A joint initiative of the Commonwealth Foundation and the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development.
The Culture and Conflict programme is a three year initiative to further the role of culture as a way of engaging with people and communities in countries which have undergone recent experiences of profound social upheaval and conflicts.
The programme supports and develops projects in collaboration with civil society organisations using culture in its widest sense, in areas of conflict and post conflict, as a way of engaging with communities to build peace and reconciliation. The different strands of the programme will help build the capacity of local practitioners and cultural organisations as they work with communities to address issues of conflict and reconciliation. It will also help to strengthen networking between different countries and cultural practitioners working in these countries, and to win greater international support for the use of cultural resources in conflict and post-conflict situations.
The Programme focuses on three main areas: grants, research and a partnership network. The countries that will be targeted during the three years are Rwanda, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
Expected outputs
- A series of projects that stimulate and support cultural reflection and production in conflict and post-conflict situations in four countries.
- A collection of 4 tangible outputs which capture the experiences of the participants and highlight the impact of the grant projects in the context of the country concerned.
- A portfolio of research exploring the role of culture in conflict and post-conflict societies.
- A peer-to-peer network of individuals and organisations working in conflict and post-conflict societies.
The Prince Claus Fund is a Dutch independent foundation with the main objective of expanding insight into cultures and promoting interaction between culture and development. The Fund regards the interaction between culture and development as confirmation of culture’s integral role in development processes. The Fund works jointly with individuals and organisations primarily in Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Latin America on the realisation of activities and publications contributing to a positive interaction between culture and development. It receives annual support from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with additional funding from the Dutch Postcode Lottery.