other domains. 1.
T h efirstproblem concerns the w a y in which the particular culture of a given society can act as a dynamic force, not only in achieving political and strategic objectives, but also in determining the internal capacity for transformation of this society. This society m a y give less importance than does the international community to the major objectives of development, or m a y reformulate them in a context which, for its members, endows them with a different significance.
2. •
T h e second problem stems from the tendency, which still predominates, to
instrumentalize culture, viewing it as a means through which to realise predetermined goals, rather than as a source of differentiation or innovation in h u m a n values, or separating it out as an activity in itself, devoid of any more general relevance to
society. T h e
instrumentalization of culture - or its reduction to a series of points of leverage or obstacles - can thus lead to serious errors in the strategic appreciation of the difficulties to be resolved and the possible conflicts between global strategic propositions and the cultures of the different societies where they will be applied.
Thus, questions such as equality of access to productive work for w o m e n or the "formalisation" of the informal sector of the economy m a y be based on a relevant sense of the situation, and yet raise insoluble practical and theoretical problems. T o m a k e w o m e n genuinely equal in relation to employment m a y require changes which go far beyond improvements to existing legislation and information on the matter. It m a y require the integral deconstruction and reconstruction of the whole symbolic network of relations between m e n and w o m e n and kinship relations, which give a society its cohesion on a tribal/family basis.
98
In the same w a y , introducing good labour laws for informal sector activities, far from improving the material condition of workers in this area, m a y upset the whole logic of the sector's functioning, in terms of its profitability and the mobilisation of the w o r k force. The precondition for any productive and constructive voluntary change is that all external agents mustfirstof all understand w h y and h o w and on what basis the given situation works. O n the basis of this understanding, they must then w o r k in a continuous dialogue with the relevant partners, so as to bring out, without distorting the facts, the points of convergence between the general external perspective and the desires of those w h o s e modes and conditions of life are at stake.
Thus the problems of development, as they are repeatedly presented in statistical documents (the gap between the rich countries and the poor countries, poverty, employment, social integration, improvement of the condition of w o m e n and promotion of their role in society, satisfaction of essential needs) relate to a vision of social development which represents an advance on the previous economic model. But the solutions proposed correspond essentially to a determinedly functionalist vision of the lives of societies, reduced to such sectorial terms as education,
science and technology,
health,
habitat,
food,
natahty/mortality and communication.
This problem is in turn related to the search for sustainable development and for h u m a n development. But it does not explicitly refer to the cultural aims of development, nor to the need to take cultural realities fully into account, rather than simply pay lip service to them, and to measure the cultural effects of development (or of economic and social transformation), as part of the search for those solutions and precautions which will ensure that development is not achieved at the price of the cultural devastation (see Chapter IV).
Thus, in the struggle against poverty, the poor cannot be considered to have n o culture, and thus no resources. O n the contrary, it is often their cultures which allow them to resist the violence of economic poverty (as in certain Andean, Sahelian, Indian and Burmese communities). It is their cultures that constitute the basis of their strategies for survival and for community solidarity.
World
strategies should therefore take these elements into account, so that
development is not conceived, executed and perceived as a purely external form of assistance. O n the contrary, systems of aid should be based on the participation and mobilisation of the people and of their k n o w - h o w , and ways of doing and thinking, with full respect for cultural diversity and inter-cultural understanding. A s concerns respect for the rights of the h u m a n
99
person, it is vital that existing cultural and social models be taken into consideration, as well as their evolution and their progressive adaptation, in the context of different societies. Therefore it is necessary to question the current concepts and procedures which constitute the very foundations of these strategies. This will require the in-depth analysis of the interaction between the cultural m o d e l that has emerged in the industrial societies, and that which is to be found in other societies, pre-industrial or developing. The cultural causes and effects of the challenges that face the international community in different domains demographic, social, economic and cultural - should be examined, and responses to these challenges should be defined on this basis, thus leading to programmes of action which are truly rooted in cultural objectives, such as those of the World Decade for Cultural Development, for example.
Thus, the improvement of the conditions of life in different societies depends on a cultural approach to development, which encompasses self-confidence and understanding of others, the affirmation and enrichment of cultural identities, democracy and the fight against economic exclusion, the extension of participation and creativity in life and culture, and the search for peace by the intensification of exchanges and international cultural co-operation. 2.
W o r k i n g tools Table 1: W h y these tools ( s u m m a r y )
Needs Representation of interactions between
Tools Modelling
cultures and development (holistic approach global representation) Long-term evolution of societies and
Scenarios, prospective study of underlying
relationships between societies (diversity and
tendencies, long-term forecasting
shared values) Distribution of roles between institutions and
Institutional analysis
major development actors
Cultural self-evaluation Dynamic systems analysis
Cultural approach to development
Cultural indicators of development cultural cost/benefit analysis at the macro level Continuous (or frequent) evaluation of cultural conditions and effects of development strategies
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A.
Modelling
Definition
Anthropologists use models constructed on the basis of concrete traits derived from observation: this enables them to understand h o w a given ensemble reacts to modifications in certain of its elements or in external phenomena, or to compare ensembles of the same type or of different types. A satisfactory model will define the phenomena considered exhaustively and exclusively27.
M o r e specifically, a model can be described as a simplified representation (quantified or logical), m o r e or less formalised (or theoretical), of an ensemble (group of phenomena), w h o s e elements are to be described in a given state (static model) or which is to be shown in an interactive process and in an evolutionary perspective (dynamic model). In thefirstcase, the present structures are shown as the result of past interactions. In the second case, the m o d e s of functioning and of transformation of these elements are privileged, as are their equüibrium/disequilibrium in the short, m e d i u m or long-term, as an aid to forward-looking analysis. a. A i m of the exercise: T o help the major institutional decision-makers in their deliberations, in the context of conferences on inter-institutional programmes, to: •
build an overall representation of the interactions between cultures (those of preindustrial societies or industrialising societies) and development (the industrial model, in m o r e or less adapted forms);
•
assess the adequacy of their decisions in relation to real situations and their impact on these situations;
•
define overall strategies in the perspective of sustainable h u m a n development (United Nations system).
M o r e precisely, the use of these models can provide development decision-makers with elements that will be useful to them in making their choices: •
at the macro level, it will enable them to locate themselves in relation to the framework established by major international and national policy orientations o n economic, scientific and political matters, and in relation to major trans-national currents of thought;
27
After Claude L E V I - S T R A U S S , Structural anthropology, Plön, 1958, pp. 307-308. 101
•
at the level of the preparation and execution of programmes and projects in their o w n field of competence, it will help them to evaluate the impact of their decisions on all actors, factors, levels and domains, as well as their effects in the field.
b. Principle and modalities of the exercise A s a tool for global and prospective analysis of development strategies and policies whilst they are still in preparation, modelling exercises should integrate not all, but the most important interactions and "inter-actors", so as to define precisely the synergy - or conflicts which m a y arise between development and cultures, the macro-cultural changes that m a y result from economic, scientific, technological and political change on a world scale, and thus the n e w areas of convergence and divergence that are likely to emerge at the planetary level.
In other words, ;odelling w o r k s by reconstructing the interplay of the major categories of actors and actions in the development process, conceived of as a dynamic process of interactions which are either simultaneous or sequential. In this w a y , cultural self-evaluation can be undertaken prior to any major development decision. T h e construction of such a tool for planning at the macro level would clearly require important theoretical innovations, if it is to provide a global representation of the interactions between culture and development. In order to be able to proceed with such an exercise, it would be necessary to reduce the context of the decision to its relevant components. However, in order to take into account the multi-dimensionality of the development process, it would also be necessary to include a sufficient number of sociological, anthropological and also biological elements, for those chosen to be truly representative.
c. Contents: •
Study of the context and of the effects of major international decisions influencing the evolution of societies and cultures.
• Analysis of the overlapping and limits of institutional and trans-institutional strategies, in relation to international economic, political, social and cultural strategies.
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A n example of modelling: interactions between growth and the fight against poverty and social inequalities T h e World B a n k and the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex Aim T o estimate the likely consequences for the fight against poverty and social inequalities of several types of development policies aimed at different socio-economic groups (rich, avarage, poor) in a long-term perspective (30 years). T o represent in a simplified manner the economic functioning of a "typical" developing country, its effect on the income of poor populations arid their reactions, according to the policies adopted, in one or several sectors of intervention of the public authorities. First phase • define the major characteristics of the country concerned based on the empirical data for different types of country, especially Latin American countries; • divide households into three groups: rich, average and poor, corresponding to the top 20%, middle 40% and bottom 40% of the population, ranked by income levels. Second phase T o examine what would happen to income levels (both as absolute quantity and as percentage of national income) supposing that the "normal" growth pattern is continued for the next few decades, and assuming no important changes are made to the existing policy mix. For this purpose it was assumed that the poor would save a smaller proportion of their incomes than the rich, but their saving propensity would increase as their incomes grew. Their o w n capital stock would increase correspondingly. It was assumed that the population growth rate would be higher a m o n g the poor (3% per a n n u m ) than a m o n g the middle and higher income groups, where it would be 2.5% and 2 % respectively. Furthermore, a small increase in the productivity of capital w a s anticipated in the sectors using hired labour, reflecting better nutrition, health and access to educational opportunities, while the productivity of the capital owned by the poor would remain static. O n these assumptions, over the next 30 years the average per capita income of the "typical" developing country would grow at a rate of 2.7% per annum, and the per capita incomes of the bottom 40% would be doubled. It would be tripled if the population increase were reduced to 2% per a n n u m . Third phase T o examine effects of three major policy changes on the growth pattern over the same period of time. T h e results are as follows: • wage restraint, reducing the share of wages paid to the average and low income groups in order to increase the share of profits. T h e objective is to raise the rate of growth in total income by increasing the investment ratio, but at the expense of greater inequality and a substantially slower increase in the incomes of the poor. • Trans/erring resources to the poor, to promote either consumption or investment. It is assumed that there is an annual transfer from the rich to the poor of 2 % of total income. This redistribution is assumed to be achieved at the cost of reducing savings and investment by the rich-without lowering their current consumption level. In the case of consumption transfers, the incomes of the poor would be raised initially. But because these transfers have an adverse effect on the rate of capital accumulation, the average rate of growth of incomes slows d o w n across all sectors. After 30 years the poor, and everyone else, would appear to be worse off than they would have been if a "normal" growth pattern had been maintained. • Redirection of investmentflows:in this variant, 2% of the G N P is transferred to the poor each year not for consumption but for investment in various forms of capital assets, so as to raise the productivity and incomes of the poor directly and exclusively. T h e ai; is to accelerate the rate of income growth a m o n g the poor. After 30 years, the average per capita income of the poorest 40% in the "typical" developing country would triple compared with the base year. Practical conclusions This modelling exercise leads to three specific recommendations: • there should be redistribution of land in favour of the rural poor (agrarian reform, improvement of the land tenure system, etc.); • the elimination of acute poverty m a y be accelerated by incremental investment reallocations at a higher level;
103
•
there should be an attempt to determine the feasibility of reaching a set of basic-needs targets (food, housing, health, education) within a certain time-period.
