Cultural Indicators of Human Development in Africa

Defining the strategic priorities for viable research into cultural indicators of development with universal applicability has been on the agenda of a number of organisations for quite some time. Adapting those indicators to Africa's present need for poverty alleviation, sustainable development and cultural liberty has been felt as a worthwhile effort by institutions like OCPA, the Interarts Foundation, the Forum 2004, UNESCO, and African Futures Institute, which have sponsored several events to that end during the last two years.

 

At the outset of the process, those organisations had understood and accepted that it would be a daunting challenge, because of the multiplicity of social, economic and political factors and actors, which shape and determine culture on the African continent. It was also understood that key to the success of such an undertaking would be the capacity to mobilise an African expertise in that area. The sponsors did therefore their best to gather academics, policy makers and practitioners for identifying priority areas and a set of cultural indicators for human development.

 

A starting point is to recognise the historical context of the current discourses of culture and development on the African continent, key amongst which have been the nature and the processes of formation of states and market forces.

 

Equally, it is important to acknowledge the need to make a new vision of citizenship central to a global discourse of human rights and cultural rights in development as there needs to be a continental commitment to the management of cultural diversity, and to creating and enhancing a culture of respect for both human and cultural rights.

 

The OCPA is now developing the second phase of this initiative, namely the research for the elaboration of a set of Cultural indicators.

The project proposes to achieve this goal through the systematic analysis of the results of the available literature and complementary field research in order to elaborate operational indicators and appropriate methodology for integrating the relevant cultural factors in health, peace, poverty and governance promoting strategies and projects.

 

The project should focus on the analysis of the existing literature and good practice as well as on the adaptation of existing primary indicators, the complementary field research should only be foreseen to cover gaps identified in the data. There will be a spill over from one area to another.

 

Observations concerning culture and one issue(health, peace, poverty or governance) can be significant to the other issues examined in the framework of the overall research project.

 

Each sub-project should show how these links would be taken into consideration as these issues belong to the same reality that cannot be viewed in slices. They should be studied in a holistic approach.

Three elements are critical: