Training in cultural policy and management: international ... - Encatc

Survey on institutions and organisations ...
Cultural development and management
In contrast with the century-long European and North American tradition of advanced (now mostly
postgraduate) business and public sector administration and management, and of professional
education and training in most other cultural fields, for example, librarianship, museum and gallery
curatorship and journalism, training for arts and cultural policy administration and management is a
relatively recent development. This is surprising, in view of the considerable number of institutions
and organisations, and of course employees, in the arts, at least compared with the level of
employment in the apparently similar museum, gallery and visual arts sector.
Possibly this is, at least in part, because the cultural sector itself has not been as enthusiastic as some
others in recognising and supporting specialised professional education and training. In some major
European countries there is still a very strong tradition that expects those in senior cultural policy and
management positions to have had a conservatoire-type education followed by successful professional
practice in the relevant major art form, such as music, theatre, dance, contemporary visual art or film
and media practice. In some other countries the most senior appointments in the arts and heritage
are still restricted by practice (or even by law) to that country's corps of senior public servants, while -
increasingly - appointments are being made from the business sector, in all such cases without any
serious consideration of their expertise and knowledge (or otherwise) in relation to the organisation or
institution in which they are to be employed.
The terms of reference for this UNESCO/ENCATC survey focused specifically on education and
professional training for what UNESCO has in several policy documents of recent years termed
“cultural development personnel”. This is regarded as an all-embracing term, which includes all
professionals, animateurs, managers and administrators working in organisations and institutions
across almost all areas of UNESCO’s Culture Sector. Indeed, the concept of cultural development
personnel clearly also covers significant parts of UNESCO’s Communication and Information Sector,
particularly libraries, archives and the media, including broadcasting.
However, the term cultural development personnel as so defined is still not yet in general use, nor is it
widely understood. In fact not one of the 153 centres, courses and organisations that responded to
this survey actually use this terminology or claim in some other way to provide education and training
for “cultural development personnel”. (The only European institution that does use the term - the
University of Avignon, France - appears to have been a “non-return” within the present survey.)
Instead, almost all use the much better understood and well-established terms of cultural manager,
arts, music or theatre manager or administrator, curator, animateur, librarian etc. This appears to
have led to some significant differences in responses from and self-selection of particular programmes
for inclusion in this survey and database. There are also very significant differences from country to
country as to the type of organisation or programme that has actually responded, suggesting that the
objectives of the study have been interpreted in the light of national or local traditions and
expectations.
The present UNESCO/ENCATC database has generally included all the programmes submitting returns
that described themselves as providing specialised education and training courses and programmes
relevant to the following nine categories of cultural development personnel: Art Administration, Arts
Management, Cultural Administration, Cultural Management, Cultural Policy, Cultural Studies, Heritage
Management, Media Management, and Museum Management. However, in addition to this, a small
number of returns have been included for programmes covering several other areas of cultural sector
employment including academic art history and critical studies, librarianship, museum and gallery
curatorship and museology (as opposed to museum management), art conservation and restoration,
and even one course on the sociological implications of current advances in biotechnology and genetic
engineering.
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