Limits of the exercise There is n o guarantee or even likelihood that the needs of the poor are satisfied w h e n average needs are met. Furthermore, any shortfall in achieving average basic needs targets will mainly hit the poor. H o w can one calculate the poorest 20% of families as the target group? O n this model, if the targets for this group are achieved on average, virtually all households will have satisfied their basic needs. It is assumed that the objective is to meet basic needs within one generation, which for the purposes of calculation is taken to be the year 2000. There is therefore a production target (basic-needs), a target group (the poorest 20% of households) and a time-horizon (one generation). Unless income distribution changes significantly, then according to the model, the basic needs of the target group can only be met within one generation given rates of growth in output which are nearly double the already rapid rates achieved in recent years. It must b e recognised that the calculations do not allow any spontaneous improvements in income distribution. T h e calculations also probably understate the value of housing and food produced by households for their o w n consumption, nor do they take into account the stimulus that a basic-needs strategy is likely to give to the satisfaction of needs in this way. They do not allow for thefeetthat the poor will certainly devote a higher proportion of their income to the satisfaction of their basic needs than the proportion of national average per capita income that is so used. Finally, they assume that the present highly unequal pattern of access to public services will not change. The model uses the low variant of the United Nations population projections, which includes the unlikely hypothesis of an early and substantial reduction in fertility. O n the other hand, it is probably reasonable to assume that the early satisfaction of the basic needs of the poor, and the consequent raising of aspirations, would itself contribute to the reduction of fertility. Without a shift to a basic-needs strategy, traditional technology will probably continue to be neglected, rural areas will continue to stagnate, and the pattern of the provision of public services will continue to exacerbate rather than redress inequalities in earned incomes. Reliance on rapid growth on its o w n , under the model, is quite likely to worsen the pattern of income distribution, and still further delay the meeting of the basic-needs targets of the poor. General conclusion All these calculations, tentative though they are, strongly suggest that in m a n y countries m i n i m u m income and standards of living for the poor cannot be achieved, even by the year 2000, without some acceleration of present average rates of growth, accompanied by a number of measures aimed at changing the pattern of growth and the use of productive resources by the various income groups. In a number of cases, these measures would probably have to include an initial redistribution of resources, in particular, land, technology, employment opportunities and income. T h e policy package tobe adopted will obviously depend on the situation of each country. T h e sooner any necessary redistribution occurs, the shorter will be the period required to meet basic-needs targets, and the higher the standard of living of the poor in every intermediate year. But it should be pointed out that in any case, the proposed strategy implies quite high levels of investment, without which there would be neither growth nor meaningful redistribution. Source: Employment, growth and basic needs, A one-world problem, ILO, Geneva, 1986 B o x 25
NB
While taking an imaginary Latin American country as its example, this exercise omits
certain of the essential cultural variables found in such countries, as it attempts to establish economic and social policies to fight poverty, without specifying sufficiently their fields of application. A t least s o m e of these variables could be specified in quantitative form. T h e y belong essentially to the following domains, and to their interaction both with each other and with other related areas : agriculture, industry, services, education, health, habitat. M o r e precisely, they include:
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•
Current and foreseeable importance of the indigenous population, of the language(s) they speak, of their customs of behaviour and thought: religion, major interests, m o d e s of organising of production, exchange, consumption and saving.
•
Migration of rural and mountain populations to cities (or abroad).
•
Importance and vitality of the informal sector of the economy vs the formal sector.
•
W a y s of using local technologies and k n o w - h o w , strategies for managing poverty, local models of construction and craft-work.
•
Evolution of systems of property and land management, agricultural practice and complementary activities.
•
Evolution of relationships of solidarity and understanding (or conflict) within communities, between communities; emergence of n e w community models.
•
Evolution of family models (extended family/nuclear family), of parent-child and m a n - w o m a n relations.
•
By
Evolution of the dominant cultural models as a function of rise in income.
its
very nature,
modelling can be integrated with other forward-looking
globalization-type exercises: •
dynamic system analysis at the international level;
•
the scenario method;
•
simulation exercises at the macro-level (elaboration of strategies);
•
long-term studies.
O n this basis, schemata for integrated development could be drawn u p , and more generally, results from this kind of exercise could be introduced into the formulation of the major strategy documents themselves. These results could even be transposed so as to iUuminate other situations.
B.
D y n a m i c systems analysis
a. Definition System: Arrangement of the different parts of a whole, in such an order that they mutually support one another28.
Over time, the balance of parts in relation to the whole can vary, for two kinds of reason: •
because their structures of mutual support weaken or disappear;
•
because the whole (the system) interacts with its environment, that is to say, with other systems, and a n e w systemic configuration is produced by the recomposition
After Condillac, Treatise on systems, 1780.
105
of the parts of the interacting systems, to form a n e w equilmriurn. This process of "deconstruction - reconstruction" is the object of dynamic systems analysis. Systems analysis can therefore be performed either according to a static approach (equihT)rium) or an evolutionary approach (disequilibrium- transformation). Applied to the global situation, systems analysis can provide a w a y of representing the principle types of international equihbrium and disequiKbrium: demographic, political, economic, monetary, social and cultural. T h e general system which is being produced in the international macro-economic and financial domains by the current process of globalization contains a number of sub-systems which are "compatible" relative to its internal equihbrium: for instance, the Asia-Pacific sub-system, which is currently being enlarged and reinforced, but whose
economic, financial, political and cultural
specificities have
thus far
been
counterbalanced by the congruence of its components with the industrial cultural model based o n the market economy. Another sub-system, that of South Africa - South-West Asia - Pacific, seems to be in the process of emerging.
Within these sub-systems, other sub-systems can be identified, for instance, in the South China Sea, where there is an individualised and autonomous "economy-world", w h o s e internal relations and exchanges have long m a d e it a "Mediterranean" space, transcending national limitations, and linking together in a system Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines and Indonesia, together with the intermediary archipelagos which serve as relays across this dense trading network. The interfaces, that is, the zones and borders where contcat occurs between the global system and the regional sub-systems, should be identified not only in relation to economic and financial activities, but also on the basis of power differentials, that is, of the hierarchies existing between different actors (trans-national, international, national, regional and local) and their functions (decision, action, evaluation). This work, once completed, would provide a useful resource for the description of cultural interfaces, although it would be necessary to devise different approaches to deal with this specific question.
106
Cultural Values and the "Asian Economic Miracle" Since the begninningof the "Asian Miracle" - the accelerated economic growth of Japan and the "four dragons" (Korea, Taiwan, H o n g K o n g and Singapore) - specialists have been striving to understand the reasons for such success, and whether it could be transposed to other countries in the region (China, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia). Until n o w , social science researchers have applied themselves to explaining economic growth per se in the context of this second type of modern capitalism, which is completely different from the Western capitalist model. M u c h less attention has been paid to the relationship between these situations of rapid economic growth, society as a whole and social life. S. Yeh, a professor at the University of Hawaii, has proposed an interpretation of this phenomenon. His preliminary conclusions indicate that cultural factors operate as an impetus, but he points out that it is not yet possible to formulate a holistic explanatory model which would identify the essential economic, political and socio-cultural variables and the m a n y ways in which they interrelate. However, a preliminary hypothesis could be advanced to explain this set of interactions, which has generated very original forms of economic and entrepreneurial performance. It could be said that there is a cause and effect relationship between certain cultural values (such asrisk,success, wealth and individual enterprise), the learning process and certain institutional factors. The same linear relationship m a y be at work linking management fonctions, institutional forces and certain cultural values such as trust, cooperation, professionalism and the family. Source: S. Y e n , "Culture and the East Asian Development Model", World Commission for Culture and Development, Third Meeting, Costa Rica Meeting, February 1994. B o x 26 According to D . Desjeux 29 , there are three different approaches to systems analysis: the strategic approach; the "networks" approach; and the culture approach, which is principally used at the local and regional levels, but which also suggests interesting avenues for reflection on possible approaches at the global level.
