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Culture, Development and Sustainability: The Cultural Impact of Development and Culture’s Role in Sustainability

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Going Beyond

Part of the book series: Heritage Studies ((HEST))

Abstract

This paper emphasizes the role of culture in sustainable development. It tackles two questions: First, what are the cultural impacts of development? And second, what is the impact of culture/ICH on development? After reflecting on the existing paradigms, referring to culture as pillar/(re)source and culture as meaningful human conduct/driver, the paper offers a further paradigm showing culture as meta-(re)source/worldview of SD. Conceptualizing heritage as people-centred process, the paper then discusses the interrelation of SD and ICH. Referring to Sanskrit theatre in India, it provides answers to the question of what shall be sustained in ICH in a radically globalized world and responds to the challenge that rapid technological change poses to the safeguarding of ICH. Understanding ICH as contemporary practice and looking at the results of the case study, it further outlines culture’s role in enhancing development goals, considering their complementarity. Realizing that development today embraces a holistic approach, the paper argues that ICH is fundamental to integrity, cohesion, community, diversity and sustainable development, the latter being values themselves, relying on culture and communities. Conceptualizing culture as a signifying system constituting meaning and influencing behaviour, values and lifestyles, enabling orientation and participation, and thereby the shaping of identity, social relationships and positioning within the world, the paper argues that culture contributes immensely to human well-being and quality of life, including sustainable attitudes towards humans and nature. The paper finally argues for the mobilization of culture in the context of SD and its integration within cultural policy.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Today, the nature/culture dichotomy is increasingly challenged, with mutual interrelations being underlined instead (Parodi 2011).

  2. 2.

    UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity reaffirmed this definition, stating that culture should be regarded as the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features of society or a social group and that it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs (UNESCO, 2002, Preamble).

  3. 3.

    See Brundtland Report (WCED 1987), Rio Declaration (UNCED 1992a) and Agenda 21 (UNCED 1992b).

  4. 4.

    A similar conceptual differentiation has been made by Soini and Birkeland (2014).

  5. 5.

    The Convention defines ICH as the “practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artefacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage” (UNESCO 2003, Article 2.1).

  6. 6.

    Both communities consider Kutiyattam their kuladharma, their traditional and hereditary profession, right and duty (A.M. Chakyar 1995).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Digital Society Institute, ESMT Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Shina-Nancy Erlewein

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  1. Shina-Nancy Erlewein
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Correspondence to Shina-Nancy Erlewein .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Chair Intercultural Studies/UNESCO Chair in Heritage Studies, Institut Heritage Studies (IHS), Internationale Akademie Berlin für innovative Pädagogik, Psychologie und Ökonomie gGmbH (INA), Berlin, Germany

    Marie-Theres Albert

  2. UNESCO, Paris, France

    Francesco Bandarin

  3. Department of the Built Environment, Editor Journal Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development TU/e, Eindhoven, NL, The Netherlands

    Ana Pereira Roders

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Erlewein, SN. (2017). Culture, Development and Sustainability: The Cultural Impact of Development and Culture’s Role in Sustainability. In: Albert, MT., Bandarin, F., Pereira Roders, A. (eds) Going Beyond. Heritage Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57165-2_7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57165-2_7

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57164-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57165-2

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