Cultural policy

a preliminary
study

Unesco
Studies and documents on cultural policies 1
 Published by the
United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization
Place de Fontenoy, 75 Pari~-7~
First edition 1969
Second, revised edition 1969

Printed by Imprimerie Blanchard, Paris

0 Unesco 1969
Printed in France
SHC,69/XIX. 1 a/A
This publication is the ñrst in the Studies and Documents on Cultural Policies series,
published as part of the programme adopted by the Unesco General Conference at its
fifteenth session for the study of cultural policies.
In this context, ‘cultural policy’ is taken to mean a body of operational principles,
administrative and budgetary practices and procedures which provide a basis for cultural
action by the State. Obviously, there cannot be oue cultural policy suited to all countries;
each Member State determines its own cultural policy according to the cultural values,
aims and choices it sets for itself.
It has been largely recognized that there is a need for exchange of information and expe-
rience between countries as well as for cross-nationalinvestigations on specific themes,
research into concepts and methods, etc.
The aim of this series, therefore, is to contribute to the dissemination of information by
presenting both the findings of such studies and various national surveys illustrating
problems, experiments and achievements in individual countries chosen as representative
of differing socioeconomic systems, regional areas and levels of development.
This text is the outcome of a round-table meeting organized by Unesco from 18 to 22
December 1967 in Monaco. It was attended by thirty-two participants from twenty-four
countries who had been invited in their personal capacity as being responsible for cultural
action at the national level, specialists in the social and human sciences, creative artists or
representatives of interested non-governmental organizations. The conclusions reached
and recommendations adopted by the meeting have been used as a basis for the Unesco
programme in the field concerned.
 Contents

Introduction
9
The idea of ‘culturalpolicy’
10
Evaluation of cultural needs
and development of long-term programmes
12
Artistic creation
and the training of cultural agents
16
The channels for cultural action
25
Administrative and financial structures
36
Conclusions
48
List of participants
50
 Introduction

Rapidly evolving new ways of life and information techniques make people more clearly
aware of their needs in the cultural field. In a civilization which is dominated by tech-
nology, cultural action has an increasing role to play, supplementingeducational work and
scientific effort by giving them an aim. Its function is to ensure that development
serves the mind. It is no longer enough for a few individuals to take steps to promote
exchanges between élite groups, or for specialists to appreciate mutually the wealth
and excellence of neighbouring civilizations.It is for all the people to have access to cultural
life and an active share in it. Cultural development must now catch up on and keep in step
with technological and scientific progress;it must gradually take its place in over-allpolicies
for development, along with those for education and scientific activity.

9
 The idea
of ‘culturalpolicy’

The participants to the round-table meeting on cultural policies decided unanimously

against embarking on an attempt to define culture; the representative of the Director-
General had made a point of recalling that it was not the role of Unesco to define the cultur-
al policy of States. It was considered preferable: (a) that ‘culturalpoky’ should be taken
to mean the sum total of the conscious and deliberate usages, action or lack of action in a
society, aimed at meeting certain cultural needs through the optimum utilization of all the
physical and human resources available to that society at a given time; (b) that certain cri-
teria for cultural development should be delbed, and that culture should be linked to the
fullilment of personality and to economic and social development.
It was recognized that economic and social development should go hand in hand with
cultural development; culture has a beneficial effect on the means of production available
and on m a n himself; every improvement in physical well-being helps to promote culture,
by freeing m a n from enslavement to physical obligations, and by giving him leisure for the
activities of the mind. The march of economic progress is generally reflected in the cultural
sphere, and cultural activity stimulates economic Me. Emphasis was placed on the need to
integrate science in culture,and to study the way in which culture evolves under the influence
of science and technology. Attention was also drawn to the fact that literacy programmes
and cultural development form an indivisible whole: it is the cultural advancement of the
whole people that imparts force to the literacy movement.
Over the last twenty years or so, and more especially since 1960,an increasing number of
governments have set up departments of cultural affairs distinct from their departments of
education. This trend reflects, on the one hand, a new phenomenon-sometimes referred to
as ‘cultural development’-connected with improvements in school enrolments, com-
munication media, town planning and living standards and, on the other, the determination
of governments to take deliberate measures, on a national scale, to meet this new demand.
Several States have written into their basic laws the idea of making great cultural works
accessible to all sections of the population. This cannot, however, be left entirely to indivi-
dual initiative, hampered as it is by so many economic and psychological difficulties. It
must be promoted by the public authorities, which have the necessary means for carrying
out such a tremendous task.
Each country has a Merent general concept of the action which public authorities should
take in the cultural field, and of its justification and aims.Generally, it appeared that there
are four Werent approaches:

10
 The idea of ‘cultural policy’

1. Cultural policy is integrated in general planning.

2. The State considers that it has a responsibility for culture deriving from the role it has
undertaken towards the nation, and that it is the duty of the State to replace private in-
itiative which is not always capable of carrying out this task successfuliy.
3. One should beware of centralization and of a predominant role for the State in the
direct management of cultural institutions,because of the danger of cultural action being
reduced to uniformity and lest the controversial element in art be neutralized;those who
support this approach prefer to limit State intervention to financial assistance, free from
any conditions.
4. In certain developing societies it is considered that cultural development is essential in
order to strengthen awareness of nationhood and thus facilitate the growth of an original
culture which wili meet both the deepest aspirations of the people and the requirements
of the modern world; State intervention is essential, since private action is stili clearly
inadequate.
In any event, State intervention must not have a harmful effect on the freedom to create
and public passivity must be avoided at any price.

11
 Evaluation of cultural needs
and development
of long-termprogrammes

Desirability of a general description of cultural activiîy

In working out a cultural policy it is necessary to evaluate needs and to know what exists
to meet them. In most countries very little is known concerning either of these aspects:
people do not even know what methods can be used to discover the facts of cultural activity
and what are the needs of the public. Which members of the public are in fact reached?
What is provided? By what types of institutions? With what equipment? With what staff?
At what cost? In each sector (creation, dissemination, training, conservation), what are
the activities and expenditure of the State, local communities, voluntary associations,
individuals?
Answering these questions means approachingcultural problems objectively.A philosophy
of culture is not a sufficient basis for action; the facts that we are trying to change must
be exactly known. These are the facts which will tell us who is benefiting from cultura1
action (which frequently reaches only the cultured), what proportion of the public is not
in any way affected, and what impact the various means of action have. It is then realized
how inadequate former practice is in regard to the new problems. It is more readily appre-
ciated that a cultural policy cannot be confined to patronage, even on a larger scale than
before. It becomes obvious that a cultural policy must be linked both with a policy for con-
tinuing education and a policy for decentralization and regional development. It falls into
its proper place in the social and economic development of the nation.

Methods of description
In some countries an economic model is used, which consists in taking over for cultura1
activity the categories used in economic analysis. In fact, the application of the notions of
supply and demand to the cultural sector might be productive of many useful results,making
possible a better knowledge of the public, its diversity and its requirements and a much
closer analysis of existing structures. The same holds good when the categories of produc-
tion, distribution and consumption are applied: this brings out more clearly the points
to which the efforts of the public authorities can be directed with the best effect. Further-
more, it makes it possible to combine the data of cultural development with those of eco-
nomic, social and educational development.It is necessary, however, not to neglect notions
of free choice and the claims of the mind.

12
 Cultural needs and long-term programmes

Latent needs

The round table emphasized that a distinction should be made between cultural demand and
cultural needs, which may remain latent, without being expressed as a demand. Cultural
needs are not a fact; they are discovered by sociological research, using as a basis certain
data (e.g., the difference between the cultural models of two societies or two groups),
bearing in mind desirable and possible objectives. People can only desire something that
they know of. In order to understand the cultural needs of a people one must bring it into
contact with cultural facts recognized as such, or with innovations, and, by offering it a
choice, induce it to indicate its preferences.If offered the possibility of entering into contact
with different or new forms of culture, people will have a better understanding of them and
take more interest in them. This is particularly important in the case of young people.
A n example of this kind of action was quoted: in Japan, at the time when a young
people’s arts theatre was set up to tour rural areas, an inquiry was made into the choice of
plays to be put on. The results showed that all the authorities consulted were unanimously
in favour of modern works, mostly dramas or operas, on the grounds that the traditional
noh and bunraku works, whose rhythm is too slow, would not be understood by young
people. It was nevertheless decided, as an experiment, to put on traditional plays in certain
places: they had considerable success, and a demand arose for them.
In the absence of suitable machinery, systematic methods for evaluating needs have not
yet been devised. Even apart from the conceptual problems arising in connexion with the
very idea of ‘culturalneed’, the methods of investigation are unusual and unfamiliar. The
various approaches may be grouped under the following heads.
First,the study of behaviour patterns by analysis of time-budgets,the measurement of
attendance at institutions (the ‘user-hour’concept), and expenditure accounting gives a
better idea of levels of activity and, more particularly,of the areas of inactivity,the ‘cultural
deserts’.By means of comparisons over time or between regions, needs can to some extent
be estimated. One participant insisted on the usefulness of statistics for research directed
towards the future. Tables giving, for example, the number of theatres, cinemas, clubs,
sporting facilities, and the number of radio and television sets are helpful in foreseeing the
probable evolution of cultural life. Another participant noted that it was not enough to draw
inferences; one must study changes in trends, their possible causes, and the means avail-
able to bring them about.
Secondly, studies of behaviour patterns must be carried out by specialized institutes,using
the appropriate statistical and sociological tools.Opinion polls do not give a really accurate
picture of the desiderata, for the samples interviewed speak only of what they know,
employing the usual clichés. O n the other hand, opinion polls do provide a means of
evaluating the response to a particular offer and, thereby, of estimating the needs.
A third source of information is afforded by cultural promoters and persons responsible
for cultural action in the field. The ‘inspectors’of cultural action inquire into their needs
and pass the information on to the central administration. A fourth source is provided by
local council members or members of parliament, who are responsible for representing
regional or sectional interests.
In several countries, it has been felt that some co-ordinatingbody is required to evaluate
needs. Research departments have been set up in the civil service, generally reporting to a
minister; their role is not to conduct studies themselves, but to commission specialized
bodies to carry them out. These departments draw up research programmes, follow their
implementation, and see that they are turned to account by the various services. They
build up documentation,and redistributeinformation.In Czechoslovakia,a scientificcouncil

13
 Culrural needs and long-term Programmes

for cultural development, reporting to the minister, has a membership of leading figures
in the world of the arts and scientific research workers. In other countries, commissions of
inquiry are set up for a certain length of time to study needs and propose solutions. In
Sweden, a commission of inquiry on the decentralization of music gave rise both to a wide-
ranging sociological study on musical activity and to controlled practical experiments:
by combining the results of the two approaches, the commission is in a position to propose
a reform of the organization of music.

Development of long-term programmes

Most participants pointed to the difficulties which arise at present in the development of
long-term programmes. Cultural needs are evolving more quickly; new needs are appear-
ing, and public taste changes.As television sets have multiplied, for example, cinema atten-
dances have failen 50-70 per cent over a period of ten to fifteen years. One must, therefore,
avoid choosing a framework which may become too narrow, and preserve the possibility
of a flexible adaptation of resources to the requirements of a rapidly evolving cultural
scene. Some countries have preferred to restrict themselvesto short-term plans (five or even
four years), which makes possible periodic evaluations and the drawing of conclusions from
experience. It is extremely difficult to carry out a study of methods in this field, since
adequate data are lacking.
In some countries, guidance panels are concerned with the establishment of long-term
programmes. Consisting of experts drawn not only from the administrationand from cultur-
al circles, but also from economic circles,these panels study long-term projections concern-
ing national trends (population, economic, educational and technological projections)
and try to situate the probable trend of cultural development against that background.
In the U.S.S.R.,a plan for cultural policy over the next twenty years provides for a wide-
spread development of cultural media and an increase in and improvement of the physical
and technical bases of culture, together with social measures aimed at facilitating participa-
tion by the people in cultural activities.
During the last five years, an attempt has been made in Poland to draw up a long-term
cultural programme. From the institutional point of view, this is being carried out in the
framework of activities of the main national scientific organization, the Polish Academy
of Sciences.The Department of Social Sciences of the academy has set up a sector for research
on contemporary culture responsible for working out a scientific basis for planning in the
field of culture and its development. The Ministry for Culture and the Arts has a Council
for Culture composed of distinguished representatives of art, science and culture. One of
the tasks of the council is to assist the ministry in drawing up long-term plans. The firm
belief that any set line of policy, in particular cultural policy,may easily become authoritar-
ian and runs the risk of embarking on utopian schemes is a decisive element in the growing
importance attached to the necessity for scientific analyses as a condition of effective action.
The long-term economic development plan and demographic projections provide the
essential starting point for long-term cultural planning. Reference should be made to two
of the cultural problems which arise in demographic planning: the vital problem of cultural
relations between different generations,which will live together for a longer time than for-
merly (differing not only in age and in their background of historic experience but also,
thanks to educational advance, in their general level of education); and the problem of
culture for older people in an environment where most of the ideas in wide circulation are
aimed at the young. The work of Polish specialists and planners in the field of culture is at
present directed toward developing ‘culturalmodels’ for the future. These models will serve

14
 Cultural needs and long-term programmes

both as an instrument for intellectual analysis and as a standardizing agent, determining

the choice of a policy whereby set objectives may be reached. They are drawn up on the
basis of three assumptions: (a) extrapolation from a series of statistics typical of the cultural
needs of a society; (b) analogy with the cultural development of other countries, bearing in
mind differences in their socio-poiiticalsystems; and (c) a relative stabilization of certain
existing structures and factors in the life of a nation.
Even those responsiblefor this exercise nevertheless recognize that it is extremely difficult;
and they point out that there are disadvantages in institutionalizing cultural activities.

