Safeguarding ICH & Sustainable Development

Ananya Bhattacharya
Director www.banglanatak.com
Preface
The international community now acknowledges culture as a driver and enabler of
development and its critical role in supporting socio-economic development and social
inclusion. In this article I have shared our learning from our initiative in two states in eastern
Indian where investment in revival of art traditions led to socio-economic empowerment of the
communities. The next section takes a look at standard setting instruments and international
initiatives for integrating cultural dimensions in developmental framework. In the final section we
examine the possible role and areas of action for NGOs working for safeguarding Intangible
Cultural Heritage (ICH) so as to foster sustainable development using cultural capital as assets
for transformative action.
Culture & Sustainable Development
Sustainable development implies equitable environmental, economic and social well-being for
today and tomorrow. Cultural heritage, creative industries, sustainable cultural tourism and
cultural infrastructure contribute to improved income and job opportunities especially for women
who are the traditional bearers of ICH and youth. As per UNCTAD data published in May, 2013,
total world trade of creative goods and services amounted to US$624 billion. (UNDP, 2013).
Cultural tourism is an interesting case study. With number of annual tourists exceeding one
billion, tourism represents 9% of world gross domestic product (GDP), 30% of total exports and
services and one out of 11 jobs. As per World Bank, 25% of tourism revenue goes to people
below the poverty line in some of the poorest countries and tourism employs young people at
almost twice rate than other industries. (UNGA,2014)
Revitalization of ICH leads to strengthened cultural identities, improved self esteem and pride
among the indigenous communities leading to social inclusion. The process empowers
marginalized communities to participate fully in social and cultural life and they get a platform for
acting as social and political agency. Increased social capital and active citizenship foster
inclusive development. As Irina Bokova said in a recent debate on Culture and Development,
Culture can foster participation and craft a more balanced and meaningful development
model for the people and by the people. (UNGA,2014)
Multicultural exchange and interaction through festivals, collaborative art workshops and cultural
tourism promote cultural pluralism, social cohesion and peace through multicultural dialogue
leading to shared understanding and greater empathy for the other. Global partnerships forged

through transnational flow of creativity, multi cultural and multi-national dialogue and exchange
give people the right to access their own heritage as well as that of others.
Protection and preservation of cultural diversity, biodiversity and rejuvenation of traditional
systems of resource management contribute to environmental sustainability. In Africa, for
example, traditional leaders and doctors are vital in gaining confidence to strengthen the health
care sector, to combat HIV and to enhance education (UNGA:2014). Culture based livelihoods
and enterprise also contribute to green economy as they are inherently based on intellectual
resources and entail low resource consumption. Quality education enriched by culture transmits
shared values, knowledge and skills and supports lifelong learning.
Art for Life: A Case Study from India
Art for Life or AFL is an initiative by a social enterprise, banglanatak dot com, working across
India with a mission of fostering sustainable and equitable development. Under the trading style
of banglanatak dot com, the organization is a hybrid entity. It is a social business and Contact
Base is a not for profit organization formed by the employees. Contact Base is in consultative
status with the Intangible Cultural Heritage Committee of UNESCO (2010) and in Special
Consultative Status with UN ECOSOC (2013).
Contact Base also has a partnership with UNESCO, New Delhi for replication of AFL model
across India. Driven by the idea that poverty is caused by lack of cognizable livelihood skill, the
organization initiated AFL in 2004 with 3200 folk artists living in the state of West Bengal (in
eastern India). The aim was to develop an eco-system for revival and rejuvenation of traditional
art skills as livelihood. The project was supported by the Eastern Zonal Cultural Centre, an
autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. It was funded as a
special project under the rural livelihood scheme of the Government of India (2005-2008).
European Union supported initiatives for facilitating multi cultural exchange and development of
community led creative hubs during 2009-11. The model was replicated in the neighbouring
state of Bihar (supported by the state governments Bihar State Rural Livelihood Project with
1500 people). In 2014, AFL was awarded second prize for innovative practice in the non farm
sector at the Bihar Innovation Forum II (supported by World Bank).