•
T h e concept of strategy is the most directly functional of the basic concepts. It postulates that h u m a n behaviour is governed b y material and symbolic interests. A n understanding of the interests involved and of what is at stake in any given situation will therefore be a prerequisite, if there is to b e any change, and if that change is to be negotiated. T h e concept of strategy also postulates that social interactions are at once ^determinate and structured by the actors themselves. It does not seek to underestimate the interests of government officials, development workers or decision-makers, so as to m a k e the task of analysis easier. H o w e v e r , this approach does not allow affective or irrational factors to b e taken into account. H o w e v e r , it cannot readily integrate disorder, discontinuity, and differences in rationality and cultural motivation in general.
See: Desjeux, Le sens de l'autre, UNESCO/l'Harmattan, 1991.
107
•
T h e concept of networks focuses on communication, the circulation of information, and negotiation between the actors. It postulates that any decision, even one taken by an individual, is always the effect of a social network. Networks convey interactive information, from which the actors formulate their o w n representations. This approach can be applied not only to formal hierarchies, but also to all the other informal relations and networks that structure an organisation or a village. This will often m a k e it possible to understand what the cultural problem-solving models are, beyond superficial bureaucratic appearances, and thus, ultimately, h o w actors can change and adapt. F r o m the point of the view of development action, this approach can serve to mobilise people; it m a y be used, for example, to help a group of farmers to reach a decision. Nevertheless, on this approach, the real power wielded by the different actors can often be underestimated.
•
T h e culture approach derives from the observation of two kinds of factor: interactions and meanings. This approach makes it possible to analyse whether and h o w different ways of reasoning (those of the technician and the peasant, for example) interact with one another and so resolve their differences. At the semantic level, its aim is to observe h o w individuals project themselves onto and identify with their culture through values, symbols, rituals, language, etc. This technique, which has traditionally been applied to peasant reasoning b y anthropologists, is m u c h less c o m m o n a m o n g technicians and decision-makers. W h e n this approach is used in thefield,it amounts to a "micro" version of the cultural approach, the basic hypothesis of this M a n u a l
B y using these various approaches, development actors are able to grasp and "manage" cultural differences, which economic analysis alone would not be able to iïïuminatei while leaving r o o m for the unconscious, the informal, for social networks and for the different w a y s in which human beings reason. b. Possible uses of systems analysis Systems analysis proceeds from the concept of feedback: the actor is viewed in a dynamic perspective, in which he/she is seen to react and adapt. Systems analysis implies there are links, inter-connections, between the different elements of the system, none of which can be modified without setting off a chain of changes which willl run, in varying degrees, through all or part of the system (D. Desjeux, 1991).
In this w a y , systems analysis makes it possible to consider the both technical and the cultural implications of a technical decision, such as introducing an innovation into traditional agricultural practice. It can also reveal the overlapping of successively affected domains, for example, w h e n introducing a n e w technique or plant variety into the production system For this production system is itself a part of larger social, cultural, political (and other) systems. In 108
this context, it is vital to distinguish between significant (structural) factors and secondary factors, on the one hand, and on the other, between cultural and non-cultural factors.
Significant cultural factors m a y have either a conservative or an innovative effect on the forms of economic and social life. Where decision-makers m a y see only "cultural blockages", often as a result of their o w n poor preliminary analysis of the situation and/or short-term perspective, the cultural dynamic m a y well be at w o r k buiding the necessary foundation for successful economic and social transformations to come.
Similar activities undertaken in a development-oriented perspective in the economic and social sectors can have a direct influence o n the local socio-cultural context. Since such activities can have traumatic consequences for behavioural and lifestyle models, it is advisable to prepare any such measures carefully, so as to facilitate their assimilation by the community. Here, as everywhere, the cultural impact of a development action must be identified and evaluated before anything else is done.
In these ways, adopting the "Strategy", "network" or "culture approach" can help shed light on the interface between the industrial and pre-industrial models, by revealing the distribution of power, or in other words, the system of interactions between actors and levels.
C.
Interaction between actors and levels; the cultural approach and the global system
T h e interaction between actors and levels can be analysed in terms of decisionmaking processes. This will entail, firstly, examining the process by which choices are formulated, for example, on the basis of previous experience, information and research relating to the problems to be analysed (in other words, the context). The process by which a decision or an initial programme (strategy and content) is then executed must also be examined in order to identify possible causes of distortion. Lastly, strategy, policy and project must all be monitored to see what form they finally take in the field.
The study of interactions must therefore focus,first,o n the peak of the decisionmaking pyramid, which represents the ways in which the major decision-makers co-ordinate their efforts "horizontally". It must focus next on the "descending" phase, the movement from decision to implementation and the relationship between local and non-local actors. Lastly, it must address the "ascending" phase, by which information concerning results, effects and impacts, whether anticipated or unforeseen, of the actors' actions and reactions are assimilated and communicated to the highest decision-making function.
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Moreover, the interactions that are at w o r k between the various levels at which decisions and actions are taken must be included in any attempt to produce a general prescriptive list of those interactions which must be taken into account in analysing the development process. For the purpose of this analysis is to m a k e it possible to understand the workings of all kinds of factor and effect that play a role in the development process.
The approaches described in the previous section, and in particular the "culture" approach, are frequently employed in the field, but are rarely mentioned in the context of analysing the operation of the development institutions. The basic hypothesis which the present section will explore is that this approach can be adapted to all levels - micro, meso and macro. W h a t , then, would it look like if applied to the macro level? In studying the interactions between culture and development at the global level, the real object of observation is the confrontation between, on the one hand the industrial cultural model and the logic of the market, which are, and will continue to be, the two major elements of the phenomenon k n o w n as globalization, and, on the other hand, the cultural models of the pre-industrial societies in all their diversity. A n y such study must also address the w a y in which the industrial model has been adopted by certain communities, which have been able to adapt it, to a greater or lesser extent, so as to fit their ways of life and the reactions of the populations. The interfaces between these t w o models are at once economic (production-exchangeconsumption-savings),
social (housing, education, health, family and group organisation),
political (ways of exercising power), ethical (duties and rights) and spiritual (the natural and the supernatural). The present and future balance between these cultural models (patterns), and the processes of destructuring and restructuring which can be provoked by the encounter between them, are should be central to any global representation of the world situation, of what is at stake in it, and of the ways in which it might evolve.
Systems analysis can illuminate the most important cultural aspects of this problem : the religious and civic basis of society, the balance between religion and ethics; relationships between groups, families and individuals; and between m e n and w o m e n ; the transmission of values, knowledge and k n o w - h o w ; the importance, nature and norms of production, consumption, exchange, saving and maintenance; relations with the natural environment; and the balance between the rural and the urban world.
Unless they are to be entirely voluntarist in their approach, all international strategies w h o s e aims are h u m a n development, tolerance, pluralism, the participation of all in the life of society, and the reinforcement of a culture of peace, must be founded on the analysis of this 110
confrontation between different cultures and must recognize in deed as well as in w o r d the importance of finding a response to the needs for both continuity and transformation that the evolution of culture requires.
Ill
Figure 5 ; Pre-Industrial Cultural Model Spirituality Religion Tradition
Traditional value systems
System of production and exchange
sacred images representation aesthetic elite/popular ritual ceremonies traditional fest,
collective memory
/ education initiation
Group
I j feeling of I belonging
I extended ¡family
non-individual appropriation
Subsistence
exchange of surplus
_J barter/ monetary
solidarity cohesion (health, etc)
/
\
mutual credit I (tontine) \ traditional | k n o w ! , and iknow how
1 i local i techniques
agriculture, livestock, construction, etc.
112
Figure 6 ;IndustriaI/market cultural m o d e l m a r k e t logic (private property)
scientific/technical innovation m a s s production methods
national and internat, political and regulatory system
I capital available or I competition, efficiency, | easy access to i market shares (nat.,internat.) jfinancialmarkets | advertising, product standard i control of media
financial investments
I price and I low salaries, | production control, I immigration, raw materials and i délocalisation i i energy i
Accumulation (profit)
concentration take over of bus.
•• D
E
M
A
N
D
Societal Organisation C O modernity]
N S U M P T I O N pleasure 1 conformity] | individualism
\
/
beh., fashion
"clubs"
|
|
religion, humanism
[ nuclear family
mass culture corrective action
i deviant i sub-cult.
i arts, cult i I education, health, [ s p o r t | i housing, etc.
I Economisation
charities
Social demand
D.
L o n g - t e r m studies of cultures and societies
a. Nature and aims of long-term studies Studies of trends in the evolution of societies and cultures over the long term have t w o principal objectives: • the assessment of fundamental social problems in the evolution of pre-industrial cultures in relation to the cultures of the industrialised countries; • the prospective elaboration of actions for sustainable development (positive and negative effects of current decisions and the need for continuity in action). Such a vision can enable planners and decision-makers to free themselves from a shortterm perspective on decisions regarding problems and solutions, linked to circumstances such as: •
sudden political and economic change;
• technological/industrial innovations; •
immediate economic and social reactions;
•
quick and superficial shifts in behaviour (fashion);
•
excess information for certain events due to mediatization and preference for "sexy" situations.
b. The scenario method T h e scenario m e t h o d , which is characteristic of prospective studies, consists of broadbased studies whose goal is the voluntary realisation of objectives which have been explicitly and
"democratically" determined through
active collaboration between the various
development actors. This process addresses the different options for social changing in the long term by formulating an image or several images of a/the desirable future, based o n changes in value systems, to set against images of possible futures generated b y the assumption that current value systems are maintained and that the trends underlying the existing situation persist ( D A T A R , 1980). This method is therefore particularly usefid for studying the evolution of pre-industrial societies and cultures, as also the cultures of the developing countries, as they are faced with the ceaseless extension of the industrial market economy m o d e L
Generally speaking, prospective research has to address situations characterized b y accelerating scientific, technological and economic change, and by an increasingly difficult and complex dynamic of societal transformation. The aim is to assist societies in determining the goals, conditions and consequences that govern the options which they have to choose between. The "preferred future" is naturally established on the basis of each society's o w n value system. But a change in economic and social conditions can also bring about n e w 114
configurations of value systems, and this constitutes a phenomenon which prospective studies have, so far, barely begun to define. T h e scenario method is one of the most useful tools for prospective research, which is both a means of studying the history of societies over the long term and a long-term planning system. Traditionally, a distinction has been drawn between exploratory scenarios and anticipatory scenarios. Exploratory scenarios start from an existing situation, and having defined its principal tendencies, describe a series of events which will lead logically to one or more possible futures. Exploratory scenarios m a y take t w o different forms: • trend scenarios, which project the underlying trends of a situation into the future, and describe the consequences; •
framework scenarios, which are designed to determine, on the basis of the present situation, potential options, given the limits within which the underlying trends m a y evolve.
