AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE, UN OFFICIALS STRESS VITAL ROLE OF CULTURE IN DEVELOPMENT

From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 12 Jun 2013 14:00:00 -0300
Subject: AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE, UN OFFICIALS STRESS VITAL ROLE OF
CULTURE IN DEVELOPMENT
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

AT GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE, UN OFFICIALS STRESS VITAL ROLE OF CULTURE
IN DEVELOPMENTNew York, Jun 12 2013 2:00PMUnited Nations officials
today highlighted the need to recognize the vital role of culture in
poverty reduction and sustainable growth, and to ensure that it is
integrated into the post-2015 development agenda.

As Member States plot the course for the global development agenda
after 2015, the target date for achieving the anti-poverty objectives
known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the General Assembly
convened today's high-level thematic debate to consider the role and
impact of culture on development.

"The significance of the nexus between culture and development for the
post-2015 agenda is not yet fully grasped,"
<"http://www.un.org/en/ga/president/67/statements/statements/June/culturedev12062013.shtml">said
the President of the Assembly, Vuk Jeremic, who convened the debate in
cooperation with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO).

"Fully embracing the potential of this nexus will also help promote a
greater sense of indivisibility and mutual belonging – a feeling that
no community or nation can fulfil its potential until it is
accompanied by the advancement of the entire mankind."

He noted that it has not been possible to reach consensus on how to
build on the agreed foundations of sustainable development in the
discussions that have taken place in recent months. "The gap between
means and ends has yet to be bridged – in my view, partly because the
cultural component has largely been absent from our discussions."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
<"http://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6895">stressed the
need to recognize that there is no "one-size-fits-all" development
model. "It is not enough to set global targets for all – we need to
adapt to each context. Too many well-intended development programmes
have failed, because they did not take cultural settings into account.
This must be an overarching principle for all development efforts."

Development has not always focused enough on people, he added. "To
mobilize people, we need to understand and embrace their culture. This
means encouraging dialogue, listening to individual voices, and
ensuring that culture and human rights inform the new course for
sustainable development. The fundamental role of culture was not fully
acknowledged within the MDGs – as a goal, an overarching principle, or
as an enabler."

In her keynote address, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova told the
meeting that no one would like to live in a world without music, art
or dance, or with only one language.

"Culture is what we are. It is the wellspring of collective
imagination, meaning and belonging. It is also a source of identity
and cohesion at a time of change. It is a source of creativity and
innovation," she stated.

"No society in the world can flourish without culture. No development
can be sustained without it. Cultural diversity is also a source to
find creative solutions to problems. It enhances critical thinking to
challenge old models," she added. "We need to fully acknowledge this
power of culture today as we shape a new global agenda to follow
2015."

The Administrator of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), Helen Clark,
<"http://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/presscenter/speeches/2013/06/12/helen-clark-statement-at-the-thematic-debate-on-culture-and-development/">highlighted
the need to think more broadly about the role of culture in
development. "As culture is vital to who we are, it is a vital aspect
of human development. And to live lives they value, people must be
free to choose their identity and to define who they are through their
culture.

"With globalization, our world is shrinking as we become more
interconnected than ever before," she continued. "But commensurate
with that, our respect for cultural diversity needs to grow. Indeed,
respect for cultural diversity and sustainable development are
mutually reinforcing and they provide the necessary basis for peace
and harmony, which development needs to thrive anywhere."

Culture, noted the UN High Representative for the Alliance of
Civilizations, Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, affects all the dimensions
of development.

"As such, a human-centred, culturally-sensitive approach to
development will yield the most effective, sustainable, inclusive
outcomes," he said. "Specifically, a culturally-diverse approach will
contribute to economic development, promote social cohesion and foster
environmental sustainability."

He added that, among other benefits, culturally-sensitive approaches
provide solutions to complex development issues in an innovative way.
"And yet, despite the benefits of cultural diversity, we continue to
witness many conflict and extreme underdevelopment worldwide. This is
because culture is either missing, misunderstood or worse,
politicized."Jun 12 2013 2:00PM
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