Annual Report - Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda(CCFU)

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priority proposals included ‘mainstreaming’ and resourcing culture in all development initiatives, cultural heritage education, knowledge generation and management, cultural infrastructure promotion, and updating the legal and policy framework. UNESCO Conventions: In March, CCFU participated in a workshop on the ratification of the UNESCO Convention on Safeguarding Intangible Cultural Heritage, which highlighted the importance of intangible heritage and outlined strategies to support the ratification process and its benefits. In December, CCFU organised a Support Group Meeting during which civil society reviewed the commitments made at the Commonwealth People’s Forum 2007, including lobbying for the ratification of the UNESCO Convention on Protection and Promotion of Cultural Diversity of Cultural Expression. A press release (published in the New Vision) urging the Government of Uganda to speed up the ratification of this Convention was one of the outcomes of this event. Pluralism Knowledge Programme: Democracy and human rights introduce a dimension of pluralism in development that is not often dealt with and is sometimes perceived as foreign to the local culture. After participating in an International Summer School on Human Development and Human Rights organised by HIVOS and the Kosmopolis Institute in Bangalore, India, the Foundation was requested to coordinate a “Pluralism Knowledge Programme” in Uganda. This aims at supporting civil society’s efforts to address issues of pluralism in the country and initial activities in 2008 involved commissioning four mapping studies, forming a Temporary Working Group, and participating in a Regional Conference in Indonesia.
Policy: Reflections There is marked inertia when it comes to issues related to culture, which is perceived as related to a traditional past that does not warrant urgent attention or resource allocation, unless this attention is drawn by foreign prompting, as was the case during CHOGM 2007. Participating in developing civil society’s contribution to the National Development Plan therefore provided an opportunity to raise real concerns and suggest ways in which these could be addressed by government and other stakeholders. With cultural affairs only commanding 0.03% of national public spending, however, this is only the beginning of a long lobbying process. Once ratified, instruments such as the UNESCO Conventions and the National Cultural Policy need to be ‘domesticated’ and popularised into real opportunities for local organisations and communities. Relevant plans and adequate resources need to be allocated to ensure that their objectives are achieved, beyond mere symbols of good intent. In Uganda, much emphasis has been placed on political pluralism partly because this is visible in relation to power and distribution of resources. Other forms of pluralism which impact on politics and development, such as ethnicity, religion, gender, and regionalism, are often not given equal attention. Understanding these and other forms of pluralism presents opportunities for learning, fostering respect, harmony and equal opportunity in a country as diverse as Uganda. Within civil society itself, tolerance and pluralism are issues that may be need to be defined in the struggle to form a cohesive critical mass that can effectively play a role in addressing the issues that affect the vulnerable in whose name we exist.
Page 1 and 2: Welcome to our 2008 Annual Report.
Page 3 and 4: Research and documentation At its
Page 5: international level in relation to
Page 9 and 10: International National Trust Organi
Page 11 and 12: People’s museums: Reflections Th
Page 13 and 14: Training: Reflections Adopting a c
Page 15 and 16: Commonwealth Foundation and a propo

Annual Report - Cross-Cultural Foundation of Uganda(CCFU)

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