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May 21, 2013

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Home » City specials » Hangzhou

The Hangzhou Declaration: Promote culture

By Xu Wenwen | May 21, 2013, Tuesday | Print Edition

FRENCH musician Jean-Michel Jarre, a UNESCO goodwill ambassador, cited the power of art and culture when he addressed the international conference last week in Hangzhou titled "Culture: Key to Sustainable Development."

The gathering was the first UNESCO international congress focusing on the link between culture and sustainable development since the Stockholm Conference in 1998.

"Fifteen years have past, and the time is mature and ready for the gathering which brings us together to define policies, refine the message and project all of us to a new dimension," Francesco Bandarin, UNESCO's assistant director-general for culture, said at the closing ceremony.

The congress last week was attended by more than 500 representatives from 82 countries, as well as 26 international organizations.

It produced The Hangzhou Declaration, which calls for "placing culture at the heart of sustainable development policies."

All representatives rose for a standing ovation as the declaration was passed. It is intended to be a guide for development of world culture over the next five to 10 years.

"The issue of the declaration will drive the sustainable development in culture, economy and society around the world," Zhang Jianting, the vice mayor of Hangzhou, said in his speech.

"Hangzhou will put into practice the declaration and, along with other countries, promote implementation of the declaration's spirit," he said.

UNESCO chose China to hold the conference for two reasons: "China is an immerging country, and China's government recently established the policy of advancing culture to shape the future of China," Bandarin told Shanghai Daily.

China selected Hangzhou because the city is dedicated to developing its culture. In 2012 it was designated a UNESCO City of Crafts and Folk Art, the first Chinese city to receive such recognition. In 2011, the West Lake and surrounding area was designated by UNESCO as a world cultural landscape.

During the conference, experts discussed how culture works in sustainable development.

Haitian Canadian Michaelle Jean, cofounder and copresident of the Michaelle Jean Foundation and former governor general of Canada, cited the example of her hometown Port au Prince, Haiti. Three years ago its structures and environment were devastated by a massive earthquake, but not the culture.

Today the country rebuilds its tourism, revives its domestic economy and does not take financial assistance, partially because "culture controlledthe chaos," she said.

"Some local NGOs supported people by showing outdoor films, made by local filmmakers and featuring survivors' stories. UNESCO also supported initiatives like film, dance, music and other cultural events to promote social cohesion," she said.

Sir Fazle Hasan Abed, founder and chairman of the BRAC Foundation, an international development organization based in Bangladesh, cited the example of using a little play to promote vaccinations. The foundation had sent vaccines to Bangladesh, but parents were not willing to give the oral liquid to their children. Local NGOs developed a skit to explain and promote vaccination. It was performed and filmed around the country more than 150,000 times. The vaccine was accepted.

The views of experts, scholars, artists, musicians and cultural practitioners of all kinds are contained in The Hangzhou Declaration released last week.

Main points of The Hangzhou Declaration:

￥ Integrate culture within all development policies and programs;

￥ Mobilize culture to foster peace and reconciliation;

￥ Ensure cultural rights for all to promote inclusive social development;

￥ Leverage culture for poverty reduction and inclusive economic development;

￥ Build on culture to promote environmental sustainability;

￥ Strengthen resilience to disaster and combat climate change through culture;

￥ Value, safeguard and transmit culture to future generations;

￥ Harness culture as a resource for achieving sustainable urban development and management;

￥ Capitalize on culture to foster innovative and sustainable models of cooperation.

Hangzhou


 

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