15
 Artistic creation
and the training of cultural agents

Art and life

Traditional cultures
In pre-industrial societies, art was closely linked with life. One participant even observed
that in Africa the word ‘art’has no meaning: objects which today are described as artistic
were used as necessities of everyday life; dances and songs were not inspired by aesthetic
preoccupations. There was not one culture for the rich and one for the poor: culture was
indivisible, the common property of the tribe. Western civilization has also gone through
periods when the position was much the same: the master builders of the cathedrals in
the Middle Ages were anonymous, and their work had a social role.
The idea of ‘art for the chosen few’ should be discarded. Culture is born of the people,
for the reason that it is fed by the deep well-springsof a people’s conscience. A discussion
took place on the extent to which, in modern society, work promotes cultural training or,
on the contrary, hinders it.
For each culture, one must seek out the secrets of its life, growth and subsequent develop-
ment. The ‘traditionalarts’ should not be considered as poor relations, or minor arts whose
products should be buried in museums or commercialized for tourists.3he developing
countries emphasize that it is important for them, ‘firstly,to retrace and make widely known
the values of their national cultures, and secondly, to take over the cultural heritage of
mankind in order to find a place in the world of today and to be able in their turn to
enrich the universal heritage by new creations which, from the artistic point of view, may
be worthy of their era’.
One participant pointed out that in Japan the national culture has co-existed for a hundred
years with Western culture and that the two have so closely intermingled that it is now
often difficult to define what is meant by ‘traditional’art forms and ‘modern’art forms;
the distinctions between the art of the governing class and folk culture, and between creative
artists and the public, are virtually non-existent.
Various examples were quoted of the vitality of the ‘traditional’arts; of efforts made
to revive them and breathe new life into them; and of the results obtained.
In Tunisia, one of the main objectives of cultural centres and committees is to contribute
in the first place to the revival of national culture; in each gouvernorat persons responsible
for culture are invited to participate in the revival of local folklore and to take an interest

16
 Artistic creation and the training of cultural agents

in archaeology, folk poetry, and traditional music. The research carried out with regard
to traditional Tunisian music (Mulouf)has proved particularly useful, since the old airs
were not notated. There is an urgent need to make a collection of them before those who
pass them on orally die. Local cultural committees have the task of tracing Malouf singers,
recording the tunes of the different regions and arousing interest in them among young
Tunisian men and women.
In Colombia, Ecuador and above all in Mexico and certain areas of Brazil, displays of
folk culture are both numerous and lively. Fiestas are truly popular, and real talent is used
in the arts of costume, dance and music. Some of them, however, have acquired a modern
aspect in the sense that they are an aíñrmation of conscious nationhood. They are often
expanded into festivals organized by the authorities for public or political celebrations.
In Guinea, a particularly original creation is the instrumental and choral ensemble of
the national broadcasting company, which uses only the traditional musical instruments
of the country. It has undertaken the task of harmonizing and orchestrating, and bringing
back into favour, the old songs and epics which recount the glorious destiny of national
heroes. A visible sign of the development of the music of the country is the existence of three
orchestras, the records of whose musical creations are widely known both in Africa and
beyond.

New art forms

M o d e m mass media can usefully help in reviving traditional arts. They should not, how-
ever, be considered solely as methods for spreading the arts, since they bear in themselvesthe
seed of new art forms.The real masterpieces produced so far by the cinema in half a century,
which have raised the cinema to an art, and the results of experiments and research in broad-
casting and television, are rich in promise; they are already producing an effecton other
fields of artistic creation which can only become more pronounced. In particular, broad-
casting and television may perhaps make possible a direct transition from a traditional oral
culture to a new oral culture.The problem for them is to evolve a form of expression of their
own. Only in this way will it be possible, in the words of one participant, to ‘disinfect the
mass media, which now threaten to corrupt civilization’.

The aesthetic element in everyday life

In many countries an effort is now being made to improve the surroundings in which m a n
lives his life, and to raise the level of each day’s cultural content. This brings us to the heart
of the matter: the aesthetic element in everyday life; a problem in which architecture, town-
planning and industriai design are all involved. Our surroundings, and everyday objects,
should not be merely functionai; beauty of form and usefulness should be inseparable.
Modern techniques, new construction materials, and new forms of decoration make
architectural innovations possible. Little is done, or known, about interesting, informing
and training the public, or even builders themselves. Exhibitions of models and ‘briefing
meetings’ are organized in some countries, and a number of countries are taking an interest
in the question and studying various solutions. In the U.S.S.R.,for example, voluntary art
councils settle a variety of problems concerning town planning and the modernization of
the appearance of streets, squares and shop windows, and thus try to contribute towards
the art education of the peopIe. Such concerns need to be more clearly reflected in cultural
policy.

17
 Artistic creation and the training of cultural agents

Assistance to artisüc creation

In the past, princes made a practice of commissioning artists to work for them, either to
add glory to their reigns or for their own pleasure. In m o d e m democracies, it is gradually
coming to be felt that a society’s greatness in the eyes of the world and in the history of
mankind owes much to the form and quality of the works of art it produces.
It is not enough to acquaint people with the vast store of treasures inherited from the past;
we must foster the spring of creation itself,for it is that which gives the new society symbolic
images of its own distinctive identity and the wealth of values it embodies. Creation is the
principie of life in cultural activity. Socially speaking, artists have always been-and often
still are, even in the ‘welfare societies’-among the most underprivileged members of the
community.Their income is low and irregular.They do not enjoy the protection afforded by
membership of the great organizations of modern society. It is therefore now generally
agreed that governmental authorities should take a hand ÛI the situation.At present, assis-
tance to artistic creation is most often directed towards group media (cinema and theatre)
rather than to individual creative artists.
What are the most effective procedures for assisting artistic creation? The methods adopted
should be such as to meet the major requirement for artistic creation: the freedom of the
artist. Whatever the method adopted, therefore, the basic problem to be solved is how to
secure the freedom of the creative artist,while at the same time giving him the place he should
have in economic and social life.
Whatever is done to assist artistic creation should be based on indisputable facts. Some
studies have already been made, although much stili remains to be done. The foliowing
are examples of work in this sphere: the survey on the professional and social position of
artists carried out in 1957 by the InternationalAssociation of Art and published under the
title, Definition of the Professional Artist; in the United Kingdom, a Short Survey of the
Situation of the Artist in England: Visual Arts (1960),published by the Congressfor Cultural
Freedom, and The Book Writers- W h o Are They? (1966), compiled by Richard Findlater
on the basis of a survey conducted by Research Services Ltd.; in France, Enquête sur les
Débouchés de l’Enseignement Artistique (1967); the United Arab Republic has set up a
national council to be responsible for examining the situation as regards artistic creation in
the repubiic and how it can be encouraged;and in 1967, Sweden started a systematic survey
on creative artists, their numbers and their income, as compared with other categories of
citizens. In the U.S.S.R.,a socio-psychological inquiry on creativity in the arts has been
carried out with the help of a cultural periodical.

Legal assistance
It appears that governments, as Weil as artists’ unions in the different countries,are concern-
ed with legal assistance,but the nature of the action taken or to be taken naturally depends
upon the laws and regulationsin force in each country, which may vary very widely. Another
point on which it would be useful to have information is what changes have been made by
certain countries in copyright law. The artist also sometimes has a droit de suite in respect
of his works. In general, however, the national studies make no mention of action in this
sphere.
Social assistance
It is desirable to separate social assistance from assistance to artists, since, in the past, as
artists were frequently in straitened circumstances, the public authorities often used to com-
mission work from them for social rather than aesthetic considerations.H o w many pictures

18
 Artistic creation and the training of cultural agents

and sculptures are cluttering the cellars of ministries-and were not fit to be displayed even
when they were delivered !Such a policy meant that the funds available were frittered away,
with very dubious criteria for their allocation and little significance for culture.
A sounder procedure would be to define and apply social assistance measures applicable
to all artists who satisfy certain professional criteria. It is desirable that such social mea-
sures should be the responsibility of a separate administration, and that those who are
responsible for cultural action and the commissioning of works by the State should not have
their hands tied by social considerations. In some countries, for example, grants from
‘culturalfunds’are made to artists and their families in case of need. Another country has
recently adopted a system of insurance for painters, sculptors and engravers, covering sick-
ness, maternity benefits and death.

Tax relief
Many countries allow tax relief not for artists but for the distributors in various sectors.
The problem of a policy for the partial or even complete exemption from taxation of artists
themselves has been raised by many artists’ unions, societies of authors and so on. In the
United Kingdom, for instance, copyright sale is still treated as income, and taxed as such.
Some relaxation has, however, been allowed in the possibility of spreading the tax payable
on royalties and other sums received over a period of two years. Here, too,artists, generally
benefit indirectly from measures providing tax relief for foundations and associations. Re-
ductions in taxation, and credit facilities, are sometimes allowed-usually under recent
legislation-to distributors in the cinema and theatre sectors. Many countries give direct
assistance.In Mexico, for instance, artists are allowed to settle their tax claims by handing
over their works to the State.

Prizes,commissions and other forms of State assistance

The award of prizes and State commissions,which was for a long time largely a matter of
which artists the authorities happened to know, should also form part of the cultural action
policy and be governed by a policy-or, in other words, by principles of action and admin-
istration. If contact is to be re-established between the sovereign-nowadays, the people-
and the artist,so that the latter may be conscious of a demand from society, the first neces-
sity is to link commissioning with the distribution system.

Public buildings
Public buildings provide the most obvious opportunity for State-commissioned work,
either in architecturai design or in the related arts. In the United States of America 0.5
per cent of the cost of public buildings may be used for their decoration by artists. In
France, 1 per cent of the cost of school buildings may likewise be set aside for such decor-
ation. In Tunisia, the sums allocated for the decoration of public buildings may amount
to as much as 1 per cent of the cost of the construction work. In Sweden, an allocation of
2 million kronor was included in the 1967-68 budget for the purchase of works of art to
decorate public buildings.
The problem is: (a) to induce architects to make use of these facilities (in France, 4 per
cent of the 1 per cent is paid to the architect to cover his costs); (b) to help the architect in
choosing works of art, especially when he lives at a distance from the main centres of artis-
tic creation. Documentation centres are at present being set up for the assistance of

19
 Artistic creation and the training of cultural agents

architectsand to secure the harmonious integration of the different forms of expression.The

latest trend is to bring artists into the picture as soon as the preparation of the plans begins,
so that their works are not added as an after-thought or superimposed,as mere ornamenta-
tion, but form an integral and vital part of the architectural composition.

Exhibitions
Works commissioned by the State should not be left mouldering ‘in store’, nor should they
merely adorn the buildings occupied by public authorities; they should be exhibited to the
general public. Temporary exhibitions might be organized, to tour various cultural centres
and museums.

Performance of musical works

If a work is commissioned but not performed,the composer may benefit,but cultural action
as such is not furthered at all. Systems are now being devised whereby commissioning is
linked to performances; either the State commissions the work directly and guarantees
that it will be performed, or-preferably-orchestras themselves are asked to commission
musical works from composers chosen by them, and receive grants from the political
authorities for that purpose. In some countries,grants are made to cover the cost of copying
the score.

