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While audience and visitor surveys record participation at the event, relevant population surveys
record participation at the residences of attendees. This suggests a dangerous assumption in
population surveys that residents went to cultural events held in their locality. To resolve such
issues, audience/visitor surveys need to record the origin of attendees, while household
population surveys need to record the location of events/performances attended.
Some countries gather data about participation in culture and other leisure activities within the
frame of broader surveys dealing with the everyday life and habits of the population. In other
cases, surveys are addressed specifically to the study of how the population engages with the
arts and culture.
Time use surveys
Within sample population surveys, we should mention and take into account time use surveys
(TUS) – specific statistical surveys which aim to report data on how, on average, the population
spends and uses its time.
TUS are particularly important in the cultural participation field because they are the most
suitable instrument for measuring home-based cultural activities and because they can
contribute to our understanding of the relationship between cultural participation and other
activities during normal everyday life. For example, the 2008 Chinese Time Use Survey
indicated that Chinese people spent an average of 19 minutes everyday playing cards or chess
(NBS not dated, 26). Information and data about the time use of individuals or households are
captured by diary techniques and the reference period is generally about two days (one
weekday and one weekend day), although some TUS cover a seven-day timespan. TUS allow
for the consideration of activities carried out simultaneously. This means that respondents who
may be doing more than one thing at the same time can decide which activity to record as
primary and which as secondary. This is particularly useful in the case of multi-tasking behaviour
that has a cultural element (e.g. listening to music while cooking or ironing).
Many efforts have been made on national and international levels to foster comparability
between TUSs. In Europe, guidelines have been provided to create a common methodological
framework for countries intending to carry out TUS and to ensure comparability (Harmonized
European Time Use Survey (HETUS)). At the global level, the International Classification of
Activities for Time-Use Statistics (ICATUS) 8 – also suggested by the 2009 UNESCO FCS 9 – is
considered as a standard classification for all activities that the general population may spend
time on during the 24 hours of any given day. ICATUS is the only classification to offer an
exhaustive list of cultural practices, including community activities. The ICATUS Code is
particularly relevant because most developing countries have made use of it, either directly
(e.g. Palestine), have adapted it (e.g. Mongolia and South Africa), or taken it as guidance
(e.g. India and Mexico).
The ICATUS structure is very well articulated comprising five levels (six-digit code, 363 subclasses).
Considering the 15 major ICATUS divisions (two-digit codes), categories from 9 to 14
(the so-called ‘non-productive’ or ‘personal’ activities) are relevant for cultural participation
issues (particularly 10 and 11); other categories such as 3, 7 and 8 also include activities
consistent with the intangible cultural heritage, like ‘Community organized work: cooking for
8 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/cr/registry/regcst.asp?Cl=231&Lg=1
9 See Chapter 3.4 for further discussion.
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