Within the category oí anticipatory scenarios, a distinction m a y be m a d e between: • normative scenarios, which describe a set of desirable objectives and the w a y in which they m a y be achieved, •
contrasting scenarios, which define objectives remote from those which should logically follow on from the present, and then try to relate the image of the future thus produced to the present situation, in order to identify the changes necessary to briing about that future.
115
Table 2: T h e scenarios method T y p e of scenario
Goal(s) of the scenario
Premise(s) of the scenario
Process used
Trend scenario
Seeks to determine a possible future
A s s u m e s that underlying trends are permanent and predominant
Examines what happens if these trends and the mechanisms that account for them continue into the future
Framework scenario
Seeks to define the range of possible futures
A s s u m e s that underlying trends are permanent and predominant
Creates extreme variations in the hypotheses as to h o w these trends m a y evolve
Normative scenario
Seeks to produce an image of a possible and "desirable" future and to establish a path leading from the present to this future
Assumes that it is possible to determine from the outset a set of possible objectives to be achieved
Summarizises these objectives and connects this image of the future to the present
Contrasting scenario
Outlines a "desirable" future that Hes just within the bounds of possibility
Assumes that it is possible to determine from the outset a set of objectives to be achieved that are different from the initial objectives
Summarizes these objectives and connects this image of the future to the present
Source: Délégation à l'aménagement du territoire et à l'action régionale ( D A T A R ) , La méthode des scénarios, schéma général d'aménagement de la France, Travaux et recherches de prospective, no. 59, L a Documentation française, Paris, 1980.
This method must not be confused with futurology. For in this method, the future is not strictly speaking programmed. Using exploratory or anticipatory scenarios can help choose what directions to take or to prefer. It also m a k e s it possible to integrate values and a conception of time into the formulation of development strategies. Trend scenarios and framework scenarios could perhaps be used to analyse long-term changes in values and cultures, in response to economic and technical transformations. Normative and contrasting scenarios, on the other hand, could be used in the construction of
116
more voluntarist development strategies, based on value systems and cultural traits considered to be fundamental. These will therefore be more consistent with the hypothesis of a cultural approach to development. c. Prospective studies "Discussing development m e a n s talking about the evolution of societies, changes in the world and in the course of history itself Actions today have to be examined with the future in mind" (The Cultural dimension of development, p. 179, U N E S C O , 1994). In general, prospective research aims to face up to the accelerating scientific, technological and economic transformations of society, and to their ever more complex and extensive implications, by helping societies to determine the purposes, conditions, and consequences of the choices they have to m a k e today. A "preferred future" is established by taking into account the value systems that are proper to different societies. But changes in economic and social conditions will also lead to n e w configurations of value systems. Tthis is a crucial area for research, and one which prospective studies have hitherto largely neglected. The aim of long-term reflection is: • to deal with questions which go beyond present political or economic circumstances, and cannot be dealt with b y an exclusively sectorial approach. • to stimulate the search for solutions which will require innovation, perseverance, confidence and solidarity, if they are to be successfully realised. In undertaking prospective research, whether as a w a y of studying the history of a society in the long-term, or as a long-term planning method, the scenario method is one of the most useful tools available. Prospective studies can be carried out both at the world level, and for a single region of the world. Below, three important examples are cited.
117
i U N E S C O Programme of prospective studies Project "The futures of culture" "The futures of development" (in co-operation with the World Futures Studies Federation). a) "Futures of development" (Beijing World Conference, 1985) M a i n tracks of research: N o r m s and values of development (consumerism, "rational" planning vs spiritual values, development/identity...). Culture, industrialisation and political structure (post-industrial societies and developing countries). World economy and market, new technologies, information society . . Imbalance in rural/urban development T High technology and economic, social and demographic development. Children's intellectual and psychological perception of the future. :
b) "Futures of culture" Cultural impact of development Persistence of the economic growth paradigm. Growing overlapping of economic strategies with policy practice. Increasing influence of the international debt crisis on the debate about development strategies. Multidimensional human development still considered as a utopia by major political and economic leaders. Emergence of n e w approaches to development through lived practice relating to needs or conflicts. Present state of culture All cultures and values "assaulted" by forces of standardisation communicated through high technology (particularly mass media), modern state structure and managerial type of organisation. Growing cultural affirmation and dynamic attitudes directed against mass culture.
• -
Ethical vision of culture's future Pessimistic hypothesis : traditional cultures reduced to entertainment for visitors (trend). Optimistic hypothesis : all cultural communities contribute to generating a culture of tolerance and respect for cultural diversities. Efforts and policy measures for differentiation in education, juridical systems, languages, history teaching and creative activities, working group on the future of cultures
Source : The Futures of Development, Selectionsfromthe 10th World Conference of the World Futures Studies Federation, U N E S C O 1991. ' Box 27
118
iL Regional Prospective studies Africa: - Challenges : " M u s e u m " concept of cultures "Nationalist" culture Culture as unity and change (e.g.: "one" Africa) or pluralistic patterns (religions, languages, development). - networks: ethnic, national, family links, survival strategies, informal systems, religions. - Emergence of a n e w urban or popular culture (dress, combat sports, moral and spiritual cleanliness - family, solidarity, respect of nature). Latin. America Cultural mosaic - c o m m o n features : religion, languages, ethnic mixture, history, differentiation process vis-à-vis Europe and U S A , emerging and rapidly changing n e w urban culture ; Cultural resistance and struggle for ethno-development ; Cultural survival : indigenous religions/Christianity urban economical/scientific development cultural differentiation/cultural dualism ; Asia & Pacific ( U N E S C O / P R O A P ) Need to use development models to build up human resources through appropriate education policies ; M a n y internal and inter-country conflicts in the Region (regional, linguistic, religious, nation-building, modern urban populations, tribal people) ; Serious social imbalance (land ownership, industry, trading activities) ; rise of sub-national identities. Source : The Futures of Culture, The prospects for Africa and Latin America, Vol. II, U N E S C O , 1992 B o x 28 In these various studies, the needs a n d priority areas for n e w research w e r e described as follows : R e s e a r c h n e e d s : integrated, human-centred, alternative development m o d e l s , positive discrimination for the oppressed and deprived.
Priority areas for research : traditions, history, languages, religions, ethnicity, rural/urban, role of the State, G o v e r n m e n t systems, goals and limits o f alternative d e v e l o p m e n t strategies.
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Table 3: The Futures Field : Tools for managing change
PREDICTION
Trend Extrapolation
FUTURES RESEARCH
ECONOMIC AND
Social Indicators
(Major
TECHNICAL FORECASTING
Social Forecasting
knowledge-seeking
focus)
Technical Assessment SYSTEM ANALYSIS
Global and Societal Modelling Long Cycle Research Simulation of Change Processes
MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
Issues Management Decision and Risk/Benefit Analysis Policy Analysis
SCENARIO WRITING
Ethnographic Futures Research Cross-Impact Analysis Delphi Surveys
FUTURE STUDIES
COMPARATIVE SURVEYS
Digests, Indexes
(Synthesis, criticism and co-
AND CRITICISM OF
Overviews of Problems and Dimensions
mmunication)
FUTURES ISSUES FUTURES IN EDUCATION
of Change Profession Training & Development Curriculum Innovation and Course Development Interdisciplinary
SPECULATIVE WRITING
Social Imaging Processes Creation and Falsification of Images Exploration of the Trans-national
NETWORKING
Global Communication Social Innovations Green Politics
THEORY AND PRACTICL
Alternative Technology
OF ALTERNATIVE LIFE-
Reconstruction of Community
STYLES
N e w Age Cultures and Values
FUTURES M O V E M E N T S
HUMANISTIC AND
Future Imaging Workshops
(Stimulating,
TRANS- PERSONAL
Despair and Empowerment work
PSYCHOLOGY
Psychodrama
reconceptualizing
and
possibly leading change)
Psychosynthesis
Source : U N E S C O Future Scan, vol. I, n°. 1, p. 62, January-June 1992.
120
Figure 7 : FUTURES AS A FORWARD-LOOKING MATRIX CONCEPTS Alternatives and choices Past, present and future Breakdown and renewal Sustainability
CAPACITIES Analysis Extrapolation Learning
Imagination Intuition Creativity
PERCEPTIONS
x/
METHOD OLOGEES Forecasting Scenarios Modelling Scanning
Fears Anxieties Concerns
/
*
\
.
Imaging Networking Criticism
Hopes Plans Purposes
PROCESSES Continuity Stasis Equilibrium
Change Dynamism Transformation
'*
*'
ISSUES
THEMES
APPLICATIONS
Communication Crime and justice Economic Development Energy Environment Gender & culture Health Information Peace Population Resources Science & technology Space Transport Urban planning W o r k * : leisure
Conservation Empowerment Future generations Holism H u m a n impacts Nature of limits Optimism and pessimism Sustainability Time & culture Trans-personal psychology Values & futures Wisdom cultures World Futures
Alternative lifestyles Critical futures study Epistemológica! reconstruction Foresight implementation Futures in education Issues management Politics (esp. progr. green) Social imaging processes Speculative writing Strategic planning Technology assessment
Source : U N E S C O Future Scan, op. cit., p. 64.