Hire-purchase of works of arts

Certain cultural centres have devised a system whereby contemporary works, chosen by
the centre, can be hired out to private persons for a nominal sum-about the amount it
costs to insure the work. If the borrower likes a work, he may purchase it.

Experimentation
An artist’s production may not immediately find a place in social life. The history of pro-
gressive art movements abounds in examples of works which were not understood until
many years later. Yet research and experimentation are even more vital in art than in any
other sphere. Experimental art must be assisted by the authorities; works commissioned
by the State may thus not all have a place in the distribution system;some commissionsmay
represent assistance to basic research in the visual arts. Some countries earmark funds for
this purpose in the same way as they do for basic scientific research, and sometimes through
the same machinery.

Grants and allowances

Almost all countries make grants and allowances available to artists and writers. The finan-
cial aspect apart,the questionis: at what stage in their career and for how long? Then again,
are these rewards to go to established artists and writers or to beginners? Formerly subsidies
went to the older generation, who became official poets or painters. The modern trend
seems to be to encourage new talent on a larger scale by means of limited assistance (at least
two years but not more than five) rather than to ‘institutionalize’a few established careers.

20
 Artistic creation and the training of cultural agents

Experimental studios (for contacts between creative artists

and between these artists and the public)
The round table considered there was an urgent need to provide research premises and stu-
dios for experiments in the arts (the theatre,cinema,painting, etc.) on the same lines as lab-
oratories where scientists, singly or in teams, and often from different disciplines, enjoy
freedom of creation.Such studios,whether national,regional or international,where artists
can meet and experiment,would bring about some of the conditions considered favourable
for creation in the modern world.
The three following courses of action seemed to be the most effective:
1. Contacts between artists and craftsmen using traditional forms of expression : poets,
novelists, writers, painters, sculptors, architects, dramatists, actors, musicians, choreo-
graphers.
2. Contacts and comparisons between these and specialists in modern techniques of expres-
sion or dissemination: film,television,radio, sound or photographic recording.
3. Contacts between these artists and craftsmen,working alone or in teams,and the commu-
nity, Le., with as diversified a public as possible, ranging from a public assumed to be recep-
tive to new forms to audiences for which this type of experiment is a complete novelty.
Such contacts should include experiments in collective creation, grouping artists among
themselves,and also grouping artists and the public.
Architecture has a major role to play here, since the question will arise of the forms to be
given to these experimentalcentres,which will be a hive of cells opening into each other and
making possible interactions and an exchange of influences between the different art forms.
In the field of literature,contacts between writers, poets and novelists would be encour-
aged by the organization of meetings at the national, regional or international level which
would be extended to a dialogue with the public, using modern media-broadcasting and,
above all, television.
Management machinery
The selection of commissioned works and the allocation of grants pose delicate problems of
cultural policy, for they involve personal taste. W h o is to select, and according to what
criteria?
Selection by civil servants is open to criticism on the grounds that extraneous consider-
ations enter into it or else that it is too subjective.Anxiety to be impartial and the guarantee
required by public authorities generally lead to the settingup of commissions,which have two
inherent defects: their members, even if they are artists,cannot be appointed otherwise than
on the basis of recognized qualifications-they are therefore,notabilities-and, furthermore,
the decisions are majority decisions. The ‘average’choice therefore prevails. N o w creative
art is generally extreme and refutes established canons. Furthermore, if the commission,in
an endeavour to be independent, renews its membership by co-opting,it only perpetuates its
originaltendencies and underestimatesany art which challengesit; in other words,it becomes
academic. At all events, art which breaks new ground is not appreciated. T o avoid this risk,
selection can be left in the hands of responsible individuals,who are free to make decisions
quite independently of the authorities,but it should not be left in the same hands too long.

Patronage by firms
T o safeguard aesthetic diversity and the freedom of the creative artist to innovate, it is
Weil that aid should come from various sources.Private patrons can take risks which public
authorities cannot take. Furthermore,in modern countries, financial power (apart from the

21
 Artistic creation and the training of cultural agents

State and the mass of consumers) is vested mainly in firms. So in some countries they have
been approached to aid artistic creation. They grant this aid either by commissioning works
to decorate their headquarters or factories, or by organizing exhibitions on their premises.
In some countries firms have, in addition to their economic functions,a cultural function:
Polish legislation, for instance, makes this compulsory.

Patronage by trade unions

Whether patronage is compulsory or whether experiments are made on an optional basis with
a few trade unions, the aim is always to bring the creative artist and the worker closer to-
gether. This is done,for example, by providing studios for artists on factory premises. In cert-
ain countries, trade unions make grants to a substantial number of creative artists. It would
seem, however, that this form of patronage is still not very common in most countries with
liberal economies,attempts being hampered by certain reservations on the part of the trade
unions.
Foundations
In countries where private fortunes can be built up, foundations have been valuable in
fostering patronage. In the United States of America, for example, many aspects of natio-
nal development have always benefited considerably by private funds. Provisions governing
probate duty, and then taxation on private income, granting partial exemption for amounts
donated to charitable institutions,have led to the growth of vast foundations. United States
foundations today devote from 3 to 4 per cent of their resources to the arts, and this amount
corresponds to 80 per cent of all public support. The foundations do not assist continuing
activities so much as particular projects or projects which will subsequently be taken over
by the public authorities. They undertake what the State cannot yet do and are a factor
promoting innovation. However, although they have their advantages, they have corres-
ponding disadvantages: dispersal of their efforts, lack of a long-term programme, lack of
specific competence.Therefore,if they are to be effective agents for the promotion of cultural
action, they too must be associated with a general cultural policy.

Training
Professional art training
Art education has a long tradition behind it and so presents problems of adaptation. In
many countries, there has been a rapid increase in the number of students at specialized
institutions-academies of art, music and the like-which has brought with it serious
employment problems for those in charge of cultural policy. The point is to balance the
supply and the demand: how can a plethora of artists in sectors offering relatively poor
outlets, such as the visual arts, be avoided? One method, adopted by Poland, consists in
promoting the development of institutes of applied art, for which there is a constantly grow-
ing industrial demand. The same problem also arises in connexion with music, where one
fairly satisfactory medium-term solution can be the reorganization of training facilities to
distinguish more clearly between the training of amateurs and that of professionals. Some
countries pay particular attention to the provision of institutions for the purpose of training
specialists in the performing arts (theatre, cinema, radio, television).
The development of technical media (photographic equipment, cinematographic, projec-

22
 Artistic creation and the training of cultural agents

tion and recording equipment,etc.) and their mass production, which makes them accessible
to a large section of the public, make possible the discovery of artistic vocations and of a
growing amount of talent. Thus the distinction between professionals and amateurs is gra-
dually disappearing, and the recruitment of specialists continues over an ever-widening
field.

Training of arts administrators

Changes in the function of the traditional means of spreading culture and the emergence of
new agencies-mass communication media, adult education movements, social and cultural
facilities-have brought with them for all countries the problems of running the institutions
involved and, at all levels, problems of manpower, whether the people required be arts
administrators,adult education organizers, or those in charge of cultural centres. Regular,
organized cultural action on the part of government and local communities is something
quite new; and like the other sectors,it calls for competent administrators. Similarly,in the
great private institutions (symphony orchestras, theatres, etc.) administrative work has
become so complicated as to rule out the amateurism which hitherto prevailed. Most coun-
tries are today feeling their way towards solutions on a trial-and-errorbasis. The altern-
atives are either to provide training in cultural affairs for young graduates of schools of
administration, or to give artists, writers, etc., courses in administration.
The participants considered that, in most countries, highly responsible posts in the field
of cultural affairs are only too often held either by artists without any administrativeability
or even inclination,or else, on the contrary, by civil servants who are entirely unaware of the
particular problems facing artists and those who promote cultural activities.Thus the train-
ing of those who hold these offices constitutes a problem of great importance, which might
perhaps be solved in two ways: by the creation of training centres for groups of countries
whose civilization and governmental structures are to a certain extent similar;and by setting
up training courses in existing institutions,for example in universities, specialized institutes
of higher learning, colleges of social or human sciences.
Under certain conditions these centres or courses might also be used to train ‘cultural
activities promoters’ or even technicians(for example, broadcasting or television producers
or directors).

Training of cuituraì activities promoters (animateurs culturels)

The promoter is an educator, either professional or voluntary, whose aim is to persuade
people to participate of their own will in activities which are not the standard ones of
their environment. H e bridges the gap between creative artists and the public, and between
works of art and the ordinary man. Studies of the qualificationsrequired in such promotional
staff are now being made (Czechoslovakia,Poland, France) and will enable us to specify
exactly what should be their level ofrecruitment,thenature of their training,the type of career
offered and their status.
Several countries, however, consider that multi-function teachers of this sort should be
university-trained.Others prefer specialized training institutions suited to the specific pion-
eering character of cultural activities organization. Some institutions have a country-wide
coverage (United Kingdom, France, Tunisia), the aim being to secure consistency,efficiency
and optimum utilization. O n the other hand, training may be left to local or sector institu-
tions (museums, libraries, cultural centres), making decentralization possible and a better
response to regional or sector needs, as well as the employment of local talent. The current

23
 Artistic creation and the training of cultural agents

tendency is to mix the two combining a common core of theory with specialized field courses
for each sector.
Whether the subject of recent research,as in Italy,the United Kingdom, France and the
United States of America, or determined by older practices, as in the countries of Eastern
Europe, the training programmes for cultural activities promoters are everywhere being
re-examined.What theoretical studies are desirable (sociology, psychology, education, art
appreciation)? What practical work should be included, how long should this last, when
and where should it be done? One participant pointed out that the non-governmental
organizations’ Working Party on the Role of Culture in Leisure had carried out a tentative
inquiry among its members regarding the training of personnel of this kind.

Training of audio-visual technicians

Several developing countriesstress the need for training specialistsin audio-visualtechniques,
which are particularly important among peoplesin the course of becoming literate and
lacking the traditional cultural amenities.

Training of technicians for the protcction of sites and monuments

In many countries there are not yet enough qualified local curators to look after the archaeo-
logical treasures of the country. International co-operation,highly effective though it al-
ready is, is no substitute for regular local supervision, which international experts cannot
undertake. Hitherto,national technicianshave received their training while working along-
side these experts, but the shortcomings of this method and the scale of needs make other
measures necessary.

Training of museum specialists

A cultural action policy calls for museums which are no longer merely repositories but go
out to instruct the public. The role of the museum curator is, therefore, changing: he must
still be a scholar who builds up the collections, classifies them and preserves them, but at
the same time he must also be a display artist,a promoter,for museum management is chang-
ing and now makes use of audio-visual equipment and provides amenities to attract the
public. This calls for specialized training (through theoreticaland practical courses), the feat-
ures of which could be better defined by means of international discussions.Unesco has
already begun to act in this field,with the assistance of the InternationalCouncil of Museums.

Training of librarians
Similarly, a librarian is no longer merely a keeper who adds to and classifies his collections;
he must now ensure that the great works published (in the form of books, records or tapes)
reach the widest possible audience. Public reading depends to a large extent upon his pro-
motional abilities (in one city, the number of volumes loaned annually increased fourfold
when the library was ‘livenedup’). Straight librarianship is thus no longer the only technique
in which the future librarian must be trained: he must also be familiar with methods of
promoting activities,readership identification and cultural action. In some countries, lib-
rarians are required to attend courses in cultural activities promotion, whereas, in others,
an initial general training in the promotion of such activities is followed by one year of
specialization in librarianship.

24
 The channels for cultural action

New data
Institutions for the spread of culture are undergoing a radical transformation due partly to
technical advances in methods of communicating culture and partly to the expansion of
audiences and profound changes in their way of life. Over and above the part they can and
should play in creating new art forms, mass communication media provide for greater
access to culture than traditional institutions such as theatres, museums and libraries. In
France, for example, a hundred times more people go to the cinema than to the theatre
and the hours spent in watching television are a hundred times more than those spent at
the cinema. The opportunities for bringing people into contact with culture have increased
several thousandfold over the past fifty years.
Hence the new distribution of tasks everywhere among cultural institutions.What are the
respective parts played by television, schools and cultural centres? What happens to the
cinema when shows can be seen in every home? What are the new tasks of museums and
the theatre when their public increases? The function of cultural policy will be to apportion
tasks in accordance with the purpose of each institution,before allotting funds.