Sufi sutra, a festival of peace and traditional music

Methodology and Approach

At all stages, the key strategy is ensuring the participation of the exponents of the art forms or
the living treasures in planning and implementation. As for example, training plans are drawn up
by the local teachers (gurus) and leading artists in each of the art forms in a workshop where
they interacted with contemporary artists to learn about market trends and demands.
Participation of the exponents also address pitfalls like commoditization of culture to cater to
market.
At West Bengal and Bihar three to six months of training programmes were organized at the
village level under the local art exponents and gurus involving the participation of all the 4700
beneficiaries to strengthen basic art skills. This was followed by creative interactions between
the folk artists and contemporary musicians, theatre directors, choreographers and designers in
order to innovate ways of improving the marketability of the traditional art forms. Exposure and
interaction helped the folk artists to understand the dynamics of culture, place and society in
different environments.
They gained confidence and have increased ability to understand their own cultural context and
innovate. They became artistic in the modern sense. The outcome has been the creation of an
organic, growth-oriented process where the art forms and the artistic communities, through
strategic intervention and resources, are encouraged to evolve and flow, even while retaining
the traditional elements of their art intact.
The various song, dance, music and visual art traditions have been documented using video to
promote awareness. Festivals are used as a tool for promotion and to develop new audiences.
Six local community resource centers have been established as seats of learning, practice and
dissemination. The establishment of community resource centers and the organization of village
festivals constituted a particularly important component of promotion of the art forms as
livelihood. A two pronged strategy of bringing audiences to the villages, in addition to sending
rural artists to attend fairs and festivals at diverse levels has been effective in establishing direct
market linkages.
The approach of developing artists villages as creative hubs provided a new positive identity to
their localities rather than deprived rural villages. The emergence of the villages as
decentralized growth poles also led to additional income opportunities to the larger community.
While the status of the individuals changed from daily labourer to artist, the villages
transitioned from economically marginalized areas to cultural destinations. The model of villages
as cultural destinations has been appreciated by the state governments and was dovetailed with
schemes for rural tourism, leading to their sustenance beyond the project period.

Recognition of culture as skill and investments to develop local creative enterprise have
generated shared resources for poverty alleviation of the community. As a result of inclusion and
strengthened identity, the people have come forward to lead their own development. This led to
attaining of MDG goals ranging from poverty alleviation, women empowerment to improved
health, education, sanitation and even fostering of global partnerships for strengthening cultural
exchange. As summarized below, culture in all its dimensions is a fundamental component of
sustainable development.
Culture Skill Enterprise Resource generation Sharing
Culture Skill Identity Owning development charters Impact on MDGs
Culture Recognition Social Inclusion Pride Safeguarding Aspiration
Investment on Culture Dev of eco-system Growth Sustainable Development

Festival in Gorbhanga village of Fakirs

AFL shows how once the community begets engagement and economic gain, gains pride and
recognition; they protect, value and grow with their culture. For sustainable development, culture
needs to be given its due recognition as assets for planning equitable economic growth,
strengthening cultural pluralism and social cohesion, ensuring social, economic and
environmental sustainability.
For poverty alleviation, investment in culture thus needs to address skill development,
promotion, capacity building of the artist communities, especially women, youth and minorities
and creating enabling ecosystem for development of culture based enterprise. Culture demands
greater priority and investment. Planners and policy makers at international and national levels
need to be made aware of its potential and mobilized. Portability of this model is also high, as
the process involved is agnostic to the art form per se. There is also need for developing
partnership with academics for strengthening research on the role of culture in fostering
equitable development.

Impact of AFL
AFL has established a model for professionalization of art skills leading to augmented income
opportunities for artists. During the project initiation stage the art forms were dying owing to lack
of opportunity to perform or practice. There was little respect or recognition for the artists and
the youth at large had lost interest to learn their traditions. There was meager or no income from
the art forms. The initiative has covered around 12 folk songs and dance, folk theatre and folk
painting traditions of West Bengal and Bihar and all the art forms are today rejuvenated.
Indicators are improved opportunity to perform, improved income from performance, lower
average age of artists with the young taking interest, rejuvenation of the skill transmission
systems, increased number of artist groups practicing and performing together and greater
awareness on the art forms. The artists are nowadays connected to diverse networks, ranging
from local to international, providing patronage and support. The platforms for showcasing vary
from traditional to new innovations. As for example, scroll painters of Bengal called Patuas are
commissioned to paint on new themes and even illustrations for comics. Bauls & Fakirs who
sing about attaining the divine through love for humanity have found a place in international Sufi
Festivals.
Cultural capital of the artist communities in West Bengal where AFL was initiated in 2004 has
become an asset for local development. The monthly income for the 3200 families in West
Bengal has increased from less than 10 US$ in 2005 to 80-120 US$ in 2013. The leading
Patachitra painters or Fakiri singers now earn on an average 300-500 US$ per month. Purulia
Chau is a subgenre of the wider Chau dance tradition, which is popular throughout the
Chotonagpur Plateau region of Eastern India and was inscribed in UNESCOs Representative
List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2010.
When the project started despite the international fame and popularity of this vigorous dance
style, the artists suffered abject poverty. They were mostly share croppers or daily labourers.
There were few regular groups in Purulia and the artists were assembled only when the group
leader received invitations for performance. Today there are more than 150 formally organized
Chau groups. Their average fee per show has increased from 80 US$ in 2004 to 300 US$ in
2013. Acclaimed groups earn 500 US$ per show when performing in a big city. Previously the
dancers had to out migrate for work in the dry season while now they earn their living as
dancers.
AFL has also led to inclusive development. As income opportunities improve, the confidence of
folk artists increases and they gain public respect. This encourages the artists to integrate more
fully in society and take part in the development process. The Bauls and Fakirs for example had
been traditionally a target of mistrust and harassment by mainstream orthodox society due to
their practice of free society living. Their children were earlier often not allowed to enter school.