T
üi. National long-term perspective studies Subject: Necessity to define a new approach of the future African leaders. Previous action: E C A and African development (Í985,200p) World Bank : sub-Saharan Africa - From Crisis to Sustainable Growth (1985) Aim:
-
Build a national consensus on a long-term development in each African country; Help decision-makers in the public and private sectors to make decisions in harmony with the longterm objectives ofthe programmes.
Modalities : - - broad participatory process in each concerned country, involving politicians, civil servants, academics, businessmen, trade unions, youths, w o m e n , N G O s ; - analysis of development choices hi all basicfieldsduring 25 years; - on the bases of long-term strategies, designing of Medium-term programme; - launching at the national level of monitbring groups and key-teams in charge of carrying out long-term studies and setting up several pluridisciplinary work teams to study various topics, issues and sectors; - national debates on the rrogramming of long-term work, in order to bring a necessary consensus to design a long-term strategy, - utilisation of medium-term programmes in order to carry out efficiently national policies and full support fromfunders; -gradual integration of national strategies into other similar regional and international exercises; - launching of regional networks of research institutions and African specialists to stimulate exchange of ideas, experiences, data and creation of a wide forum for discussions and debates on the subject Source: African Futures -National Long-term Perspective Studies - U N D P Five-year Regional Project- 1991.
Box 29 O n the basis o f the study w e h a v e presented above, the following methodological suggestions might b e m a d e : - Substitution o f b o t t o m - u p for t o p - d o w n approach, in realising long-term studies; - use in pluridisciplinary w o r k - g r o u p s of: 1)
research
procedures to i m p r o v e
information
research
with populations
a n d their
representatives 2) specialists in cultural anthropology and cultural development (see chapter HI). - Contributions from a consultative c o m m i t t e e m a d e u p o f representatives o f the populations concerned a n d o f high-level cultural specialists in producing syntheses o f the groups w o r k . - Recruitment o f a cultural specialist to the resource group o f the Abidjan project
122
Figure 8 : N L T P S P R E P A R A T I O N S T R U C T U R E 3 0 (Revised to allow a cultural approach)
National High-Level Leadership Group
LEGEND
OversightFunding Advice
U N D P Project
TAB
SAC Sponsoring Agency Committee
Tech. Adv. Board
Regional Network
....;
Resource Group (Abid an)
National Coordinator National Core team (Tech. Sec)
Cultural Specialist
Cultural Specialist (in each working
wou?)
Donors
Consultative committee National cultural assessment Cultural-Participatory planning
National MultiDiscip. Working Group
National MultiDiscip. Working Group
National MultiDiscip. Working Group
National MultiDiscip. Working Group
Consultation with population representatives Cultural -participatory planning
30
In order to achieve relevant long-term studies of the national development policies in African countries according to the cultural approach, it would be necessary to add a cultural specialist in the working groups and the resource group as designed in the above schema.
123
E.
Cultural regularities and diversities
The problem of cultural regularities and diversities is of crucial importance in the elaboration and definition of the major objectives of international development strategies. The issue is h o w to identify comparable or compatible elements across different societies, especially in thefieldsof tradition and belief, value systems, fundamental h u m a n rights, w a y s of life, forms of cultural expression, norms of economic organisation, and the organisation of the family and society, as well as social aspirations and objectives.
Such research should be distinguished from research into h o w to identify c o m m o n values, which are sometimes too hastily identified with Western values, but which can nevertheless usefully be pursued, in accordance with certain major principles adopted by the United Nations system, such as respect for social and cultural diversity.
The major normative instruments adopted by the international community represent an achievement that is all the more considerable given that these instrumentsfixoverall long-term objectives for all existing economical and political power systems. Their function is to remind the major world decision-makers continuously of these overriding imperatives, which are still far from being fhlly met.
Certain dimensions of cultural and social diversity are in continuous interaction with one another, as a result of the abundance of multi-cultural situations and vectors of exchange. S o m e of these date back to the remote past, such as the Silk Roads, and are thus easier to study. O n e avenue of research would be to try to identify comparable data (similarities and differences) concerning values and practices in the following areas: - relationship between past and future, and the status of the present; - patterns and norms governing for example: •
m a n / w o m a n , parent/child relations;
•
family, community and social relations;
•
relations between communities and societal groups;
•
status and practice of production, diffusion and exchange (e.g. consumption or commerce);
•
relationship between humans beings and the environment;
•
links between the material and the spiritual world;
•
interrelationship of spiritual and ethical values.
Such an exercise wouldfirstrequire an in-depth analysis of particular cultures, which must be undertaken in an inter-cultural perspective and in a spirit of pluralism and tolerance. This w o r k would also require special attention to the persistence or emergence of cultural
124
differentiation processes w h i c h are liable to interfere with m o r e general political orientations. It is at this level that it w o u l d b e appropriate either to limit strategic indications, or to introduce variables w h i c h might b e compatible with important cultural variations, so as to allow multiple yet non-relativist interpretations of the major global strategic d o c u m e n t s .
A s a first example w e might mention the study carried out b y the A M 9 0 s w o r k s h o p (Dakar, 1 9 9 4 ) , organised b y the W o r l d B a n k in the context o f its research into institutional a n d economic m a n a g e m e n t in Sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s.
The World B a n k : cultural features of Sub-Saharan Africa to be taken into account in institutional and • j economic management. The study A M 9 0 s , by The World Bank, demonstrates that there is a remarkable uniformity of social values and organisational thought patterns in Sub-Saharan Africa, despite the multiplicity of cultures in the Region. The study also shows that there are signs of adhesion to the same values throughout different sub-regions. These principles of thought and behaviour concern the following matters in particular: 1. Group membership and solidarity ; loyalty to groups ; the importance of interpersonal relationships and sharing. 2.
Respect for decision-making based on consensus and compromise as means of resolving conflicts.
3. Agreements of mutual respect based on social roles; the evaluation of economic actions in relation to their impact on the individual's position in the group; respect for hierarchy and agreements. 4. Spiritual orientations which affect both the public and the private spheres: a powerful synergy between objects, h u m a n beings, and the supra natural world Source: The World Bank, Africa's Management in the 90's Workshop. Dakar, Senegal, September 26-29 1994.
Box 30
125
F.
Participation and strategies of development
T h e principles of cultural pluralism and the active participation of those directly concerned should be applied to the preparation of all future strategic documents and World Reports. Existing documents all bear the signs of the same limitations and shortcomings in the processes they define for collecting information, and confine discussion of the major issues to the level of the institutional decision-making centres, envisaging at best some extension to the regional level. Their communication strategies remain limited to official authorities and, beyond the political circle, to high-level academics and world-famous artists, writers and thinkers, whose contributions are apt to be exercises in a c o m m o n abstract language, rather than providing fresh testimony of situations in the field.
A n e w approach to communication and discussion would consist of decentralising and "de-institutionalising" the different sequences of debate and decision-making on a world-wide scale. This would empower unofficial partners, representatives of civil society, resourcepersons and people involved in action to convey information and reactions from thefield.Such data could be summarized at various levels and passed on u p to the teams w h o w o r k on the elaboration of global diagnoses and strategic documents. The result would be a genuinely rich interaction between all sections of society and between the field and the major institutions, which would go far beyond the small groups of specialists w h o are all too often left to speak on behalf of people.
G.
Forecasting and the recognition of unpredictability
T h e contradiction between forecasting and chance, that is, what cannot be foreseen, m a y appear too radical to admit of any methodological solution. Indeed, forecasting depends on the analysis of observable data, ordered and interpreted in terms of trends and likely evolutions which m a y , in the long-term, give rise to crisis, social fragmentation and conflict, if they are not addressed with sufficiently p o w e r and determination.
In certain areas such as demography, forecasting is relatively easy. But observation of the economic and social crises and conflicts which have occurred since the end of the Second World W a r shows h o w far forecasting in these domains is from achieving any adequate degree of reliability. Surprise is still the dominant feature in this area.
H o w can chance be integrated into forecasting methods?
1. The first w a y to integrate chance into forecasting methods is through the use of scenarios describing major crisis situations in thefields,as mentioned above. Analysis of the changes 126
which might lead to such situations can enable one, up to a point, to identify those events or changes which might tend to lead to extreme situations. Such cases could not be identified through classical analysis of underlying trends. 2. The second possibility is to try and distinguish, in analysing factors of change, those which are present in all cases, and those which are only hypothetically relevant, insofar as the interplay of factors and actors cannot be entirely k n o w n in advance and controlled. Thus chance can, to a degree, be represented through the formulation of multiple, and even contradictory, hypotheses.
3. Another possibility is to admit the existence and the relevance of those elements which cannot be reduced to the categories of a rationalistic rationality, that is to say, a classically scientific and functionalist rationality. In technical documents, this concession to the "unknowable" can be represented as a kind of "black-box" in the development process. Elements of this type which belong to other rationalities, sometimes still referred to as "prelogical" beliefs, affects and mentalities, will in any case place limits on the extent to which one can completely "stitch up" a society's future evolution and foresee the "creative diversity", which manifests itself in the m a n y possible evolutionary paths taken b y different h u m a n groups. Diversity, participation and chance are simply different forms of h u m a n freedom, which is the fundamental principle of human rights as defined in the Universal Declaration of the Rights of M a n , unanimously adopted by the United Nations.