Schools
In many countries it would seem to be the school which, because of the range of its action,
can and should play the essential part for, down to village level, it affects or will affect
nearly everyone and at the most impressionable age. The school, it is felt, should provide
not only the normal intellectual training but also an introduction to the arts calculated to
awaken young people’s powers of appreciation. For it is at school that life-longhabits of
reading, theatre-going and appreciating works of art are formed. Hence, the need to give
prominence to the training function of schools,which should cultivate, not only intelligence,
but also sensitivity and creative faculties. The only way of forming the habits and needs
that will raise the general cultural level is to make art training compulsory in general edu-
cation from the primary school on. Art education at school thus becomes one of the most
important items in cultural policy.

25
 The channels for cultural action

Science
Like literature and the arts, science is a creation of the human mind. Its procedures,struc-
tures, and diverse forms of expression-in principle, as universal as reason-have varied
throughout the centuries; they are a reflection and expression of man’s needs, aspirations
and ideas and of his place in the universe, which are all closely bound up with the cultural
context of his life. O n the other hand, science is, in itself or through the medium of techno-
logy, the decisive factor that is today transforming the destiny of individuals, of societies
and of our planet as a whole. Anyone who remains completely impervious to the scientific
spirit is thereby cut off from the universe that he inhabits and from the main stream of
contemporary culture. This also presents a hazard for culture in general; for, should it
fail to absorb the scientific spirit, it stands in danger of developing out of contact with
reality, far removed from the true present in which it exists.
Finally, if the different cultures wish to survive and preserve their individual identity,
they can only do so by assimilating, each in its own way, that same science and technology
which have become their common destiny, as the universal product of the faculty of reason
common to all. From the point of view of human rights, a certain acquaintance on the part
of everyone with the scientific spirit-its methods of inquiry and research, its conception
of ideas, its way of comparing evidence, accepting what it proves and constantly seeking
the truth-is indispensable if we want to prevent a minority of initiates, wielding far too
much power and the prisoners of their own isolation,from ruling over the masses of man-
kind reduced to passivity. The round-table participants considered that science teaching
should be more closely integrated in school curricula from primary school onwards. They
also drew attention to the dangers of premature specialization,which would prevent the
acquisition of an adequate general level of education at school: this view coincides with
recommendations made by other conferences.’

I n f o d art training
Introducing people to art and science quite apart from the formal system of general edu-
cation is one of the increasingly important sectors of cultural activity and one of the purposes
of cultural action. This particular problem is bound up with the use of leisure. In some
countries, where it is felt to be the State’s duty to take an interest in this question, the
authoritiesprovide equipment or lay down methods for introducing people to art and science
among other things; it was suggested that scientific laboratories be installed in cultural
centres. Where there is an active adult education movement, art or science training, in the
form of lectures, clubs or working groups, holds a prominent place among the activities
offered.
In most countries, one of the purposes of cultural centres is to encourage informal art
training.Such training facilities are often requested when new urban districts are built. N e w
instructional methods are sometimes devised there and can subsequently be used in general
education. Informal art education helps to raise the level of cultural needs by creating a
wider, more receptive and more exacting public. It is therefore a major concern in any
cultural policy. In Cuba, visual arts studios are open at all hours to receive amateurs who
are keen to study drawing, painting and sculpture under guidance from trained instructors.
Experienced artists are showing an interest in this experiment.

1. cf. in particular Recommendation A adopted bu the Conference of Ministers of Education of European

Member States (Vienna, 20-25 November 19673.

26
 The channels for cultural action

Books
The participantswere unanimous in acknowledgingthat,in spite of the increasing importance
of all the other media, books remain an irreplaceable instrument of cultural training.Thanks
to technical progress, cheap editions are n o w readily obtainable and their quality has been
improved,with the result that books now reach a considerably wider public. Various surveys,
however, indicate that readers are stiil drawn from the same categories of the public. The
percentage of people who never open a book remains high, even in industrializedcountries.
Greater use should be made of radio and television to popularize reading. Cultural centres
could exert a similar influence.
Cheap editions can only show a profit if they seil in large numbers, therefore publishers
too often hesitate to publish the work of young authors. A n international study would
undoubtedly throw a useful light on this subject. Quite a valuable part could be played in
this respect by State publishing houses, which act in some countries as a method of subsi-
dizing literary production.
Because of the number and complexity of the questions involved and the lack of time at
their disposal, the participants did not go deeply into the problem as a whole, although
they did not underestimate its importance and realized that it already occupies a large place
in Unesco 's programme.

Television
Practical effect on cultural development
The quantitative importance of television is considerable,for in many countries the number
of television sets is growing extremely fast. For example, television reaches 80 per cent of
homes in Japan, about 63 per cent in Italy, and 33 per cent in Poland. Owing to the size
of its audience in these countries, television is the main factor for out-of-schoolcultural
development, whatever the quality of the programmes shown. Quantitatively speaking, it is
more important than the traditional means of spreading culture, namely, museums, theatres
and libraries. Television is helping to change the very modes of perception of whole popu-
lations. By modifying attendance at other cultural institutions, such as the cinema and the
theatre, it forces them to change.
In certain countries where purchasing power is low, television involves great sacrificesfor
State and citizens alike. Many countries consider television an irreplaceable training instru-
ment. Television makes it possible to reconcile different behaviour patterns and can help to
reduce undue disparities of outlook between town and country. It is an effective instrument
for cultural change. Many countries, therefore, make a special financial effort on behalf of
television and manage to arrange collective viewing by providing community centres and
various other public institutions with television sets.

The question of programmes

Almost every country recognizes that the three functions of television are to inform, instruct
and entertain.This third function is the one that presents problems for the people in charge
of cultural policies. Since television ranks high as a means of developing culture, how is
the need for quality to be reconciled with the expansion of audiences? Should the coexistence
of high-quality broadcasts with programmes that might appear more demagogic than
educational be encouraged? Alternatively, should it be agreed that quality must be brought
down to an average level in order to avoid lasting schisms among the public? This is one

21
 The channels for cultural action

of the most serious problems in cultural development; it was discussed by the Prague
Conference on Adult Education and Leisure in Contemporary Europe (29 March to 6 April
1965), which recommended that it be studied, and in particular,that research be undertaken
on ‘theimpact of television on the cultural development of adults’.
The round table considered it desirable that the cultural authorities in each country should
be able to take part officially, and with effective results, in the preparation of radio and
television programmes; it recommended exchanges of cultural programmes.

Radio
With the introduction of television, the radio has had to reconsider its role, adapt itself to
changing demands and strike out a new course more closely in keeping with its technical
possibilities. The invention of the transistor radio, something more personal, easy to trans-
port, and usable where there is no electricity laid on, has given radio broadcasting a certain
advantage over television by providing increased opportunities for dissemination in time
and space. This is particularly true in the developing countries,but in some industrialized
countries, too, surveys show that more people listen to the radio than watch television.
Programming problems are similar to those of television.
The wide coverage of radio and television reinforces the penetration of other media, itself
considerably extended by the greatly increased number of reprints, recordings and reproduc-
tions. This is not so much a mutation or a break with the past, as a change in the relative
importance of different methods of intellectual communication, though there is an obvious
predominance of dynamic over static culture, and of the concrete sensorial message over
the abstract one.

Cinema
In several countries the cinema, as a form of entertainment appealing primarily to the
younger age group, is left to private initiative and thus falls outside the control of the
cultural authorities. However, its cultural influence is increasingly recognized and the crisis
in the cinema brought about by television has had two advantages: (a) it has created
awareness of the importance of the role which the cinema might play in cultural develop-
ment; (b) owing to the respective technical characteristics of these two media, it has brought
about an increasingly marked differentiation in their respective forms of expression.
In many countries, therefore, the cinema is one of the major considerations in cultural
policy. The need to train technicians, producers and actors leads to the establishment of
special schools or joint training schools for theatre actors and technicians as well as cultural
centre and television personnel. As far as production is concerned, aid in the form of sub-
ventions or advances is given for high-quality productions which often include the organi-
zation of international festivals.
O n the distribution side, public authorities can help to ensure high standards by founding
film libraries for the conservation and loan of films and film clubs (in schools,factoriesand
firms,cultural centres, etc.) or experimental theatres and cinemas enjoying special tax con-
cessions. The aim of cultural policy in this field should be primarily to improve equipment
and promotion and to define ways in which public and private initiative can co-
operate effectively. All these media continue to evolve rapidly as a result of the appearance
of new forms of leisure,for example tourism,motoring and festivals.
The participants emphasized the need to beware lest these all-powerfulmedia, which allow
of a wide dissemination of culture become either, ‘a form of plebeian barbarity’ as feared

28
 The channels for cultural action

by certain intellectuals or, in the words of the sociologist Adorno, ‘a mass illusion’ the
result of which will be to prevent the growth of self-reliantindependent individuals capable
of conscious judgement and decision.These media are, in fact,a two-edged weapon; being
often in the hands of commercial firms which are guided by the profit motive, they run the
risk, in catering for the widest possible public, of lowering standards and producing a
‘de-personalizing’uniformity, and of encouraging the public to be increasingly passive. W e
should, therefore, study a technique for using these extraordinarily powerful media in a
way which will promote culture.
Since the developing countries are beyond question less well equipped with mass media
than are highly industrialized countries,a study should be made of measures to prevent the
intake of cultures from other countries having a harmful effect on national cultures.

Press
It is agreed that the primary role of the press is information. However, many daily papers
and still more weeklies regularly publish specialized articles which may and do contribute
towards expanding cultural knowledge and the dissemination of culture. The illustrated
press (photographic reportage, comic strips) has surprising powers of getting through to
the public;if comic strips were produced by genuine artists,they might become a new form
of graphic literature.
The press suffers severely from the competition of radio and above all of television. To
remedy this state of affairs, the Swedish Government adopted a measure in 1966 which, in
the shape of a subsidy to political parties, in fact provides financialassistance to newspapers.
In the same year it agreed to give regular grants to cultural Magazines.

Theatre
In the Western world the theatrehas gradually left its popular origins behind and has become
a form of expression for the élite; it is guided chiefly by conservative middle-classtaste, the
aesthetic promptings of avant-garde artists, or by an intellectual desire to challenge society.
The last two factorsmay go together,but all these typesof theatreremain inevitably restricted
to a small public. The association with social class acquired by the drama in the course
of its evolution is reflected even in the architectural design and internal layout of theatres.
During the last fifty years there has appeared the idea of a people’s theatre. An effort has
been made to attract a wider public to the theatre by putting on plays more adapted to its
tastes and needs, by locating theatres in poorer districts, by using adapted premises, or by
increasing the number of open-airperformances. In the United States, it has been observed
that there is a theatre-going public among the poorer classes, provided plays deal with
social questions.

Theatre decentralization
Nowadays, some countries regard the theatre as a public service in the full sense of the
word and are trying to broaden the geographicaland social basis of the theatre-goingpublic,
The first step has been to subsidize touring companies, while longer-term measures are
designed to encourage the provision of permanent facilities. In Tunisia, for example, the
travelling expenses of touring companies are borne by the government. Theatre decentra-
lization has often been the first step in a general policy of decentralizing the various
sectors and has even-as in Sweden and Cuba-been the starting point of an entire
cultural programme.

29
 The channels for cultural action

A number of countries regard the theatre as a driving force in cultural action. This is
due to the very nature of the art, which holds a mirror up to social relationships and provides
a meeting point for the individual and the community in the contemplation of the great
works of mankind. In some countries such as France, Japan and Tunisia, cultural centres
have grown out of nothing more than a theatrical company and an auditorium.

Financing of theatre deficit

Theatres everywhere are run increasingly at a loss, since this is a field in which costs are
constantly rising because of increased technical overheads and the growing number of
professional actors, with no possibility of greater productivity. This means that, if the State
wishes to treat the theatre as a public service and keep prices really low, theatres cannot
possibly break even and are unlikely to do so at any time in the future. What is more, high-
quality productions are very expensive, and money has also to be found for the production
of a certain number of contemporary works. This is an expense which those responsible for
theatrical development at various levels may sometimes still be unwilling to bear.
Opera raises serious problems of balance, since its costs are exorbitant and weigh heavily
on the theatrical sector as a whole, although it plays a minor part in quantitative terms.
Some sort of balance between the means of access to culture must, however, be maintained.
The problem of reintegrating opera in the life of a modern society is receiving attention in
a number of countries.

