Christiaan De Beukelaer

Creative industries in “developing” countries: Questioning country classifications in the UNCTAD creative economy reports

The UNCTAD Creative Economy Reports (CERs) are arguably the most influential policy-oriented texts on the global scope and potential of the creative economy. They contain arguments for greater policy attention to the creative economy worldwide and statistical data to illustrate their claims. These reports argue that the creative economy is an area of growth, not only in “developed”, but also in “developing” economies. The central argument of this article is that the way the country classification used in the CERs increases the share of “developing countries” in global creative goods exports in contrast to The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) classifications. When singling out China, the share of these countries decreases even further. According to The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in 2010, 41 “developed” countries account for 51.18 per cent and 158 “developing” countries for 48.03 per cent of the global creative economy with 17 economies in transition accounting for 0.79 per cent. This obfuscates reality and obstructs the creation of evidence-based policies relevant to the creative industries. The classification of developed and developing countries is redrawn in accordance with building on data on the export of creative goods, provided by UNCTADstat. This article proposes that a more correct, balanced, and disaggregated outlook on the classification of countries is needed because one single “developing country” (China) is the single biggest exporter of creative goods in the world (25.51 per cent in 2010) yet the 49 “least developed countries” account for merely 0.11 per cent of creative goods exports (in 2010) while they comprise 880 million people (or some 12 per cent of the worlds population). In conclusion, it is argued that different kinds of developing countries need different approaches and policies. Reference is made to Burkina Faso to illustrate this point.The UNCTAD Creative Economy Reports (CERs) are arguably the most influential policy-oriented texts on the global scope and potential of the creative economy. They contain arguments for greater policy attention to the creative economy worldwide and statistical data to illustrate their claims. These reports argue that the creative economy is an area of growth, not only in “developed”, but also in “developing” economies. The central argument of this article is that the way the country classification used in the CERs increases the share of “developing countries” in global creative goods exports in contrast to The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) classifications. When singling out China, the share of these countries decreases even further. According to The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in 2010, 41 “developed” countries account for 51.18 per cent and 158 “developing” countries for 48.03 per cent of th...

Cultural policies for sustainable development: four strategic paths

Abstract In the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the United Nations in 2015, the role of culture is limited. We argue that culture’s absence is rooted in the longue durée of interplay among theoretical and policy debates on culture in sustainable development and on cultural policy since the mid-twentieth century. In response to variations in concepts and frameworks used in advocacy, policy, and academia, we propose four roles cultural policy can play towards sustainable development: first, to safeguard and sustain cultural practices and rights; second, to ‘green’ the operations and impacts of cultural organizations and industries; third, to raise awareness and catalyse actions about sustainability and climate change; and fourth, to foster ‘ecological citizenship’. The challenge for cultural policy is to help forge and guide actions along these co-existing and overlapping strategic paths towards sustainable development.

The UNESCO/UNDP 2013 Creative Economy Report: Perks and Perils of an Evolving Agenda

This article develops a critical appraisal of the UNESCO Creative Economy Report (2013). It dis-cusses continuity and change in the focus and message of the UNCTAD Creative Economy Reports. The UNESCO Report aims at Widening Development Pathways and provides a balanced engagement with the relation between culture and development. It is a welcome addition to the creative economy debate that is now uncontestably global in scope. In spite of many perks, there is always room for improvement. First, there is a need for more critical engagement with examples, including bad ones. Second, mobility and visa issues among artists remain a concern. Third, the problematic opposition of developed and developing countries is no longer useful. Finally, the limited historical framing of (cultural) policy issues often leads to myopic thinking.This article develops a critical appraisal of the UNESCO Creative Economy Report (2013). It dis-cusses continuity and change in the focus and message of the UNCTAD Creative Economy Reports. The UNESCO Report aims at Widening Development Pathways and provides a balanced engagement with the relation between culture and development. It is a welcome addition to the creative economy debate that is now uncontestably global in scope. In spite of many perks, there is always room for improvement. First, there is a need for more critical engagement with examples, including bad ones. Second, mobility and visa issues among artists remain a concern. Third, the problematic opposition of developed and developing countries is no longer useful. Finally, the limited historical framing of (cultural) policy issues often leads to myopic thinking.