The meaning and nature of the development planning process will be profoundly altered by this reversal of perspective. In thefirstplace, the initial impetus for development will have changed direction: series of small projects will gradually be amalgamated, until thenconsequences reach u p to the decision-making centres of the big institutions; the function of those centres will then be primarily to organise the necessary budgetary and human resources
348
into large "bundles", which can then be broken d o w n in order to be used at the most appropriate level. These small- or medium-scale activities, or clusters of activities, must then be reexamined in relation to the major prevailing economic, political and cultural trends at a regional or global level, from the perspective of sustainable, long-term development. In this context, it will then be easier to evaluate the cultural relevance of each project in m o r e precise terms. It will thus be possible to achieve a form of complementarity between the global vision of the major agencies and the specific local realities of the field. In administrative and technical terms, this system of planning would result in the drawing u p of master plans or umbrella projects and specifications, which will determine the major criteria to be taken into account w h e n asking forfinancialsupport from development institutions or funders. O n c e such a request has been accepted, the local actors w o u l d be empowered to exercise their initiative, to innovate and diversify, in response to the specific features of the given situation.
In the institutions, this will require the elaboration of a general representation of the interactions between cultures and development, and general criteria grounded in a long-term perspective on the evolution of societies (cf. Chapter I). It would also require that decisionmakers and agents in development institutions w o r k to develop, through specific training programmes if necessary, a greater awareness of the cultural implications of their tasks. 5.
Training decision-makers a n d agents in a culturally-sensitive approach to development N o w that cultural aspects are beginning to receive m o r e attention in the planning and
managing of development actitivites, there is a growing need for training programmes that would help decision-makers, project managers and evaluators, experts and fieldworkers to integrate culture into their work in project preparation and implementation. Such cultural training, however, poses specific difficulties as regards the processes of teaching and of learning, since it will have to inculcate not only techniques and k n o w - h o w , but above all attitudes and behaviour.
Indeed, a cultural approach to sustainable development requires not only a n e w understanding of the cultures and societies in which the development agents are called to intervene, but also a n e w perception of their o w n culture and of the institutional culture in
349
which, through their working methods and practices, they are deeply immersed (cf Chapter
n). A.
W h o should be trained?
In principle, all agents, whatever the level and content of their responsibilities, should, as actors in development, be m a d e aware of the role of culture in any external intervention for economic and social transformation, and be ready to act accordingly. This n e w attitude should be required of all those involved in institutional development at whatever phase of the process: decision-makers and scientific and technical specialists, whether at the national or international level, and including equally those working at headquarters, in external units and in the field.
Training will not be the same for everyone. The form it takes will depend on whether it is pre-service or in-service training, and whether the agenst to be trained are high-level senior officers, juniors or fieldworkers. W h e r e fieldworkers are concerned, most institutions in the U N system have already responded to this need some extent, at least as regards project implementation and evaluation. Bi-lateral co-operation agencies ( C I D A , G e r m a n Co-operation Agency, the French Ministry for Co-operation), as well as certain N G O s , for example OXFAM,
C C F D and the "Cultures Networks", have also established their o w n training
schemes for young agents w h o will be working on development projects.
H o w e v e r most existing training systems dealing with culture and inter-cultural communication do not go beyond acquainting their trainees with certain customs, habits, practices, social codes and taboos, which are specific to the societies or countries where they are going to work. This type of training, useful as it is in enabling co-operation agents to avoid patent errors, is not sufficient to give them a full appreciation of the specific character and spirit of a society. Indeed, this kind of knowledge can only really be acquired b y working and living for a long period of time within a given society and culture, possibly under the guidance of a "bi-cultural" guide. As
this is not always possible, other approaches should be explored, including
redesigning the learning experience itself, and combining theoretical teaching with practical, on-the-spot apprenticeship. This can be achieved through participatory observation, real or simulated exercises in responsibility-taking and planning and implementation exercises in existing situations. For high-level decision-makers, w h o have generally received sophisticated university and post-university education, only brief training sessions can be envisaged.
350
In
future, one might propose introducing material from the "soft" sciences,
supplemented b yfieldsessions, into the curricula of the public administration institutes and the specialised economic and political institutions. In the shorter term, complementary training might be delivered through specialised seminars and in-service training courses for existing staff B.
S o m e recent initiatives Since the 1980s, U N E S C O has organised m a n y meetings with a view to carrying out
full-scale experiments with various types of training. In some cases, these meetings have been aimed at convincing directors of training centres or institutes for high-level civil servants and for agents and specialists in development, to include the h u m a n and social sciences in their teaching curricula. Another target activity w a s in-service training for high-level officers, using either real or simulated situations, in order to demonstrate concrete interactions between local cultures and development operations. T h e aim w a s to m a k e such officers aware of the symbolic and imaginary dimensions inherent in all cultures, of the limits to scientific and functionalist rationality, and of the specific vitality of informal systems of social and economic organisation. In this way, it was hoped that they might be m a d e aware of the need never to lose sight of this cultural dimension in their work. In the same perspective, an African Itinerant College for Culture and Development has just been launched jointly by U N E S C O and the U N Institute for Economic Development and Planning (IDEP). This project aims to stimulate and enhance awareness a m o n g high-level officers and decision-makers of the cultural aspects of development, and to encourage them to reinforce the available institutional and h u m a n resources in Africa accordingly. Thus, the Itinerant College will provide a pedagogical instrument which did not exist hitherto for training practitioners, agents, decision-makers and politicians. It win enable them to broaden their approach to development strategies, policies, programmes, plans and projects, in a holistic and integrated perspective, so as better to respond to the growing needs felt by the populations of Africa. U N E S C O has also supported the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training in N e w Delhi (India), which in 1992 set up a project to train high-level decision-makers and senior public service officers in the cultural dimensions of their work. A i m e d at civil servants in India's federal government and the Union's State Government, this programme w a s intended for senior officers at the level of Under-Secretary or Additional Secretary, whether or not the Ministries they belonged to were explicitly responsible for cultural questions or
not.
351
C.
Principles a n d major orientations governing the content and modalities of training systems in the cultural approach to development
The research and experiments that have been carried out to date into h o w to train institutional agents in a culturally-sensitive approach to development, m a k e it possible to
¿
formulate certain general principles that should govern the content and modalities of such training: •
^
A s a response to the extreme specialisation of training curricula and professional tasks n o w prevalent, a broad and trans-disciplinary approach should be used, in order to counterbalance the narrowness of m u c h post-graduate teaching.
•
N e w training and professional profiles, neither specifically cultural nor specialised, should be designed for decision-making and implementation personnel in development institutions.
•
N e w disciplines (social and h u m a n sciences) should b e introduced into the existing curricula, and parallel specialised teaching channels should be launched.
•
Pre-service training should always be complemented b y in-service training and further special training sessions during the course of an agent's professional life.
•
N e w curricula based o n a balance between theoretical teaching and practical experience should be designed; c o m m o n core teaching and optional subjects should be introduced in the more theoretical subjects.
4
352
CONCLUSION:
FROM ACTOR TO FACILITATOR: RETHINKING INSTITUTIONAL INTERVENTION
In a cultural approach to development, the role of the institutions is not to act, so m u c h as to facilitate action by the other actors involved in the development process. The institutions must interpret their major strategic objectives in terms that will m a k e possible the emergence of culturally-sensitive sustainable projects based upon a genuine plurality of development models. The key to this process is to "translate" institutional programmes into framework documents which dictate neither methods nor aims, but indicate the criteria and terms of reference within which projects originating in thefieldhave to operate. In support of this reform in institutional planning, a number of concepts, models and instruments have been proposed in this Chapter. S o m e of these are n e w , some are already familiar from other contexts, but have not yet been used to further a cultural approach. In both cases, the presentation m a d e here is not intended to be the last w o r d on the possibilities represented by these innovations, but rather to encourage discussion and suggest n e w ways forward for those w h o wish to experiment with n e w roles for the development institutions.
353
Summary 1. Present Situation
•
In the present situation, the institutions1 specific mandates m a k e it difficult for them to take a cultural approach to development.
•
Nevertheless, there are some signs of change: -
some U N agencies have begun to include certain cultural aspects in their
programming and planning methods (World Bank, U N D P , F A O , etc.); - the same evolution can be seen in the bilateral co-operation agencies, such as C I D A ; - the larger development N G O s , moving in the same direction, have already gone m u c h further ( O X F A M , C C F D , etc.). •
Moreover, methods are increasingly in place to co-ordinate efforts so as to produce in the future more comprehensive policies (inter-agency projects, n e w co-ordinating function for U N D P , etc. ) .
2. Methodological problems
•
In spite of this evolution, serious methodological problems still exist, for three major reasons: - sectorial divisions within and between institutions still remain, though the need for a holistic approach to development is widely agreed upon; - the need to define and w o r k towards long-term aims is opposed by loyalty to mediumand short-term planning systems; - the logic of planning makes it difficult for institutions to cope with cultural and societal diversities.
•
S o m e of the most crucial methodological issues are linked to: - connnunication procedures and process within institutions; - flow of information from outside; - the existing "business culture" (which is difficult to change).
3. Improving communication-information for institutions •
The communication process within institutions should be reassessed, with special emphasis on the following points: - consultation/decision interaction; - balanced budgetary/administrative/,rhuman development" discussions; - plurality in planning hypothesis;
354
- m o r e direct consideration of feed-back in designing top-down instructions. • N e e d to refine quantitative data and pay particular attention to developing qualitative data from the field and "contextualising" specific information. • Another usefiü instrument might be a cultural self-evaluation questionnaire, such as that elaborated by W H O : - cultural considerations in policies and decision-making - economic vs cultural feasibility - cultural aspects in programme planning and management; - management of cultural cleavages; - cultural dimensions in health research; - cultural training of health professionals. •
A m o r e structured response could be given in terms of: - centralisation/decentralisation of decision-making and services; - enhancement of bottom-up demands.
