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Contributions from
the Column
Tribune
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Puzzling trade issues for Brazil’s government after the failure of import substitution
Why cultural industries matter for the development of poor countries
12/2005
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[ Africa ]
Under-rated arts
Culture industries serve as important catalysts for tolerance, democratic discourse and social awareness of problems such as HIV/AIDS. Artistic expression helps societies to define visions and goals. Nonetheless, tapping Africa’s creative potential hardly features in the mainstream agenda of development professionals.
[ By Paul Brickhill ]
Culture goes to the heart of what a society is or hopes to be. If Africa is to achieve rapid social and economic progress, development strategies must integrate the extraordinary powers of cultural enterprise to articulate social identity and its values, to stimulate intellectual discourse throughout society, and to uncover and transform the human condition.
Most development debates are pitched around the web of economic relationships with poverty, social infrastructure (education, health provision), governance and human rights. This framework does not adequately embrace the holistic nature of social progress, in which cultural vibrancy and interaction – in short, a people’s sense of themselves – is integral. Development will not succeed unless it is grounded in people’s own perception of their world as individuals and communities, their histories, and their future potential.
Africans were hurt when the Live Eight concerts, a multi-million dollar global media extravaganza “about” African poverty, hardly made connection with Africa’s vast musical heritage. What an opportunity missed! It is time to re-think. Cultural output is not accidental. It needs organisational, financial and technical capacity. Africa’s cultural terrain exhibits many examples of home-grown innovation, skill and passionate social commitment, attributes critical for sustainable development.
Globally, cultural industries have grown phenomenally since 1980. In rich countries, urban economic rejuvenation has been stimulated by cultural industries which are today key components of world markets and domestic economies. Technological innovations offer unprecedented opportunities to expand cultural industries. According to conservative UNESCO figures, annual international trade in printed matter, music, visual arts and hardware associated with cinema, radio and TV quadrupled from $95 billion to $388 billion between 1980 and 1998.
Africa is well-endowed with creative energy, but infrastructure and policy framework remains weak. Therefore, the continent has not yet taken advantage of global growth in cultural industries. Much economically relevant activity has in fact shifted to rich countries. Significant numbers of African musicians, scholars, writers and artists tend to produce and publish in Britain, France and the USA; the economic loss to Africa is incalculable.
Nevertheless, nascent cultural industries within Africa are an important, growing and sustainable source of employment and wealth creation. This is rarely appreciated since culture is typically a small-medium enterprise and informal sector activity, and not captured in economic indicators. The economic potential of the cultural sector is massively under-estimated. In my country, Zimbabwe, thousands of people directly and indirectly derive a livelihood in the cultural sector, and amidst considerable economic crisis, it has proved amongst the more robust sources of gainful employment.
Where politics and ethnicity divide, culture serves as a force for social cohesion. Culture tends to rise above political and ethnic pressures. It reflects broader, long-term societal issues. Many examples illustrate that cultural output ultimately cannot be controlled by political and other elites. Strengthening cultural diversity reinforces tolerance. The impact of cultural diversity on human rights awareness is direct. The “world of ideas” in books, art, music and theatre underpins democratic values, especially freedom of expression.
Culture is also closely related to “identity” (national, ethnic, personal), which in turn is bound up with development. African societies are passing through a fast epochal transition from rural to urban life. As with all societies, culture is a tool of understanding and stability in rapidly changing social reality. Creative enterprise in Africa tends to be comparatively gender-balanced. Culture shapes positive values and social codes and disseminates important information. It raises awareness, for example about HIV/AIDS, gender and corruption.
There is no such thing as a people without cultural values and output. Culture, as a social and economic resource is, by its nature, indigenous even where the technical facilities and hardware may be imported. By strengthening cultural output and access to cultural facilities one is reinforcing a sector with a special power to regenerate and sustain itself through local resource mobilisation. Africa has the requisite skills to produce and re-produce cultural output of all kinds. All involved should do more to network – for instance with our initiative African Synergy/Pamberi Trust, which started in Zimbabwe and now extends to much of Southern Africa.
Digital opportunities
Public broadcasting has proved to be problematic in parts of Africa as a medium of free cultural expression. Radio and TV have political ramifications and governments are tempted to impose controls. This in itself needs to be and is being challenged. Nonetheless, the power of the cultural sector to overcome such regulatory and political restrictions serves as a fine example of its dynamic qualities. Throughout Africa today, unrestricted production of CDs, digital film and web-based publishing is growing exponentially.
The rapid advance of digital technology has a profound effect in Africa. Apart from access to internet, digital technology is revolutionising cultural output. Costs and skills associated with film-making have become more accessible. Design and production of printed matter is within reach of almost all IT users. Moreover, recording and distributing music has become much easier.
For example, within five years Nigeria has become one of the largest straight-to-video film-producers in the world. The country produces 650 films every year. This kind of leapfrogging thanks to technical innovation can also be applied to books (print-on-demand), music (recording and performance technologies), photography; as well as IT and internet.
Less than 20 years ago, Africa was described as a “bookless” continent. This exaggeration reflected the alarming paucity of circulation of books. There exists a special link between books (in comparison to other media) and information-flow. Intellectual development, in the broad sense, is directly linked to economic and social advancement.
How will the continent haul itself out of endemic poverty and social upheaval when the overwhelming majority does not have any access to appropriate books in general and libraries in particular? The cliché that information is power is literal in development and this applies as much to youth, women, marginalised, poor, workers and farmers as to the intelligentsia and business elites.
Print-on-demand is a technology by which short run printed matter may be produced to book quality relatively cheaply. It has potential to revolutionise book output in Africa in two ways.
– Books can be stored and transferred electronically, rather than physically – meaning the problems of developing intra-African book trade can be overcome.
– Africa’s dependence on import of scholarly and technical books needed in small quantities can be overcome.
Nonetheless, most African countries do not have any print-on-demand installation, even though this technology can easily operate on a self-sustainable basis after initial capital investment. Almost unbelievably, it has not even been tested as a potential way of providing books in key areas.
Conclusion
Cultural centres, celebrating local culture, providing access to culture and facilities for artists to find an audience are a common-place method all over the world of local cultural exchange, advancement, skills development et cetera. Yet, Africa has very few such centres to celebrate its immense and proud cultural achievements, to stimulate creative and intellectual activity, and foster ideas of tolerance, human rights. Cultural centres are largely self-sustainable after initial capital investment. For instance the Harare Book Café, a small community centre, provides livelihood for over 300 artists and hosts 500 diverse arts performances and discussions annually. It could be replicated all over Africa. One may ask, why are successful models not being replicated in this way, as part of mainstream development efforts in Africa?
The social and economic impact of growth in cultural industries has an immediate, positive effect on local wealth and job creation, social cohesion, human rights and democracy. Above all, the cultural sector offers a voice to marginalised people. Cultural industries are economically sustainable. The relative costs of aid intervention, much of which can be accomplished through partnership, are lower than for other sectors. There exists a window of opportunity to use culture as a catalyst for social enlightenment with economic growth. It must be grasped.
Paul Brickhill
has spent 25 years working as a bookseller, publisher, writer, musician and arts administrator; engaged with development of literature and performing arts. He looks at social development through the prism of Africa’s abundant and diverse cultural life. He lives in Harare and is the director of African Synergy/Pamberi Trust, a cultural network embracing 35 partners.
bricks@mweb.co.zw
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