As the popularity of their music has grown through the project intervention, Baul-Fakir musicians
have now acquired a new identity. The artists have travelled to Europe, Africa and various Asian
countries and have become the pride of the villagers. The villages have evolved as cultural
tourism destinations. The annual village Fakiri fair at Gorbhanga draws tourists from across the
globe. Other outcomes of AFL interventions are improved quality of life in terms of living
condition, health, sanitation and access to electricity, improvement in school education for the
children, improved mobility and socio economic status of women. Development of micro
economies centering local cultural assets have also led to reduced migration.

A Patua woman showcasing her work

Culture and Post-2015 Development Framework
Today we are in a critical phase in human development, when nations are reviewing their
progress towards Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and shaping a new post 2015
development agenda. There has been a paradigm shift in development strategies which are
moving away from industrial/ production intensive models to human centered sustainable
approaches. When the MDGs were adopted in 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly in
its resolution 55/2 the importance of culture was not explicitly recognized. However since then
several instruments have been adopted by the international community to strengthen the
linkage between culture and development.
UNESCO approved the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001), the convention for
Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and the Convention on the Diversity of Cultural
Expressions (2005). Reports have been prepared by UNDP and UNCATD on culture and
development and creative economy. The Outcome Document of the 2010 MDG Summit
recognized the contribution of culture in achieving MDGs. The UN General Assembly
Resolutions in 2010 (65/166) and 2011 (66/208) recommended mainstreaming of culture into
development policies and strategies.
The increasing trend of integration of culture in development agenda is manifested at the level
of United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) where we see culture is

included in 70% of UNDAF work plans by early 2012 in comparison to 30% in the 90s
(UNESCO International Congress, 2013). The outcome document of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) and the 2013 ECOSOC Annual Ministerial
Review acknowledged the importance of culture and cultural diversity for sustainable
development. The International Congress Culture: Key to Sustainable Development held in
Hangzhou at China in May 2013, specifically focused on understanding the linkages between
culture and sustainable development in view of the post-2015 development framework. The
World Culture Forum held at Bali had deliberations on the impact of culture on the three
dimensions of sustainable development environmental, economic and social.
However developing a shared understanding and recognition on integrating culture explicitly in
global, regional and national policy frameworks still remains a challenge. Various international
cultural agencies are now advocating for recognizing culture as a fourth pillar of sustainable
development in future development frameworks. So far culture is not mentioned as a focus area
of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In October 2013, four global cultural organizations the International Federation of Arts
Councils and Culture Agencies, Agenda 21 for Culture, Culture Action Europe and the
International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity have published a plea for the
integration of culture as a Millennium Development Goal in the United Nations post-2015
agenda. Finally, The United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution
(68/223) on culture and sustainable development on 20 December 2013, that asks Member
States and all UN organizations to give due consideration to the role of culture and sustainable
development in the elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda.
The increased attention to culture in the UN system under UNESCOs leadership was
appreciated. (UNDP, 2013, UCLG- 2013, UNGA 2013). Culture has the potential of being
explicitly integrated as a target or as enabler in SDG goals like Poverty Eradication, Building
Shared Prosperity & Promoting Equality, Quality Education & Lifelong learning, Gender Equality
and Women Empowerment, Strengthening Global Partnership for Development, Ecosystems &
Biodiversity, Creating Peaceful and Inclusive Societies etc.
Areas of Action
ICH NGOs are already working for community capacity building for management of local assets,
building community based organizations/institutions and strengthening their business and
managerial skills. While their role as cultural mediators have so far dealt with safeguarding and
representation of heritage, they now have the significant task of raising awareness among
decision makers on the importance of the cultural dimension of development policies and also
enabling participation of traditional bearers and practitioners in policy making processes so that
appropriate owned creative economy policies are adopted.