•
Inter-institutional communication processes should also become systematic at all levels: joint strategies, projects andfieldwork.
•
In order to design culturally-sensitive development policies and cultural development policies, national cultural assessments should be conducted. Their conclusions might be used afterwards to design n e w culturally-sensitive development programmes at the subregional and regional level.
4. Indispensable methodological instruments It is indispensable to develop n e w methodological instruments to enable institutions to m o v e from their present working techniques towards a cultural approach in their policies and actions. i. •
Cultural indicators of development Lessons should be drawn from w o r k already carried out regarding indicators of cultural development, qualitative development indicators and the human development indicators system initiated by the U N D P ;
•
in assessing the feasibility and possible use of cultural indicators of development, m o r e indepth analysis of h o w cultural phenomena can be translated into figures should be conducted;
•
limited experiments should be undertaken in certain areas: demographic behaviour, legal institutions,
religion,
language
and ethnicity,
formal/informal
business
systems,
modern/traditional medicine, dietary and consumer habits;
355
• m o r e in-depth research should be carried out into non-material cultural features: membership of community/nation/people, cultural identity, change/acceptability, rules of family life, conflict-solving systems, joint use of traditional and m o d e r n technologies and k n o w - h o w ; this research could be conducted through secondary analysis of existing data, opinion polls, case studies and participatoryfieldresearch; •
qualitative indicators could be elaborated for the relationships such as those involving time, the
environment,
body
and food,
person
vs
group,
hierarchy
and
»
power,
tradition/innovation. In these areas, a distinction should be m a d e between "objective" and
^
"subjective" indicators. ii. Systematising the flow of information on culture and development •
It is crucial to systematise the flow of information on the interactions between cultures and development. Both general and specific inter-relations should be considered.
•
T h e subsequent tasks to be carried out would be the following ones: - primary data collection and processing (with special emphasis o n regions where available information is still insufficient, for example, Africa, certain areas of Asia, etc.); - secondary information analysis; - strengthening or networking specialised data banks; - launching observatories on culture and development.
• A m o r e active role should be given to informal networks,fieldworkers, resource persons, and persons experienced in collecting information. Hi. Reconsidering planning models •
T h e orientations of planning models and their explicit or implicit contents and assumptions should be analysed in depth.
• N e w concepts and methods should be proposed and discussed with a view to improving and refining them: - bottom-up planning; - transversal or "thematic" planning; - action-reflection-project planning;
"
- umbrella programmes and project clusters. •
Special attention should be given to the possible use of umbrella programmes or masterplans by the institutions. Such programmes would specify general criteria and verification procedures (^cahiers des charges") determining eligibility for project funding.
• In the field, numerous small projects or project clusters should be elaborated and implemented by the local development actors, calling w h e n needed o n funding from the institutions, within the rules described above.
356
¿,
iv. Training systems in culturally-sensitive development for decision-makers • Lessons should be learnt from the numerous training sessions on the cultural dimensions of development organised by U N E S C O since the 1980s, and from the training models drawn up for the Organisation, as also from existing training systems forfieldworkers. • Experimental sessions should be organised for senior officers working in development institutions or public administrations and the economic and social sectors. • Special attention should be given to the recently-created African Itinerant College for Culture and
Development.
• All these proposals should be considered in the light of the general hypothesis of a shift in the role of development institutions from actors to facilitators.
357
GENERAL CONCLUSION Cultures should b e repositioned at the core of development strategies; the key role o f field situations and fieldwork must be acknowledged; programmes and projects should be defined so as to produce a genuine compatibility between the logic of the institutions and that of specific societies and cultures; the role of the institutions should shiñ from direct action to
¿
facilitating the role of the other development actors: such are the major conclusions to which this w o r k has led us.
-.
^
A t all levels o f action and reflection, the principles of a cultural approach to development can be summarized as follows: • long-term perspective; •
integrated approach;
•
genuine adaptation to the diversity and creativity of cultures;
• participatory development and partnership; •
acknowledging the limits of the rationalism that is inherent in planning techniques.
A t a strictly methodological level, questioning development from the standpoint of culture results in a reversal of the classical perspective: • planning w o r k , includingfinancialand budgetary decisions, should originate in the field and spread from there up towards the decision-making centers; •
a project's justification lies essentially in concrete situations (sometimes called the "project context") where problems felt and expressed by local actors m a y turn out to require external intervention;
•
similarly., the notion of participation should evolve towards that of partnership: building bridges between external intervention and modes of action on the one hand, and the local populations' creativity and authentic culture, o n the other hand. Gradually, the institutions' involvement should cease as and w h e n the project or the process is well underway and has established itself as self-supporting.
Diversities in cultures and in situations also imply that a priori models cannot be used for economic and social transformation, but that variety and diversity of itineraries towards h u m a n development must be accepted, and even fostered. Finally, the complexity of the relationship between the predictable and the unpredictable m a k e s it indispensable that a project's relevance should be periodically verified, and if necessary, strategic documents of all kinds should be redefined, so as to incorporate the principle of uncertainty, and the eventuality of unforeseen evaluations.
358
t,
F r o m these remarks, even more direct consequences can be drawn concerning the agendas for action of the institutions, and even the format of their planning documents. Thus, timetables and planning schedules which are too strict and constraining will not coincide with the evolutionary rhythms of societies, especially those of the South. They m a y regulate the programming of institutional means, in relation to the results expected, but they will not necessarily correspond to or adequately cater for the in-depth effects of innovation o n the social and cultural fabric of h u m a n communities. A n e w type of co-operation should also be developed between the institutions and the field. Institutions should define the major principles of their policies through master plans or umbrella projects, combined with justification criteria for responding to requests for assistance. Projects themselves should originate in thefieldand will necessitate the mobilization of local actors with the support offieldworkers. Through this process, appropriate (and complex) responses to expressed need for cultural, social and economic change or continuity, as voiced by the population, can gradually be built up. It should be noted that the concepts and tools presented in this book need to be tested in several w a y s : 1. Through pilot projects truly born at the grassroots level and to which institutions give their support, b y respecting the population's criteria of choice. 2. Through the simplified presentation of these concepts and tools in the form of small practical handbooks, to be used by fieldworkers and development agents. 3. Through their "translation" into terms that are related to the specific working environment and responsibilities of given development institutions, in areas such as: population, health, gender, children and youth, h u m a n settlements and urban development, environment, agriculture and animal raising, the informal sector and micro-businesses.
359
Necessity of inter-institutional co-operation and assessment of the institutions' role
O n e of the conditions for the success o f such a project is inter-institutional cooperation, as one direct consequence of the acknowledgment of the integrating and integrated character of culture in development (cf Ismail Serageldin's quotation on the front page of this book).
j
A
second condition is a proper assessment of the role of. the institutions in
4
development actions. Even their accumulated k n o w - h o w , revalorised by various improvements in their methods and techniques, should not allow them to substitute the central role of other actors, in particular the local actors and populations. It pertains to them rather to define the objectives and methods of their o w n development, according to their needs and criteria, thus fixing the limits of external intervention. Action research and reflection should focus o n this issue and thusbring to light the principles underlying the choices of the decision-makers. Research action and participatory research have a key role to play in this respect.
Training and beyond
This remark leads to a third condition for the successful completion of projects: training and sensitizing decision-makers and institutional officers working in development, to be aware of the cultural aspects and effects of their work. Here, the follow-up to this book has already begun: an African Itinerant College for Culture and Development has been launched, thanks to joint action from U N E S C O and U N D P ; but m u c h still remains to be done in this field.
Beyond the issue of training itself, what is at stake is a profound change in attitudes to and ways of understanding societal and cultural diversities. If this objective seems easily accessible in relation to the w o r k of "operational" officers, the issue becomes m u c h more complex w h e n it comes to those responsible for strictlyfinancialdecisions. For in this area, choices are still m a d e b y analysis based, if not on the notion of profitability itself, then at least
"*
on that of short-term efficiency leading to clearly visibile results. A n assessment of cultural and social costs over the m e d i u m and long term should undoubtedly help to reposition this type of criteria and better distinguish between the means, important as they are, and the objectives of the international effort towards h u m a n development.
Thus, the World Decade for Cultural Development has opened up a vast n e w challenge for the developers, that of creating a culturally-sensitive sustainable development. It is n o w the
360
j,
responsibility of all involved in development w o r k to carry this challenge forward and to strengthen their resolve, so as to bring about lasting and fruitful change. The proposals that have been m a d e under the auspices of the Decade correspond to questions which are increasingly the major preoccupation of the different agencies within the U N system. O n the answers that will be given to these questions, depends the possibility of reinventing development roles and methods so as to achieve genuine economic and social transformation, and with it the likelihood of there emerging a n e w union which can c o m m a n d the allegiance of all the stake-holders in the development process.