Festivals
These have made a great deal of headway in certain countries. In Europe, they have been
started either by well-known figures in the world of art or by local authorities, while in
Japan the initiative has been taken by the Ministry of Education.
Internationalfestivals. These are of a very high standard,take place increasingly at regular
intervals, and may be divided into three categories:
1. Those which enrich the education of the public by showing works from different countries
and in different art forms (Théâtre des Nations, the film festivals of Acapulco, Cannes,
Moscow, N e w York, Sydney, Venice).
2. Those which promote research by providing an opportunity of comparing different
creative trends in the arts and of making experiments which give rise to innovations in
a particular field (the music festivals of Royan, Zagreb and Salzburg; the biennial exhi-
bitions of painting held in Venice and São Paulo; the Pesaro Mostre Internationale del
Nuovo Cinema; the Knokke festival of experimental films, the Annecy Festival of Ani-
mation Films; the biennial festival of song held in Varna. ..).
3. Festivals combining several art forms which help to do away with the traditional divisions
between art forms and to give rise to new combinations, uniting established forms of
expression with others hitherto considered minor (the Avignon festival, the Biennale de
Paris,the festivals of Carthage, Baalbek and Shiraz.. .).
Regional or local festivals. These are mostly organized by university students, who find in
them an opportunity to experiment in cultural activity; or by local authorities,with a view
to adding to their town’s prestige or to giving the local population a stimulating outlet for
expression (Bulgaria, France, United States, Yugoslavia).
Festivals with competitive events. These are organized in a number of countries and generally
carry prizes. Their main aim is to encourage amateur groups and to search for new talent.

30
 The channels for cultural action

In Tunisia, prizes are given at the end of the amateur theatre festival to the best actor, the
best actress, the best production, the best adaptation,etc. The participating companies are
selected by a special committee,with the result that they have an incentive to improve their
productions throughout the year and to put on original work in the hope of being chosen
by the selection committees. In Cuba, the best actors come under the patronage of the
government, which provides their training. In Japan, festivals combine as many as ten
different art forms; those responsible for the best stage performances can take them on
tour at government expense.

Cuitund centres
N e w departures require new methods. Cultural centres have sprung up in many countries
(Ecuador, France, Poland, Tunisia, U.S.S.R., etc.) which have come to be widely regarded
as the perfect vehicle for the new cultural policy, endeavouring to reconcile quality with mass
participation. These are multi-purpose,publicly owned cultural centres which organize acti-
vities in response to cultural needs in a number of different fields (theatre,music, visual arts,
libraries and-as circumstances require-youth clubs and adult education classes). Some
countries have a very lofty conception of the role of these centres,regarding it as their job to
provide the community with a spiritual nucleus by combining high standards of quality in
whatever they present,with opportunitiesfor active participation on the part of a wide public.
Elsewhere-especiallyin the developingcountries-greater stress is laid on the centres’social
and educational aspects, and the training they are called upon to provide is often of a prac-
tical character. In such circumstances, the culturalcentre is primarily an instrument of adult
education.
Although many-sidedness is fundamental to the whole idea of a cultural centre, this
principle can easily go by the board, especially as public demand or the personality of whom-
ever is in charge can sometimes lead to concentration on one particular activity-such as
drama, visual arts or science.Generally speaking, the activities of a cultural centre represent
a choice between the broad alternatives of cultural policy: the popularizing of masterpieces
or workers’ education. In the former case, anything presented will be essentially of an artistic
nature and of high-in other words invariably professional-quality, thereby setting a stan-
dard and providing a stimulus both for local artists and for the public as a whole. Where
workers’ education is the alternative chosen, activities will be far more diversified and will
even include practical hints for home handy-men and housewives; in this case, the idea is to
stimulate community life by organizing leisure activities while often providing workers’
education and training as well-especially in the developing countries,where this last func-
tion is the most important one.
The cultural centre is still in an experimental stage and the methods used are on the whole
empirical. The round-table participants asked for arrangements to be made to pool the
experience so far gained.A n interesting innovation on these lines was pointed out: in Poland,
a large number of ‘coffee-clubs’have sprung up, even in the villages. These are meeting places
where books, newspapers, television, radio and refreshments are available, also a gramo-
phone and games. Cultural activities are thus integrated in social and commercial life, to the
great beneñt of the community. These clubs make a concrete contribution towards reducing
the ‘culturalgap’ between town and country and towards the adoption, above all by young
people, of models of urban culture and of new customs and behaviour.They promote social
integration by bringing together representativesof different generations and different groups.

31
 The channels for cultural action

Libraries
Unesco deals elsewhere with libraries and their problems: this paper is concerned with them
only from the point of view of cultural policy. Libraries are vital to cultural policy because
although there is more than one approach to great works and the main streams of culture,
only librariescan combine top quality with low cost, maximum freedom of choice and a high
degree of public participation. The minimum price level that will allow a theatre, say, or
concert hall to offer a satisfactory standard of quality is very high; moreover, neither theatre
nor concert hall can offer the same breadth of choice as a library, and neither requires
such an active response on the part of the public. For these reasons,many countriesprefer to
concentrate on libraries in their development programmes.

Public reading centres

Libraries were originally places of learning where ‘stocks’of bouks were collected,classified
and preserved. T o that stewardship of knowledge there has now been added the task of
disseminating it. While record offices and university libraries are as essential as ever, cultural
development calls for a great increase in the number of public reading rooms. These are very
different from the traditionallibrary: space is used for display rather than storage,an effort
is made to attract the public and to make them feel at home, and use is made of audio-visual
aids. The librarian becomes not so much a curator as a promoter (see ‘Trainingoflibrarians’
above). As the material involved need not consist exclusively of printed books but may be
recorded on disc or film,the quality of the centre does not depend on the size of its premises,
which can be varied to suit the size of the district to be served. Specially equipped and con-
structed children’s libraries are springing up everywhere. In one country it is a compulsory
requirement that they be run by women, who are more likely to understand a child’soutlook.
In order to bring books to the reader, mobile libraries have been set up, which cover even
remote villages. Public reading facilities are fairly easy to run, and this simplifiesmanage-
ment.In most countries, libraries are run by decentralized bodies such as local authorities,
trade unions,ñrms and other associations.In one country,such bodieshave long been required
by law to devote a certain percentage of their funds to public reading facilities, which are as
a result exceptionally weli developed. Intervention by central authorities is limited to ini-
tiating action where necessary, establishing standards, subsidizing purchasing and training
personnel. All this can be done more efficiently if public libraries are closely associated with
the programme of cultural action as a whole.

N e w functions of museums
It is part of a museum’s job nowadays to interest the public in its treasures instead of merely
conserving them as it did in the past. Hence the museum, too, is an instrument of cultural
policy. Because their duties are no longer quite the same as a result of this new departure,
museum staffs are having to adopt new methods and may need a different sort of training,
while a corresponding transformationis taking place in the architecture and activities of the
museums themselves. The public-usually attracted in the first instance by a temporary
exhibition-ñnd their interest awakened and held by new amenities,useful adjuncts such as
projection rooms and special libraries and more instructive display techniques:thus the
museum becomes dynamic instead of static and begins to function as a true cultural centre.
It may be linked to a cultural centre, or provide a commercial service by the sale of books
of art, reproductions and handicrafts, or fulfil an educational function by offering evening
courses in the fine arts, music, town planning, and so forth. N e w museums are sometimes

32
 The channels for cultural action

founded in response to contemporaryinterest in such things as motor-cars(Italy), oil (Venez-

uela), and science and technology in general.
The problen here, as in other sectors of cultural action,is that of reconcilingco-ordination
with decentralization. Its new and important role as a distributor means that the museum is
no longer the exclusive concern of one particular town which happens, as an act of piety, to
be preserving a collection bequeathed to it by some local worthy: it is now part of a network
and must be in a position to house or make loans to temporary exhibitions and in general to
discharge its responsibilities to the public as a whole. It must, therefore, adapt its policy
to national requirements: but at the same time it must cherish its individuality and tradi-
tions and continue to lead a life of its own,or it will become a mere cog in the administrative
wheel. In all the attempts currently being made to overcome this problem in various countries
there is a tendency towards some degree of concentration,which need not, however, imply
control by the central authorities. Particular interest attaches to the large-scale survey,
including practical experiments, which is at present being carried out in Sweden.
The participants emphasized that museums are called on to play a particularly important
role in cultural training, especially in countries with linguistic problems or those with a high
percentage of illiterates.

Sites and monuments

The aim in all countries is no longer merely to preserve ancient monuments and sites but,
above all, to present them to the best advantage and give them a place once more in the econo-
mic and social life of the community. They are no longer merely places to be studied by
archaeologists and art historians, but means of cultural action which can be used to awaken
people and make them appreciativeof the culture and of the cultural heritage of mankind
as a whole. The great archaeologicaltreasures of some countries have led to the develop-
ment of excavation sites as open-airmuseums, tourist attractions as well as relics of the past
with much to teach. Monuments, in this age of acceleratedurban development,can no longer
be considered out of their context-an idea which has led to placing the whole area round the
monument under the protection of the law (France). Some natural sites are also felt to merit
protection by law; though given new importance by the development of tourism, they are
also threatened by it. Sites and monuments together are also becoming a link in the cultural
action chain.

Other media

Lectures
Alongside the formal ex cathedra lecture, which today affects no more than a minority of
intellectuals and trained professional people, are appearing other more attractive kinds of
lecture:the ‘teach-in’in which the public takes an active part (conférence-débat),the lecture
accompanied by scenes read or played by actors, and the illustrated lecture (with slides or
short films).

Exhibitions
Exhibitions can play an important role, provided they reach a wider and more varied public,
by improving their techniques of information and presentation.One country lists the follow-
ing measures as having produced satisfactory results:

33
 The channels for cultural action

Information. Documentation which is as live as possible is sent to managers of firms and

heads of schools, with a view to its wide distribution. By this means a new public has been
reached, often in the form of guided tours.
Presentation. Exhibitions are held in the foyers of theatres, the aim being to reach not only
the usual exhibition public but also the cinema- and concert-goingpublic; tape-recorded
commentaries are introduced, with a view to addressing the public as a whole, not merely
intellectual groups for w h o m an artist’s work is self-explanatory;background music is
broadcast, in keeping with the type and subject of the exhibition;short films and slides on the
subject are projected.
Mobile exhibitions can also be extremely effective. Attention was drawn to a plan to hold
an exhibition in a train converted for the purpose; and it was suggested that a model exhibi-
tion bus should be created for mobile exhibitions.
Encouragement should be given to international exhibitions organized with the help of
several countries and grouping works on given themes coming from various museums.

Cultural outings
Organized by cultural associations or centres and prepared by means of briefings and slide or
film projections, outings of this kind, which may include visits to historical sites or industrial
achievements, are becoming highly successful, particularly with young people.
The round table considered it desirable that Unesco, in collaboration with the National
Commissions, should set up in every large region one or more documentation centres for art
and music. In fact, it is at present very diûìcult, if not impossible,for research workers, lec-
turers and teachers to obtain the material-in particular films,slides and recordings-neces-
saiy for studies,lectures or courses on the art or music of a relatively remote country.In the
same way the round table hoped that Unesco would recommend each Member State to
take steps to ensure that all its artistic masterpieces are reproduced in the form of good-
quality slides or photographs:this form of art medium, which is an essential basis for a true
dissemination of culture, should naturally have no commercial purpose.

The ìanguage problem

During an exchange of views on the question of the languages used as media, it became clear
that the position is quite different for countries in which several languages are spoken, and
for those where one widely spoken language is used alongside the national language.
‘Alanguage always corresponds,and necessarily so,to a way of looking at the world and
to a form of social life which in the end make their intellectual mark on those who use it.
The future of our peoples, and the possible flowering and expansion of their cultural wealth,
are directly dependent on the transformationof our vernacular languages into written ones.’’
Thus several participants emphasized the need to revive national languages and to transcribe,
teach and use them widely.
One participant remarked that culture was a message, and that since the primary aim is to
transmit it, one should retain and expand the use of foreign languages during the period
that the national languages are developing (especially in countries where national languages
are numerous). Care should be taken however to ensure that such a measure remains a tran-

1. Sekou Touré, L’Afrique et la Rdvolution. Vol. XVIII.

34
 The channels for cultural action

sitional stage, and does not become an excuse for neglecting the cultivation of the country’s
own languages. It was emphasized that Japan has succeeded in assimilating elements from
other cultures while at the same time preserving her own language.
It was pointed out that widely used languages play a very important part in the internatio-
nal development of technology and culture. It was also recognized that there was a need to
transcribe national languages, teach them, and make their use widespread, to encourage
writers to compete with each other and to make these languages gradually capable of trans-
lating complex scientific and technologicalthought.In Malaysia, where a c o m m o n language
has been adopted, a special office has been set up to enrich the language by the creation of
new words.