Key areas of action as detailed in the following paragraphs are mapping of cultural resources,
building evidence on socio-economic gains resulting from revitalization of cultural assets,
mediation and linkage between different stakeholders including the Government and the
communities and supporting capacity building for management of arts and heritage at various
levels.
Mapping Cultural Resources
The community of practice on safeguarding ICH has developed standards for inventorying of
ICH elements. To link cultural resources with development agenda, it is imperative to create
databases on the ICH practitioners. In India, for example, there is no statistical data on the
number of artists and cultural practitioners in the country nor is there any information on
contribution of the cultural sector in terms of employment and GDP.
The National Census of India does not have any classification for artists or crafts persons, nor
does Indias National Industry Classification have any economic activity categorization
pertaining to performing art or crafts. As a result the creative artistic skills of a large part of
population remain mostly unrecognized. Owing to poverty and lack of scope for performance
and practice in changing socio cultural environment, the practitioners stop nurturing the art form
leading to loss of heritage and cultural diversity.
Mapping of cultural resources including the traditional bearers and practitioners is critical not
only for drawing up effective plans for revival but also identifying benchmarks for monitoring
project outcomes and assessing creative talents and community assets.
Establishing enabling legislative and regulatory environment
ICH NGOs have a key role in mediating necessary conditions for flourishing of creativity,
recognition of artists, artisans and traditional knowledge bearers, and addressing the needs for
minorities, disadvantaged groups, indigenous people and women. Culture based development
programmes have contributed to establishment of supportive legislative and regulatory
frameworks.
In Cambodia for example, the Living Human Treasures (LHT) concept led to the implementation
of a royal decree for implementation of a national LHT system. In China a major achievement is
inclusion of culture based ethnic minority development in policy recommendations for the 12th
Five-Year Plan on Social and Economic Development of Ethnic Minority Areas. (MDG-F, 2013)
Inequality is a challenge in creative economy. Though ideas and creativity are globally sourced,
the global North has largely greater control over distribution. In India for example, although
considerable efforts were made since independence for promotion of the diverse cultural
heritage of the country, funding support was limited for folk arts or craft.

Countries are at present in different stages of enabling supportive policy/institutional and

regulatory environment at the national level. The Creative Economy Report identifies five
categories as follows:

Countries with coherent creative economy policy having human centered approach

Countries with consumption driven essentially economistic creative industry agenda

Countries having sector driven and/or limited frameworks despite recognition of the
creative industries paradigm

Countries which despite awareness have not adopted creative industries paradigm
owing to the nature of their cultural sectors

Countries which have not as such recognized the creative economy as such.
(UNDP,2013)

Weak governance is another challenge to access of schemes and programmes which the
Governments may have on offer for grass root small and medium sized creative enterprise. The
latter also needs greater efforts to support value chains.
Networking and Sharing of Knowledge and Practices
Lack of evidence based analysis and absence of comprehensive statistical framework for
integrating culture in development have hindered inclusion of culture in development framework.
Building a knowledge community of ICH NGOs is important for access to the wealth of
experience developed, sharing of best practices and tools and better alignment of strategies
and action for lobbying for the inclusion of culture. Currently in absence of systematic sharing
platform such knowledge is not open for public access.
Knowledge management is also critical for developing clear guidance and monitoring
mechanisms and capacity building to identify, formulate culture and development projects and
implement them through more adequate, more relevant and more informed methodologies that
meet project realities and objectives directly. (MDG-F: 2013). The ICH NGO community can
catalyze such efforts by working together to develop concrete delivery based projects along with
identification of indicators for improved assessment and monitoring of impact.
Strengthening Management of Arts Organizations, Institutions and Cultural Heritage
Research and capacity building for arts management are two other areas where the ICH NGOs
may contribute. Evidence building necessitates macro level research on the cultural sector and
its linkage with social and economic sectors. ICH NGOs have already contributed in developing
artist/community based organizations managing cultural resources and nurturing creative
enterprise. By working closely with research and academic institutions they can develop

networks to support interdisciplinary research and training for producing able managers and
institutions.

Conclusion
ICH is all about people, so investment on ICH directly benefits communities, helps in
strengthening identity as well as cultural diversity, skill development and empowerment,
developing creative enterprise, and generating new resources. Thus investment on ICH is
critical for achieving all 3 pillars of sustainable development and a natural corollary is the
significant role of ICH NGOs. They can become catalysts in sustainable development where
people can lead the lives they have reason to value through full participation in cultural life
(UCLG,2013).
Culture has the potential of developing a micro-economy, creating opportunity for transformative
development where people labeled as unskilled or lacking employable skills in conventional
development pathways become stakeholders in creative economies. ICH NGOs are equipped
with knowledge, experience, resources and community linkages to innovate delivery based
programmes and projects addressing both cultural rights and sustainable development aspects.
Their efforts will be leveraged through creation of effective platforms for knowledge sharing and
networking.
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