361
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Yeh, Stephen 1994 "Culture and the East Asian Development Model", World Commission for Culture and Development. Costa Rica Meeting ,Feb. 1994
371
List of agencies consulted
1. Institutions and agencies of the United Nations sytem • • • • • •
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
United Nations ( U N ) Joint Inspection Unit of the United Nations (JIU) United Nations Conference on Environment and Development ( U N C E D ) United Nations Children's Fund ( U N I C E F ) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development ( U N C T A D ) United Nations Development Programme ( U N D P ) • Planning and Co-ordination Office • Bureau for Programme Policy and Evaluation United Nations Environment Programme ( U N E P ) United Nations Fund for Population Activities ( U N F P A ) United Nations Institute for Training and Research ( U N I T A R ) United Nations University ( U N U ) World Food Programme ( W F P ) Economic Commission for Africa ( E C A ) Economic Commission for Europe ( E C E ) Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean ( E C L A C ) Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia ( E S C W A ) United Nations Centre for H u m a n Settlements ( H A B I T A T ) International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of W o m e n ( I N S T R A W ) United Nations Research Institute for Social Development (UNRISD) International Labour Office (ILO) Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) World Health Organisation ( W H O ) World Bank/International Finance Corporation (IFC) International Monetary Fund (IMF) World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) United Nations Industrial Development Organisation ( U N I D O ) World Tourism Organisation ( W T O )
2. Multilateral co-operation • • •
Commission of the European Conununities (CEC) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( O E C D ) Council of Europe (CE)
3. Bilateral co-operation • • • • • • •
Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) Danish International Development Agency (DANTJDA) Finnish International Development Agency (FINNIDA) Norwegian Agency for International Development ( N O R A D ) Ministry for Co-operation ( B M Z ) (Germany) Ministry for Co-operation and Development (France)
372
4. Non-governmental organisations
RESERACH AGENCIES AND NETWORKS • • • • • • • • • • •
European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) Association of Asian Social Science Research Councils ( A A S S R E C ) ( N e w Delhi) Association of Development Research and Training Institutes of Asia and the Pacific (ADIPA) (Kuala Lumpur) Association of Arab Institutes and Centres for Economic and Social Research (AICARDES) Council for the Development of Economic and Social Research in Africa ( C O D E S R I A ) Latin American Social Science Council ( C L A C S O ) Graduate Institute of Development Studies (Geneva) Institute of Quantitative Economics (Tunis) Institute of Development and International Relations ( I R M O ) (Zagreb) International Co-operative Research Association (Paris) "Cultures" Network (Brussels)
OPERATIONAL BODIES AND NETWORKS • Conference of International Catholic Organisations (Geneva) • Catholic Committe against Hunger and for Development ( C C H D ) (Paris) • Oxford Committe for Famine Relief ( O X F A M ) (Oxford) • Panos Institute (London) • Association de la Nouvelle Economie Fraternelle (NEF) ( N e w Fraternal Economy Association ) (Paris)
373
List of abbreviations ABD CEC DANIDA ECA ECE ECLAC ESCAP ESCWA FAO FINNIDA IBRD ILO NORAD OECD OXFAM SIDA UNESCO UNFPA UNICEF WHO
Asian Development Bank Commission of the European Communities Danish International Development Agency Economic Commission for Africa Economic Commission for Europe Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean Economic Commission for Asia and the Pacific Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Finnish International Development Agency International Bank for Reconstruction and Development International Labour Organisation Norwegian International Development Agency Organization for International Cooperation and Development Oxfam Committee for Famine Relief Swedish Development Agency United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization United Nations Population Fund United Nations Children's Fund World Health Organization
374
List of Boxes Box 1
Towards a globalized system
23
Box 2
Development
25
Box 3
H u m a n development defined
26
Box 4
Traditional knowledge
33
Box 5
Featuring H u m a n Beings
33
Box 6
Indivisible culture
Box 7
Drinking beer as "social capital"
35
Box 8
Foreign aid and local needs
39
Box 9
Opportunity or risk?
40
Box 10
Example : A M a y a approach to environment issues
43
Box 11
Urban Culture
44
Box 12
A Pluri-cultural and multi-polar world
45
Box 13
Sustainable development and social disruption
71
Box 14
Environment and cultural diversities
72
Box 15
Widening choices to everyone
73
Box 16
Development, having and being
75
Box 17
Rootless growth
76
Box 18
Learning: The Treasure within
79
Box 19
U N N e w Agenda for the development of Africa in the 1990's
84
Box 20
Fruitful diversity of cultures
86
Box 21
Globalization and Diversity
86
Box 22
Taking cultural aspects into account and inter-institutional strategies in
'.
34
thefightagainst A I D
87
Box 23
Unpredictable Future
87
Box 24
Poverty in the World: beyond the globalfiguresmajor societal diversities
91
Box 25
A n example of modélisation: interactions between growth and combat against poverty and social inequalities
104
Box 26
Cultural Values and the "Asian Economic Miracle"
107
Box 27
U N E S C O Programme of prospective studies
118
Box 28
Regional Prospective studies
119
Box 29
National long-term perspective studies
122
30
The World Bank: cultural features of sub-Saharan Africa to be
taken into account in institutional and economic management
125
Box 31
Participation: on people's o w n terms
140
Box 32
Consultation V s Participation
141
Box 33
E N D A T M : Partnership with rural communities for developing solar energy in Senegal
142
Box 34
F A O / I F A D : Keita, Integrated rural development - a success story
144
Box 35
A stimulating paradox: Non-institutional, non-development, non-externally funded, non-project, self-sustained initiative for improving daily life conditions : The L E A P Program in India
145
Box 36
Participation
147
Box 37
E N D A - T M : Strategic processes of afieldworkersteam (1986-1995)
148
Box 38
Buddhist and communal approaches to development
153
Box 39
Community Conflicts and Consensus
160
Box 40
Rural Radios ( F A O )
162
Box 41
Self-disclosure and self-development
163
Box 42
Avoiding to solve problems for others
166
Box 43
Field Worker as Mediator: Managing Cultural Conflict
167
Box 44
The hidden hand
169
Box 45
C a r d a m o m seeds and the teacher
171
Box 46
Participatory Evaluation
174
Box 47
The World Bank: Zairian Agricultural Project
194
Box 48
U N I C E F : The potable water program in the Ounein Valley, an example of the discrepancy between the anticipated attitudes of the target population and their "real" needs and attitudes
195
Box 49
O E C D : A discussion of the use of national or external experts
198
Box 50
Anthropology: a culturally-biased science?
198
Box 51
I L O : Design, monitoring and evaluating of technical co-operation programs and projects
Box 52
200
Cultural "elements" which influence the organisation of agricultural work in Bantu Africa
212
Box 53
Example : The Unfortunate Elephant
216
Box 54
U S A I D ' s Social Soundness Analysis
220
Box 55
Use your o w n best judgement at all times
221
Box 56
U N D P : framework for elaborating a project document ( P R O D O C )
227
Box 57
O E C D Development Centre Acceptability Studies and Models
231
Box 58
U S A E D Senegal Program for the 1990s
232
Box 59
U N D P : H u m a n development initiative in the Republic of Guinea
234
Box 60
World Bank: Preliminaryfinancialanalysis of projects requiring a loan application
240
Box 61
Commission of the European Communities: project planning and funding
242
Box 62
Grameen Bank: a banker's dream.
243
Box 63
Suspension bridges in the mountain valleys of Nepal
244
Box 64
The O E C D : A discussion of the use of national and third-country experts
253
Box 65
Partnership: N G O / b a n k e r
254
Box 66
A n indigenous peoples' co-operative in Ecuador
255
Box 67
Granting credit where it is needed
256
Box 68
U N I C E F : Self-management experiments in local development projects in Africa
257
Box 69
Time as perceived by economists and by communities in Africa
259
Box 70
Continuous project control questionnaire (main headings)
264
Box 71
U N D P questionnaire for project evaluators
269
Box 72
Qualitative vs quantitative
278
Box 73
C I D A : 85 conclusions on the importance of local involvement
279
Box 74
U N I C E F : Toward in-depth and participatory project evaluation
280
Box 75
World Cultural Atlas
286
Box 76
The role of the institutions: technical assistance to development actors
306
Box 77
The need for an integrated approach in planning and implementing international assistance in urban development
310
Box 78 I nter-institutional strategies and integrating cultural aspects in the struggle against A I D S
312
Box 79
U N I C E F s medium-term plan
313
Box 80
E S C A P : Sri Lanka, an example of differential demographic-cultural analysis
333
Box 81
The World Bank's experience with "bottom-up" planning: community participation in development in Mexico
343
Box 82
Strategic Plan for U N A E D S (1996-2000)
345
Box 83
E N D A Morocco: Action-analysis-project in a project to improve
377
the living conditions of disadvantaged groups in Salé
347
&>
378
List of figures Figure 1: Cultural Concept
29
Figure 2 : Culture as an aspect of every sector
31
Figure 3 : The planning process: a model outline....
92
Figure 4 : Research results V s planning and decision making
94
Figure 5 : Pre-Industrial Cultural M o d e l
112
Figure 6 ilndustrial/market cultural model
113
Figure 7 : Futures as a forward-looking matrix.
121
Figure 8 : N L T P S preparation structure
123
Figure 9 : Logic of the cultural approach
134
Figure 10 : Relations betweenfieldworkersand institutions
137
Figure 11 : Rice arming calendar
156
Figure 12 : Relations betweenfieldworkers and other agents/organisations
176
Figure 13 : Relations betweenfieldworkersand institutions....
177
Figure 14 : The Six phases of the project cycle
236
Figure 15 : Model C E C
237
Figure 16: Cultural approach model
239
List of tables
Table 1: W h y these tools (summary)
100
Table 2: The scenarios method
116
Table 3: The Futures Field : Tools for managing change
120
Table 4: Participation: institutions and populations
143
Table 5: Summary of Indicators of Culturally-Sensitive Development
157
Table 6: First outline of a project
204
Table 7: The four groups of factors in the criteria matrix of the L o m é Convention
209
Table 8: Cultural factors related to rural development in Bantu Africa
210
Table 9: R R A and P R A compared
221
Table 10: General objectives and principles of the United Nations and major objectives of the World Decade for Cultural Development
229
Table 11 : Project Monitoring
263
Table 12: Impact of mass tourism
275
Table 13 : Evaluationbybeneficiari.es
281
Table 14 : W H O : Proposals for a tool for cultural self-evaluation
320
Table 15: Elaboration of a participatory planning method
344