35
 Administrative
and financial structures

Distribution of cultural functions among the various categories of agents

Once concerted action is contemplated,the parts to be played by the different agents must be
determined and assigned. With the disappearance of the patron-princes,their property and
their cultural functions devolved,more or less, upon the State,local authorities,or voluntary
associations. But the distribution of cultural responsibilities was not based upon any logical
analysis of the functions to be fulñlied, which were carried out without any great energy or
continuity. Once those responsibilities become important enough to need integrating in
planned policies, they must be divided out among the different agents responsible for
cultural action in the most efficient way.
What are the respective roles of the State, municipalities, business and industrialfirms,
associations and private individuals? This is a question which is bound to arise when a cul-
tural policy is being devised. It is true that the administrative structures of a country’s
cultural flairs necessarily reflect the general structures and mentality of that country’s
administration, as the national studies clearly show. It is interesting, however, to analyse
the structures at which countrieswith different types of régimes have gradually arrived after
several years of experience. Since this is a sphere in which administrative action is still new
and inexpert, everyone, regardless of background, may find support or inspiration in what
someone else has done in some other place.

The central authorities

The usefulness of a measure of concentration

For a long time cultural life was regarded as a private matter for the individual.It was looked
upon mainiy as the social adornment of an individual career, a luxury and not a necessity.
Public cultural action, where it existed, was extremely limited.Nor has the gradualtake-over
by the State always been carried out in the most rational fashion. In some countries even
today, for instance, historical monuments come under the ministry of public works, enter-
tainments under the ministry of tourism, the people’s theatre under the ministry of labour,
books under the ministry of industry, or assistance to the visual arts under the ministry of
finance.
A great many States, however, have become, or are becoming, aware of the need to place

36
 Administrative and financial structures

all cultural services under a single department.The acknowledged advantages of this are as
follows:
1. The possibility of co-ordinating,at national level, measures which are regarded at the local
level as parts of a whole, e.g., the rehabilitationof an old district,assistanceto localcreative
artists,and the organization of a cultural centre are,for one town,a single set of problems,
handled by one elected officer of the municipality. If the national structure is to be pro-
perly understood and utilized, it must be in line with the local structure.
2. The possibility of arriving at a general conception of cultural action which will give consis-
tency and continuity to what were once disparate and intermittent measures and will
therefore lead to a better use of public funds.
3. The possibility of establishing priorities, in keeping with the aims of democratization,with
a view to decentralizing cultural activities. A centralization phase is necessary as a preli-
minary to pressing for genuine decentralization.
4.The possibility of giving cultural affairs adequate moral and political authority at govern-
mental level.

The dyerent types of sector groupings

The number and importance of the sectors brought together under the department of cultural
affairs vary from country to country. The following, in order of frequency, are the sectors
put together in the countries considered : the narrowest grouping combines the traditional
sectors of literature, arts and music in respect of the functions of creation, distribution and
preservation (theatre, concerts, museums, libraries).
Broadening progressively in scope, the ministry of cultural affairs may also cover: art
education (at school, informal,professional); preservation of the national heritage (ancient
monuments, sites, archives, of the written word or sound recordings); cinema, books ;
radio and television; adult education; organization of leisure-time activities and cultural
tourism; town planning and architectural design; industrial design ; popular science; sport.
It is also to be noted that the sectors most often brought together under one ministry are
those affecting the fewest people, whereas the sectors involving almost the whole of the popu-
lation (e.g.,radio and television,town planning,leisure) are seldom brought under the public
authorities.This situation has been carried on from the past and is not entirely appropriate
to the needs of modern life;it might well be the subject of an international study.

Links with the ministry of education

The problem of the links between the ministry of culture or cultural affairsand the ministry
of education comes up everywhere-one of its forms being that cultural affairs are often only
one department of the ministry of education. This may be due to the fact that a clear distinc-
tion is not always drawn between knowledge and culture, between access to knowledge and
access to the resources that culture offers. Furthermore, because training is traditionally a
matter for the ministry of education, training in the arts is also placed under that ministry.
Lastly, it is chiefly during school years that individuals are brought to take an interest in the
arts and in the world in general. The tendency seems to be, however, for the ministry of
cultural affairs to deal with both informal and specialized art training, while at the same
time co-operatingwith the ministry of education in the matter of art training at school. This
is attributable to the fact that the demands of art and creativity are not easily grasped by the
teaching profession at large, which is naturally chiefly concerned with what is transmissible.
Within the ministry of cultural affairs itself,there may be either an administrative division

37
 Administrative and financial structures

dealing with trainingin all branches of the arts or, alternatively,each branch of training may
be brought under the division already concerned with creation and distribution in a given
sector,by making it also responsible for training.The tendency is to choose the ñrst method
at secondary schoollevel(‘art school’,‘technicalart school’,etc.) and thesecond at thehigher
education level (for instance, attaching the academy of music to the music division, etc.).

Preservation: safeguarding the cultural heritage

The preservation of the cultural heritage, whether in the form of ancient monuments, land-
scapes and sites, or archives of the written and the spoken word, is commonly regarded as
within the scope of cultural affairs. But preservation, instead of being pursued for its o w n
sake alone by scholars passionately interested in the past, is now looked upon as the means
of defence against an anonymous technological civilization and of safeguarding traditional
folk values. It has, therefore,become a part of social and cultural development.

The cinema and book sectors: the role of the State

Films and books are means of cultural action which rest on an industrial and commercial
foundationand therefore come into the private sector.But they affect such a high percentage
of the population that countries where State action deliberately reaches into most depart-
ments of life consider that the State cannot possibly leave their development unsupervised.
Generally speaking, however, the State is concerned only with giving general guidance and
delegates its powers to autonomous bodies, sponsored by it but commanding non-adminis-
trative resources which allow them to be internationally competitive.

The status of radio and television

Radio and television started as information media, and neither their cultural importance
nor their educational function was appreciated until later. Their power is such that efforts
have often been made to ensure that they are independentof governmentalcontrol.For these
reasons, radio and television,when organized as public services, are as a rule independent
departments. They are more often linked with the government through theministry of infor-
mation than through the ministry of cultural affairs. But the position at the moment is very
fluid,and television’svery great impact on cultural action is everywhere raising the problem
of what administrative department it should be attached to.

Adult education and the organization of leisure-time activities

In many countries,the adult education movement is one of the main agencies for promoting
cultural action and is treated as a part of it.l Some countries, on the other hand, consider
that adult education has more to do with the acquisition of knowledge and social mobility
than with the development of cultural appreciation; in this case, it is placed under the min-
istry of education.
The organizationof leisure-timeactivitiessometimescomes under ‘culturalaffairs’because
it is in daily, weekiy or annual leisure time that cultural activities are pursued and the State
may seek to use such leisure time for individual and social development.In certain countries,
however,it is feared that to lay such stress on the organization of leisure-timeactivities may
‘reduce’culture to being merely one form of entertainment among others, and they con-
sequently refuse to put it under cultural affairs.

1. In one of the countries studied, adult education accounts for 40 per cent of the cultural budget.

38
 Administrative and financial structures

Sport
Sport is often regarded as forming part of an individual’s or a nation’s culture.The idea that
sport forms part of culture goes back even further than the Olympic Games themselves; it
expresses the need men feel,not only to develop their personal potentialitiesbut also to bring
order and beauty into their very nature. From these two considerations,sport is, in a number
of countries, associated with cultural action. In other countries, it is regarded as being in a
category of its own, with its own special needs in the matter of equipment and staff, and it is
therefore either put under a separate government department on its own account, or made a
special department of the ministry of education.

Geographical decentralization
All the countries consider the decentralization of cultural activity essential. Some consider
it a first priority,a corollary of the democratizationof culture.A culturalprogramme intended
not just to reach the educated in the capital but the widest public must get physically and
intellectually to the local population. Equipment and programmes must be thought out in
local terms after a systematic study of needs and taking into account the experience of the
central authorities.
Programmes and equipment must be planned in terms of local needs and existing local
activities. Needs will vary according to the occupational make-up of the population. Some
aspects of an active cultural life may also exist, and this should be taken advantage of.
Again, if it is to be live, the programme must maintain close liaison with the population’s
official spokesmen, i.e., its elected representatives. However, decentralization may be in
different degrees and forms: here are six examples from the surveys made.

The North Eastern Association for the Arts (United Kingdom)

This association co-ordinates the cultural activities of a region. It includes representatives
of the local authorities, industry, business, nationalized industries, unions, chambers of
commerce, universities, cultural associations and people of note. The thirty-five-member
executive committee has five subcommittees,for music, theatre,the visual arts, oral and writ-
ten literature and cinema.The association advises and assists local communitiesand organizes
joint undertakings. Three-seventhsofits resources come from localauthorities,three-sevenths
from the Arts Council and one-seventh from private sources. Each economic region in the
United Kingdom is to have a similar association. Their problems are the following: What is
the best size for an association?Should it have its own facilitiesor can it depend on mobile
equipment? Will the central authorities be prepared to provide, not instructions, but
practical advice and information?

The State arts councils (United States)

Since June 1967, each State has had an arts council. Under the 1965 law introducing federa1
aid for the arts, $5O,OOO is given to each State provided it contributes the same amount.
In two years, this has stimulated decentralization in ail the States.The arts councils have n o w
formed an independent, non-governmental association which advises and co-ordinates.
The federal authority does not co-ordinate,or propose, cultural policy. Leaving the States
and cities to handle distribution and equipment themselves, it intervenes-and this only
since 1965-in creation: experiment, research or isolated projects only if private initiative is
inadequate. Federal policy is to help, not to direct. Since 1964, 30 per cent of private or

39
 Administrative and financial structures

company income can be exempted from tax if assigned to a cultural agency. The total allo-
cated to the arts is estimated at $35 million, 80 per cent from private sources.

A ministry of culture per republic and a federal ministry

(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
Decentralization in the Soviet Union is intended to get citizens to help run cultural organiza-
tions through their representatives (unions, unions of artists, youth movement, and so on).
Each republic has a ministry of culture for its own activities, the federal ministry being
responsible only for general guidance and planning, equipment and training.

The Comité Régional des Affaires Culturelles (France)

In France a regional committee for cultural affairs performs, for each economic region, two
complementary functions:taking stock of needs and planning;and relaying national cultural
activities. Each committee is composed of representatives from each of the following:
architecture, museums, archives, cultural centres, art education, cinema. Its activities are
co-ordinatedby a permanent correspondent responsible to the minister’s office;the regional
prefect normally refers to him in any matter to do with cultural affairs. An artistic adviser
(professionallyemployed in some kind of culturalwork) is responsiblefor stimulatingartistic
creation in the region, especially by arranging for artists to contribute to the decoration of
public buildings. In short, decentralization in France is pursued through programming, co-
ordination and encouragement; the administrative work, however, is left to the communes,
institutions and to the 7,000 associations.

A hierarchical network of cultural committees (Tunisia)

A network of cultural committees,under the Secretary of State for Cultural Affairs and Infor-
mation, was set up in Tunisia in 1965.
The National Cultural Committee in Tunis prepares the annual programme of cultural
and artistic activities for the whole country,co-ordinatesthe work of the central,regionaland
local cultural committees, and promotes cultural relations with other countries. The m e m -
bers ofthe committee are appointed by the President of the Republic on the recommendation
of the Secretary of State for Cultural AîTairs and Information.
Each of the thirteen central cultural committees (one for each gouvernorat) co-ordinates
cultural activities in the gouvernorat and arranges the annual programme of the Houses of
the People.
The regional cultural centres,set up in the capital ofeach délégation,carry out the cultural
programmes arranged in co-operation with the central committee of their gouvernorat.
Local cultural committees in small communes form the final links in a highly organized
network which, starting from the capital, extends to the most remote areas.
The legislator’s main purpose was to involve the towns, the villages and the countryside,
and to lessen the cultural imbalance between the capital and the rest of the country. This
movement away from the centre has produced satisfactory and tangible results in the form of
film clubs, libraries and drama and music groups in country towns. The various cultural
committeesvie with each other in providing their regions with Houses of Culture and Houses
of the People. The secretary-generalof each central cultural committee is a full-time paid
official.H e represents the Secretary of State for Cultural Affairs and Information in the
gouvernorat. H e takes a hand in framing, preparing and carrying out the region’s cultural
activities.

