'No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive' Gandhi
We galvanise support among Commonwealth governments and civil society groups to promote healthy homegrown cultural trades and industries.
Government policies and regulatory practices shape the environments in which writers, poets, visual artists, filmmakers and other cultural practitioners are able to develop, create and perform. As a development organisation with a cultural mandate, we recognise that culture must no longer be the 'missing pillar' of development.
We play an active role in advocating for culture to be given greater consideration in development planning and implementation, and for artists and practitioners to be part of this dialogue. We lend our support to initiatives that expand arenas and operating environments for cultural practitioners by influencing policy makers and the public at local, national and international levels.
We promote dialogue between civil society and government on the ratification and implementation of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Drawing on our 2008 research report, Putting Culture First we support the formation of national, regional and international collaborations so as to engage the cultural sector with governments, civil society and international processes.