Strengthening the Creative Industries for Development in ... - unctad

14 PART 3. CREATIVE INDUSTRIES POLICY REVIEW
strengthening museums (accessibility, quality improvements, promotional materials, etc.), addressing
problems of preservation and promotion of cultural heritage and training cultural professionals. The
project is also concerned with re-empowering the existing casas da cultura (cultural houses). 35
3. “Capacity-Building for Professionals, Managers and Administrators of the Cultural Programme at
the Ministry of Education and Culture” 2006–2009 (UNESCO)
The third directly relevant project is also being implemented by UNESCO and is entitled “Capacity-
Building for Professionals, Managers and Administrators of the Cultural Programme at the Ministry of
Education and Culture” (2006–2009). Its aim is to strengthen the capacity of government officials in
the management and administration of the culture programmes at the central, provincial and district
levels and to improve communication between the different sectors of culture, at the Ministry of
Education and Culture: national directorates, provincial directorates, district directorates and cultural
institutions, and to develop capacities in the identification, planning, implementing, administrating,
monitoring, evaluating and reporting on cultural projects. 36
Cooperation and coordination among the different activities within the scope of these projects has
already been discussed. 37 The ACP/EC/ILO/UNCTAD/UNESCO project distinguishes itself from the
others primarily because it focuses on areas that are not covered by the other projects, such as the
crafts and music sectors, developing cultural tourism and elaborating the national language policy.
This multi-agency pilot project also distinguishes itself because it will include support for the
formulation of inter-ministerial policies, the reinforcement of institutional mechanisms and capacitybuilding
primarily at the national governmental level and it also moves beyond the government realm,
including associations, private sector, culture professionals and artists.
Finally, because of the multi-sectoral nature of the creative industries, this project will tackle
economic, social and cultural issues simultaneously. It is clear that other ongoing programmes in the
country can also be considered complementary, albeit indirectly. For example, an Italian-funded
project supports the development of the National Statistics System and a the Dutch cooperation project
with IPEX promotes capacity-building and identifying and strengthening exports, within which crafts
and home decor have been identified as a priority sector. The Norwegian Agency for Development
Cooperation also has an ongoing project that deals with the promotion of intangible heritage. All these
projects are evidence of the growing role of international cooperation in enhancing the role of culture
and the creative industries for the development of Mozambique.
There have been several variants to the official positioning of culture within the government over the
years: 1975–1983 Ministry of Culture and Education; 1983–1987 State Secretary for Culture; 1987–
1992 Ministry of Culture; 1992–1996 Ministry of Culture and Youth; 1996–2000 Ministry of Culture,
Youth and Sports; and 2000–2005 Ministry of Culture. Since 2005, culture has been under the
auspices of the Ministry of Education and Culture (MEC).
Like many other LDCs, development efforts in Mozambique do not include culture among the priority
sectors in the country. In recent years there has been some encouraging progress in terms of
integrating culture into the country strategic development thinking. The Agenda 2025, the
government’s five-year plan 2005–2009 and the PRSP (PARPA II) all describe culture as an important
contributor to the country’s human, social and economic development. However this recognition has
not yet been translated into concrete budgetary changes in the government or the MEC budget.
Nonetheless, within the framework of formulation of the sectoral strategic plans (PARPA II) the
government has developed and approved a strategic plan for culture (PEEC) for the period from 2006–
35 UNESCO (2006–2009b).
36 UNESCO (2006–2009a): 4.
37 Discussed at the inter-agency meeting between the lead agencies for the joint programme (Maputo UNESCO
office) and the ILO/UNESCO/UNCTAD group. Maputo, 4 September 2008.