40
 Administrative and financial structures

Cultural decentralization integrated in administrative decentralization (Czechoslovakia)

Czechoslovakia has no specific structures for decentralizingcultural activities.Decentraliz-
ation occurs however, at each administrativelevel,as there are cultural sectionsin the region,
district, town and commune administrative committees.The cultural sections have a say in
planning, closely linked to the rest of social and economic planning, scope for initiative and
administrative scope, with considerable financial independence, and also play a part in
encouraging subordinate or parallel bodies. The ministry retains responsibility only for
general planning, the budget (and financial control), professional salary scales, and regula-
tions. It also provides advice and information to committees at the various levels.

A cultural policy has to satisfy two apparently contradictory requirements,centralization

and decentralization,which do not occur at the same moment or have the same purpose.
Centralization is necessary at the initial stage of cultural action. Even in countries with a
federal structure,some degree of concentrationis considered necessary-to appraise cultural
problems in their national perspective, to encourage local authorities through subsidies,to
provide a legal framework and administrative rules of procedure, and to intervene directly
where there is a lack of initiative and only nationally taken action will produce results (e.g.,
leader training,experiment). It is only when all this has been done centrally that decentrali-
zation can profitably start.
Accordingly, it is not so much administrationthat the other agencies engaged in cultural
activities need from the national authorities as reflection,study, guidance, encouragement,
information and co-ordination.Central authorities must as far as possible get rid of all
direct administrative involvement. This is a point upon which all countries, irrespective of
régime or their definition of culture, seem to agree.

Local communities
Cultural action is a matter more for local communities than for the government. The argu-
ments in favour of decentralizationcrop up again; democratization, free initiative, immedi-
acy of the population’sexpressed or potential needs. Local cultural life is an important factor
in the life of a community, maintaining its awareness of its original identity. The means of
action and practical experienceof the local community, however, will be even less than those
of the government,for which these ideas are already quite novel, and it will often need to be
informed and advised.The main questions facing such communitiesare as follows.What sums
should thry devote to cultural affairs? H o w should these funds be administered (directly or
through institutions or associations)? What are their relations to be with neighbours and
with the central authorities?

Major options in local cultural policy

Like the State, the local community needs to have a cultural policy, that is to say, it must
consciously make broad divisions between sectors, functions and methods of intervention.
Very often it merely carries forward appropriations from one year to another as circum-
stances dictate, with no over-allconsistency or long-term programme. That is why there
are substantial disparities between sectors: in one town opera will account for 80 per cent
of cultural expenditure, in another old-established activities leave nothing over for new
ones and cultural life becomes paralysed. Lastly,the cultural sector as a whole is not always
assessed in relation to neighbouring sectors such as ‘sport and open-air recreation’, ‘edu-
cation’, or ‘socialwelfare’. Local councillors must often be taught to make distinctions and

41
 Administrative and financial structures

reassessments. A m o n g the four functions of cultural action, while towns are generally
conscious of their role in cultural dissemination (although they must distinguish between
dissemination and ‘fêtes’), they are usually less so in respect of creation (in particular
architectural creation) or conservation (old quarters).
Lastly, a basic choice must be made with regard to methods of intervention. There are
several types of management: direct management by the municipality,which carries the dual
risk of bureaucratization and interference from non-cultural sources;indirect management
through private associations subsidized by the town, but with the risk of dispersion and
discontinuity of action;lastly,management through independent public institutions governed
by committees with three categories of membership : representatives of the public authorities,
representatives of the general public, and representatives of specialistsin cultural promotion.
This solution seems to offer the advantages of consistency,continuity and participation of
the general public. The competence of these intermediate bodies may range from manage-
ment of a particular institution (e.g., the theatre) to co-ordinationof all local cultural acti-
vities (‘municipal cultural office’).

Local cultural budget

A town’s cultural expenditure faithfully reflects its major options. Such expenditure must,
however, be subjected to analytical accounting, which presupposes the existence of exact
concepts in the matter of cultural action. The main categories of analysis in respect of towns
are as follows:
1. Cultural budget as a percentage of the total budget and of the other budgets of the
municipality (sport, education, social welfare).
2. Ratio of capital outlay (indebtedness) to operating costs. Figures show that sport is a
higher charge on the capital account than on the operating account, whereas cultural
action has very high operating costs.
3. Ratio of subsidies to direct expenditure.
4. Expenditure per ‘operating unit’ (for example, cost of a concert, cost of a theatrical
performance, cost per day of running a library).
5. Per capita and sector expenditure. In one country, for instance, it is thought that per
capita expenditure on the theatre varies from 3 F to 30 F according to whether the town
has a population of under 20,000 or over 100,000.
6.Cost per user: what is the cost of a theatre stall, a conservatoire pupil, a book on loan?
In one town, it was found that it costs as much to have a book on loan as to give away
a paperback....The preparation of such accounts makes local councillors realize their
responsibilities and their opportunities in cultural matters: there is in fact a twofold
danger, namely, taking too narrow or too broad a view. Some activities (e.g.,the theatre)
are beyond the possibilities of small towns, which do not have sufficient resources nor
a large enough audience to attain an adequate level of quality.

Inter-town co-operation and co-operation with the State

Once cultural action no longer consists solely of operations which are a matter of local
prestige, but forms part of a policy of making the largest possible proportion of the popu-
lation take part in cultural activities, the towns can no longer stand alone. They must
co-operate in order to pool and circulate their resources: it does not pay to organize a
temporary exhibition in a single town, or to produce a play only once. Regional distribution
circuits are established for several towns, with sharing of joint expenses. The State often

42
 Administrative and financial structures

intervenes in order to launch such co-ordination and then seeks to hand over to groups
of towns. The easy way out is to rely entirely on the State. But once cultural development
assumes certain dimensions, it becomes obvious, for both practical and political reasons,
that the State cannot do everything. It must confine itself to helping to get things going,
and then co-ordinating them. In several countries the State helps the local authorities at
the outset with their equipment drive, and then gradually withdraws from the scene.

Private commercial sector

When speaking of cultural policy, there is often a tendency to think only of the State and
the local authorities and to overlook the private commercial sector. But this sector very
often plays a leading part, sometimes more important than that of the public ‘authorities.
A study of the nation’s cultural accounts, analysed by category of agents, would make it
possible to measure its importance, which vanes according to the economic system. It is
of vital concern to cultural policies because of the wide audience reached and the quality
of the products distributed. The fields covered include, as a rule, books, records, films and
the works-of-art market, which are some of the principal means of getting to know the
major works of mankind. The conditions governing their cconsumption’,distribution and
‘production’are the concern of the public authorities.
In the matter of creation and dissemination of culture, the State may wish to give direct
or indirect assistance to the general public, producers or sellers. The democratization drive
therefore leads to an artificial reduction of prices of seats in State theatres,cultural centres
or even in s3me cinemas. At the same time, ways of lowering the cost of cultural services
in the private sector are also sought.
In a number of countries, cultural industries and trades are allowed partial or complete
exemption from taxation. According to the country, the theatre may be subject to surtax
as a luxury trade or completely exempt from tax as a cultural activity; the same applies
to all other sectors. It has even been proposed that bookshops, which have a part to play
in guiding ‘consumption’,should enjoy special tax treatment. Such reliefs do not deprive
the exchequer of any substantial resources and may act as a considerable incentive. In one
country, experimental cinemas have been partially exempted from tax in this manner. In
three years the number of experimental cinemas has risen from 10 to 400 and at the same
time they have had larger audiences. The cultural balance is positive and the financial
balance has become positive also.

Business firms
Business firms are important economic agents with considerable financial power, in which
numerous members of the public are assembled for many hours; they have accordingly
often been approached to take part in cultural action. Examples of industrial patronage
may be found in the conservation of historical monuments, the foundation of museums,
and the organization of cultural activities for the personnel. But staff reactions seem hesitant.
They willingly accept the services offered when these do not call for lengthy participation:
lending libraries and record libraries,and the sale of theatre tickets are examples of success-
ful activities. The reception given to events organized in or by the firm outside working
hours varies according to the country.
In the case of Poland, for instance, every State enterprise has some cultural activity.
Firms with over 100 employees have a culture hall, those with over 1,000employees a club
and those with over 2,000 a cultural centre. These premises are situated outside the works
area. Firms must employ and pay trained cultural promoters (from one to five according

43
 Administrative and financial structures

to the size of the firm). Such centres are managed by the works council and their financial
resources are derived from members’ contributions, and grants from the firm’s profits,
trade unions and the national budget. Problems arise mainly in small firms where co-ordina-
tion is dfficult. Polish research workers are at present engaged in an evaluation of the
effectiveness of the system.

Voluntary associationsand amateur societies

In most countries there are many voluntary associations operating in all sectors at local
and national level, and these have been the principal agents of cultural development.They
preceded the public authorities, which they spurred on to action in this field, and today
they are often institutionalized.Their importance lies first of all in their enthusiasm: they
constitute the driving force and the soul of cultural activity. Secondly, they provide an
opportunity for innovation,since they remain free when the public authorities are paralysed.
Their limitations may arise from lack of continuity in action or lack of contact with the
people.
Amateur societies are encouraged in very many countries,with the dual aim of discovering
new talent and of making the public take an active part in various forms of expression.
Such participation contributes to individual development and at the same time performs a
social function. For this reason the theatre is given preference, particularly among young
people, at school but also in many cultural centres. In the developing countries,it is neces-
sary to supervise or simply to guide and advise amateurs in order to avoid the danger of
mediocrity, since examples worthy of being followed are not yet distributed widely enough
there. In these countries,however, the problem of wide participation of amateurs is directly
related to the problem of general training.Any cultural policy should contain clear decisions
regarding amateurs and their links with professionals at the level of training, creation,
dissemination and even conservation (archaeologicalsites for young people, etc.).

Cultural budgets
The term ‘culturalbudget’will be used to denote the proportion of governmentexpenditure
devoted to cultural action. Emphasis should be laid on this concept, because in most coun-
tries, owing to the dispersion of the administrativestructuresofculturalaction, such expend-
iture is seldom collated. This regrouping is of great importance since expenditure is one
of the indicators making it possible to assess how much effort is being made by the public
authorities on behalf of culture in comparison with other sectors.
This indicator has no absolute value and admittedly does not in any way reflect the spec-
ific quality of cultural action, which cannot be assessed in figures; but it avoids a flood of
empty rhetoric,so often released by culturalmatters. It is essential for all who wish to under-
stand the place of cultural policy in national life. A first study therefore consists often in
regrouping the expenditure items appearing in many different parts of the budget or in the
budget of independent para-governmental offices.
Once this has been done, it is useful to relate the cultural budget to the major facts of
national life. For instance,the cultural budget may be compared with the other main budgets
of the nation. A comparison of the cultural budgets of various countries is not always easy,
for the bases of calculation are at present so varied that such a comparison would not be
very conclusive. For example, when w e say that Sweden and Poland devote 1 per cent of
the national budget to culturalmatters, and France 0.43 per cent,w e are doubly mistaken:
on the one hand, in the numerator the content of the cultural budget is not the same (e.g.,

44
 Administrative and financial structures

it includes archives in France, but not in Poland, cultural industries appear in Poland but
not in Sweden, etc.), while on the other hand, in the denominator the national budgets of
Sweden, Poland and France do not include the same items.
If, in the denominator, we replace 'national budget' by 'national income', w e no doubt
reduce the error slightly and obtain a more significant figure: 1 per cent for France, for
instance,0.2per cent for the United Arab Republic. Similarly,it is not uninteresting to learn
that in Sweden cultural affairs account for 6.07 per cent of the education budget. It would
be useful to make an international study of the items which should appear in the
numerator of this fraction.