Globalization, Culture and Development: The UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity

The 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions provides an international policy lens for analysing broad debates on issues of cultural globalization and development. The interdisciplinary contributions in this volume offer a fresh understanding of these key issues whilst examining cultural globalization, which is conceived in terms of artistic expressions and entertainment industries and interpreted anthropologically as the rituals, symbols, and practices of everyday life. The broad gamut of theories, methods, and evidence collected by the editors outlines UNESCOs accomplishments, shortcomings, and future policy prospects. This edited collection has a clear message: The Convention is a useful and important instrument in the debate on cultural diversity, but not broad enough or sufficient to confront major challenges concerning human rights, sustainability, and cultural diversity as a whole.

Toward an ‘African’ take on the cultural and creative industries?

This article questions the extent to which ‘Africa’ can simply buy into the creative economy discourse. This is necessary because the relative lack of attention to the cultural and creative industries on the continent in the academic literature creates a double blind. First, the empirical context in which culture is created, traded, and consumed remains absent from the largely Western literature. Second, the same Western literature serves as a way to make cultural production on the African continent fit the notion of the cultural and creative industries. This creates a tension between the cultural and creative industries models and the context in which most cultural stakeholders on the continent work. My argument is that far greater empirical attention is needed to the practices in the cultural sector across the continent, because ‘Africa’ cannot simply pick and adopt a model, it needs to conceptualize and theorize its own models and approaches to the cultural industries for this discourse to become a use...This article questions the extent to which ‘Africa’ can simply buy into the creative economy discourse. This is necessary because the relative lack of attention to the cultural and creative industries on the continent in the academic literature creates a double blind. First, the empirical context in which culture is created, traded, and consumed remains absent from the largely Western literature. Second, the same Western literature serves as a way to make cultural production on the African continent fit the notion of the cultural and creative industries. This creates a tension between the cultural and creative industries models and the context in which most cultural stakeholders on the continent work. My argument is that far greater empirical attention is needed to the practices in the cultural sector across the continent, because ‘Africa’ cannot simply pick and adopt a model, it needs to conceptualize and theorize its own models and approaches to the cultural industries for this discourse to become a useful tool.

Introduction: cultural policies for sustainable development

Abstract Sustainable development has long conceptual roots, and international organisations have played a significant role in articulating the meaning of the term and the content of the dominant discourses. Within these frames, the concept of cultural sustainability tends to be diversely defined and operationalized. This article and special issue examine culture and sustainable development in ways that articulate and contemplate different roles for cultural policy.

Culture and Sustainable Development: Beyond the Diversity of Cultural Expressions

The 2005 UNESCO Convention provides an explicit link between the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions and sustainable development in Article 13 and development cooperation in Articles 14–18. However, the Convention leaves out broader notions of cultural diversity, which include culture as a way of life and cultural rights (for latter, see Donders, Chapter 8). Therefore, we argue, the reductionist understanding of culture does not necessarily or intrinsically have the potential for sustainable development that is claimed in the 2005 Convention. As a result, the link between the diversity of cultural expressions and sustainability has limited potential for transformative action towards sustainable development.

