Culture and Development

Culture Matters! Art and culture are fundamental drivers for sustainable development. - The SDCs 2024 Thematic Guidance on Culture and Development highlights the importance of supporting art and culture as an important contribution to sustainable development, democratic participation, conflict prevention, and peace. Cultural rights are human rights and a vibrant and independent cultural sector is an engine for social change, promotes freedom of expression, and is the basis for a strong civil society.

Art and culture provide an inclusive space for dialogue and democratic participation for people from various cultural, political and ethnic backgrounds, allowing them to engage peacefully and creatively with one another. Art and culture promote the exchange of ideas and open debate about differences, thereby making a significant contribution to mutual understanding and tolerance, thus contributing to trust-building and social cohesion. Art and culture are also important economic factor as the creative industry is one of the most dynamic sectors worldwide.

Key documents

We’ve gathered all our French-language documents on a single page.

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Current SDC Cultural Programmes

The SDC's commitment includes cultural programmes in around thirty partner countries which are usually linked to the topics of governance, conflict prevention and human rights.

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Transversal Themes on Peace

We have divided our transversal themes into [A] Triple Nexus, referring to the interlinkages between humanitarian, development and peace actions; and [B] Interculturality.

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Tools on Peace

Currently we propose the following four toolboxes: CSPM; HRBA; PSA; and Culture and Development.

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