Table 1 Sweden: Cultural budget in the national budget from 1950-51 to 1967-68
1951-52 1960-61 1967-68
Cultural budget (Kr.1,000) 29,164 99,792 294,181
Cultural budget (%) in the budget of the
Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs 5.07 5.41 6.07
Cultural budget (%) in relation to total
national expenditure 0.654 8.712 0.968

Table 2 Sweden: Trend of the cultural budget in relation to the total budget and to the budget
of the Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs (percentage)
Cultural budget/ Cultural budget/
Cultural budget Ministry budget Total budget

1951-56 + 72 + 39 + 59
1956-61 + 33 + 55 + 52
1961-67 + 106 + 87 + 57

Sector breakdown
The following examples show the importance of the figures as indicators, although they
should be carefully interpreted each time before being utilized. The emphasis laid on cultur-
al centres in Poland, or on popular education in Sweden, is clearly brought out in these
figures. Historical monuments absorb a far larger proportion in France and in the U.A.R.
than in Poland and Sweden.
Table 3 U.A.R.Cultural budget, 1964-65(percentage)l
General administration E 36 National library E 11
Antiquities E 29 Theatre ?24
1. Cinema dealt with separately.

Table 4 Poland. Cultural budget, 1965 (approximative percentage): some of the objects of expend-
iture expressed in percentages of the total cultural budget
Cultural centres 6 Museums 7
Meeting-rooms 3 Protection of monuments 5
Town libraries 10.8 Radio and television 26
Rural libraries 3.6 Subsidized cultural industries 9.8

45
 Administrative and financial structures

Table 5 France. Cultural budget, 1967 (percentage)

Arts and humanities (theatres, Archives 4.5

music, museums) 56.5 General administration 7.8
Architecture and monuments 31.2

Table 6 Sweden. Cultural budget, 1967-68 (percentage)

Theatre 19.41 Adult education 16.65

Music 3.99 Youth 6.21
Museums and exhibitions 16.25 Folk high schools 16.66
Monuments 2.03

Fuoctionmil breakdown
The four functions of cuitural action are: conservation, creation, dissemination and train-
ing. One of the aims of cultural policy is to balance these functionsproperly, so that,say,dis-
semination is not given preference over creation,or the past (conservation) over the future
(training). France, for instance, made certain adjustments when changing over from the
Fourth Plan (1962-65) to the Fifth Plan (1966-70):

Conservation Creation Dissemination Training

% %
2 % %
Fourth Plan 55 25 18
Fifth Plan 52 4 33 11

A n international survey, once basic data are available in the countries, would no doubt
show, for example, to what extent creation is everywhere regarded as the poor relation of
cultural action. A general realization of this fact would allow adjustments to be made in
general policy.

Operationlcapital ratio

This breakdown of expenditure,which it is most useful to know at local authority and insti-
tutional level, is also useful at national level, especially if we agree that cultural policy is
more concerned with people (operation) than premises (capital). In one country’s budget
of $ 1 0 million, the breakdown is: operation $54 miüion and capital $46 million.

Cultural accounts
The above breakdowns are meaningful only if they cover all cultural agents. W e then have
a table reminiscent of the national economic accounts, with various agents. Such tables are
useful for defining an over-all policy of cultural action, with a rational division of labour.
Are they possible? They raise important problems of concepts, since many of the services
provided are free and it would perhaps be necessary to introduce non-monetary units. The
preparation of national cultural accounts is being studied in France and Czechoslovakia.

46
 Administrative and financial structures

Introduction of statistics into the culturalfield

Culture cannot be reduced to statistics. The figures quoted above do not concern cultural
Me, but the material means promoting it. Admittedly, no cultural action will ever be meas-
ured with the statistics to be compiled, as the realities measured with the same figures dif-
fer from country to country. Statistics do not permit quality comparisons, but provide
indications for administrators or local councillors who wish to promote culture.
Most countriesfeelthe need for definitions,norms,or analysis grids which form, as it were,
a control panel for leaders of cultural policy. Within these broad frameworks each country
will put what it likes,but-by this means-it wiil know exactly where it is, what it is doing
and how it is placed with regard to the objectives it has set itself. Statistics have no value in
themselves, but have become one of the instruments of cultural action.
After a wide-ranging discussion the round table noted that each country is almost wholly
unaware of the achievements or plans of other countries in the field of cultural action. It
was considered most desirable to have comparative documentation on this subject (year-
books, guides or booklets) on the lines of that which already exist for education and scienti-
fic ressarch. It was nevertheless recognized that it would be too difficult in present conditions
to publish a work corresponding to the World Survey of Education, which would in any
case almost certainly be out of date by the time it appeared. It was,however,recommended
that Unesco undertake surveys at an early date covering certain countries,grouped accord-
ing to geographical, historical and cultural considerations, which would enjoy possible
means of contact (e.g., periodical conferences). The results of these surveys should be
published without delay in the form of booklets which could be easily compared.
In order to ensure that data are comparable one should in the first place define the cri-
teria to be used as a basis for the surveys and, secondly,plan an introductionand descriptive
text for each booklet, using standard terminology and indicating the basic trends and main
ideas resulting from the surveys.The definition of criteria should be left to an expert commit-
tee, which would pay particular attention to certain factors difficult to codify,being qualita-
tive rather than quantitative.
In addition to these surveys it would be useful for countries, singly or in groups, to carry
out studies,using the ways and means indicated above,but concentrating on certain general
topics, for example: (a) economics and culture; (b) spread of culture among the masses in
preindustrial,industrialand post-industrialsocieties;(c)the socioeconomicconditionsmost
favourable to the work of the cultural agent in these three types of society.
The round table recommended the establishment of an international documentation
centre on the cultural institutions, policies and needs of differentMember States. Continu-
ing to bear in mind the desirability offacilitatingexchanges ofinformation and experiences,
the round table recommended that Unesco organize international or redonal meetings of
those responsiblefor national cultural action at different levels;and that in particular Unesco
should contemplate holding a meeting of ministers of culture.
In conclusion, the round table considered it desirable that in States where this does not
yet exist, a government officeor an independent body should be set up to co-ordinate
cultural action at the national level and to ensure liaison with Unesco in this field.

47
 Conclusions

For the first time, administrators, specialists in the social and human sciences and crea-
tive artists met round the same table, invited by an international organization to discuss
cultural problems. The participants differed in their cultural origin, the socio-economic
structure of their countries, their professional interests and their conception of the role of
public authorities in cultural development.Yet in spite,perhaps because, of these differences,
the work of the round table resulted in general agreement on the following points.
Culture in the modern world is evolving rapidly; it is at present undergoing profound
changes,which must be taken into account in approaching any problem of cultural policy.
Cultural policy must be placed in a dynamic perspective.The democratization of culture
must not imply a dilution of standards; it is no longer a question of handing out ‘high-
class culture’ which is unfamiliar to the masses, but of enabling everyone,m e n and women
alike, whatever their social origin or economic condition,to develop their personality to
the full and to participate fully in cultural activities in accordance with their tastes and
their needs. In many cases large sectors of the population are not yet in a position to do
this, owing to lack of time or resources, or because they have not attained the necessary
level of education.
Making people participate in cultural activities does not mean inviting them to be pre-
sent as passive spectators at a cultural event; it means associating them increasingly with
cultural action and endeavouring to stimulate their powers of creation. It was recognized
that cultural and economic development are closely linked; it was also emphasized that
physical resources are not enough in themselves, and that equipment serves no purpose
if it is not backed up by the necessary personnel and administrative machinery.
Attention was drawn to various problems particular to the developing countries. The
civilization of highly industrialized countries, powerfully equipped with mass media, has
considerable force of penetration and is likely to stifle the national cultures of developing
countries by distorting or misinterpreting the national cultural values of these countries.
Some of these problems particularly affect Africa, and it was thought that they were suffi-
ciently important to justify organizing a meeting of representatives of the cultures of the
African continent.
Discussion showed that in countries where this does not yet exist,it would be desirable to
set up a body responsible for cultural affairs at the national level.
The round table emphasized the importance of the part played by non-governmental
organizations in cultural development.

48
 Conclusions

Culture does not yet occupy in the life of the nation the front-rankingplace which it
deserves in the light of modern conditions of life and scientific and technological develop-
ment. The round table expressed the hope that Unesco would ask the National Commissions
to undertake an extensive campaign in order to arouse public opinion on this subject.
While the atmosphere of mutual understanding and co-operation persisted throughout
the meeting, there were certain divergences of view. It was generally recognized that these
concerned chiefly problems about which information is not yet sufficient for a considered
judgement to be made on them. For this reason the round table recommended that various
studies should be carried out.

49
 List of participants
Round-TableMeeting on Cultural Policies
Monaco, 18-22December 1967

Mr.Nigel ABERCROMBIE Ministry of Education, Abidjan

Secretary-General, (Ivory Coast).
Arts Council of Great Britain. Mr.Yacine KATEB
Mr.Mulk RAJANAND Playwright, Algiers.
President, Lalit Kala Akademi, Mr.Carl-Johan KLEBERG
New Delhi. Financial Officer,
Mr.Antoine BATTAINI Ministry of Education and Cultural
Chef du Service des Maires Culturelles Affairs, Stockholm.
au Ministère d’État (Monaco). Mr.Yoichi MAEDA
Mr.Ivan BOLDIZSAR Professor of French Literature,
Writer, Budapest. Tokyo University; Chairman,
Mr.Pierre BOURDIEU Cultural Affairs Committee, Japanese
Directeur d’Études à I’JhIe Pratique National Commission for Unesco.
des Hautes Études,
chargé du cours de sociologie de la culture, Mr.Charles C.MARK
Paris. Director, States and Community
Mr.Alejo CARPENTIER Operations, National Foundation
Cultural Attaché, on the Arts and the Humanities.
Embassy of Cuba, Paris. Mr. Roberto MATTA
Mr.Carlos CHAGAS Artist.
Ambassador of Brazil, Mr. Pierre MOINOT
Permanent Delegate of Brazil to Unesco. Directeur Général des Arts et Lettres
Mr. Arthur CROVETTO au Ministère d’État chargé des
Minister Plenipotentiary, Maires Culturelles,Paris.
Chairman, Monaco National Mr.Sam Joseph NTIRO
Commission for Unesco. Commissioner for Culture,
Mr.Joffre DUMAZEDIER Ministry of Local Government and
Maître de Recherches au Conseil Rural Development, Dar es-Salaam.
National de la Recherche Scientifique, Mr.Enrico PAULUCCI
Paris. President, Italian Committee,
Mr. Abdel Moneim EL SAW International Association of Art,Turin.
Under-Secretary of State for Antiquities, Mr.Raymond RAVAR
Ministry of Culture, Cairo. Directeur de l’Institut National Supérieur
Mr. Albert HOBA des Arts du Spectacle et Techniques de
Cultural Affairs Officer, Diffusion (INSAS), Brussels.

50
 List of particioants

Mr.Rafik SAID Mr.Silvio ZAVALA

Directeur de l’animation culturelle President,International Council for
en Tunisie. Philosophy and Humanistic Studies.
Mr.Ousmane SEMBENE
Film producer, Dakar. Unesco Secretariat
Mr. Roger STEVENS Mr. Mahdi ELMANDJRA
Executive Office of the President, Assistant Director-Generalfor Social
Washington, D.C. Sciences,H u m a n Sciences and Culture.
Mr.Stefan ZOLKIEWSKI Mr.Roger CAILLOIS
Professor, Social Sciences Department, Director of the Division for the
Polish Academy of Sciences. Cultural Advancement of the Community.
Mr. Anatoli A. ZVORYKIN Mr. Enrico FULCHIGNONI
Professor of Sociology, Head of the Creative Arts
Institute of Philosophy of the and Literature Section.
Academy of Sciences, Moskva. Mr. Augustin GIRARD
Consultant.
International non-governmentalorganizations Mr.Jacques GUÉRIF
Mr.Jack BORNOFF Head of Press Division.
Executive Secretary, Mr.Milan BABIC
International Music Council. Office of Statistics.
Mr.Maurice GASTAUD Mrs. Adella KAY
Chairman, Non-Governmental Creative Arts and Literature Section.
Organizations Working Party on the
Role of Culture in Leisure. Observers
Mr.Hans Erling LANGKILDE Mr.Yves BRUNSVICK
International Union of Architects. French National Commission
Mr.Jean d’ORMESSON for Unesco.
International Council for Professor Richard HOGGART
Philosophy and Humanistic Studies. Director of the Centre for
Mr.A.F.E.VAN SCHENDEL Contemporary Cultural Studies
President, University of Birmingham
International Council of Museums. (United Kingdom).
Mr.Jean VILAR
International Theatre Institute.

51