Culture and development in Burkina Faso: Social and economic impacts explored

Like many countries around the world, Burkina Faso is trying to valorise its cultural sector and traditions for social and economic development. Policies, studies, and initiatives are devised to facilitate the materialisation of this intent. This policy analysis explores in particular a recent study conducted for the Burkinabe Ministry of Culture. Throughout the analysis there is a focus on striking issues with (1) the practical links between social and economic development, (2) definition and demarcation of culture and cultural industries, and (3) the recommendations put forward in the Report. In conclusion, it is argued that this study is timely and of some merit (particularly in showing that the cultural sector contributes 2.02% to the GDP), while much remains to be done in order to provide a more strategically useful and practically applicable understanding of the ways cultural and development policies can work to support social and economic development in the country.Like many countries around the world, Burkina Faso is trying to valorise its cultural sector and traditions for social and economic development. Policies, studies, and initiatives are devised to facilitate the materialisation of this intent. This policy analysis explores in particular a recent study conducted for the Burkinabè Ministry of Culture. Throughout the analysis there is a focus on striking issues with (1) the practical links between social and economic development, (2) definition and demarcation of culture and cultural industries, and (3) the recommendations put forward in the Report. In conclusion, it is argued that this study is timely and of some merit (particularly in showing that the cultural sector contributes 2.02% to the GDP), while much remains to be done in order to provide a more strategically useful and practically applicable understanding of the ways cultural and development policies can work to support social and economic development in the country.

Ordinary culture in a world of strangers: toward cosmopolitan cultural policy*

The image of Zwarte Piet, as part of Dutch Sinterklaas celebrations has caused heated debate in the past decade, which has polarized tensions between the ‘Dutch’ and ‘strangers’. This article argues that the debate cannot be resolved within a framework of a methodologically nationalist cultural policy. Building on Kwame Anthony Appiah’s book Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, I argue that a cosmopolitan framework for belonging is not only a normative but also a policy imperative. Cultural policy should recognize our shared global belonging, rather than building a national polis predicated on difference that sets us apart. However, a methodologically cosmopolitan cultural policy cannot be a blanket approach to replace or undermine national frameworks. It should embed the nation in a cosmopolitan public policy to accommodate cultural and religious diversity under globalization that has irrevocably eroded the illusion of a national unity.Abstract The image of Zwarte Piet, as part of Dutch Sinterklaas celebrations has caused heated debate in the past decade, which has polarized tensions between the ‘Dutch’ and ‘strangers’. This article argues that the debate cannot be resolved within a framework of a methodologically nationalist cultural policy. Building on Kwame Anthony Appiah’s book Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers, I argue that a cosmopolitan framework for belonging is not only a normative but also a policy imperative. Cultural policy should recognize our shared global belonging, rather than building a national polis predicated on difference that sets us apart. However, a methodologically cosmopolitan cultural policy cannot be a blanket approach to replace or undermine national frameworks. It should embed the nation in a cosmopolitan public policy to accommodate cultural and religious diversity under globalization that has irrevocably eroded the illusion of a national unity.

Postcolonial piracy: can the pirate speak?

as a participant observer’, she says. ‘I was a welfare mama for real –my own informant’ (p. 84). Her approach allows her to break with convention often favoured by cultural studies and feminist studies, both of which have tended to eschew what Lavie calls ‘the victim narrative’. In the final analysis, Lavie is not afraid to say, ‘I was a victim, and have no qualms about narrating my own victimhood and that of other mothers’ (p. 84). With this statement she opens up the possibility of theorizing a subaltern condition in which agency is all but impossible to enact. Whether one agrees with Lavie’s interpretation of the data, or her critical approach to ethnography and critical theory, one thing is clear: her extensive field work, as well as the wide scope of interdisciplinary theories on which she draws, makes for a thought-provoking argument; it also raises important theoretical and practical questions. Especially noteworthy are those regarding the role of bureaucracy in maintaining the State’s power, the limitations of agency, and the link between internal Jewish oppression and the question of Palestine. This book will be of interest to scholars in cultural studies, Middle Eastern studies, anthropology, women’s studies, Jewish and Israel studies, and critical race theory; scholars grappling with narratives of oppression and victimhood, identity politics, and the limitations of agency are also apt to find this work worthwhile in scholarship and teaching. The book’s engaging language and vivid descriptions make it accessible to readers beyond academia; it offers a real and raw account that is often missing from traditional academic manuscripts. As Lavie puts it, ‘This book refuses the contours of academic sentimentality ... No happy endings. Only jagged edges’ (p. 23).