INTERNATIONAL CULTURAL AFFAIRS (page 3)

Comparative Mechanisms

The pattern of ICA by agency displayed significant variation between the countries reporting complete and comparable data (Exhibit 4). Arts or science councils accounted for 20% of ICA in Germany; 10% in Canada; 3% in Japan; and, 2% in France. The UK reported no spending by arts or science councils. Data for Canada excludes the Canada Council which spends roughly 2.5% of its $100 million budget on international arts activities. Most, however, is paid by External Affairs & International Trade Canada. Overseas broadcasting corporations accounted for 28% in the UK; 26% of ICA in Germany; 25% in Canada; and, 3% in France. Japan did not report such spending.

The Department of Communications accounted for almost 4% of ICA in Canada. No other country reported for a Department of Communications. This reflects the dual nature of the Canadian Department as a Communications and Culture Ministry. If the Department is treated as a combined Communications/Culture Ministry, as in France, then it accounted for 4% of ICA in Canada and 2% in France. No other country reported ICA by a Ministry of Culture and/or Communications.

The National Department of Education accounted for 19% of ICA in France; 5% in Germany; and, 2% in the UK. Other countries reported no ICA provided by a Department of Education. The Department of the Environment accounted for 4% of ICA in Canada; and, 0.4% in France. No other country reported ICA by a Department of the Environment. External Affairs accounted for 69% of ICA in France; 56% in Canada; 29% in Germany; 5% in the UK; and, 1% in Japan.

ICA was reported by a Department of Sports only in France and accounted for nearly 3% of ICA. External Cultural Agencies such as the British Council accounted for 63% of ICA in the UK; 15% in Germany; 6% in Japan; and less than 1% in France. ICA not allocated to a specific department or agency accounted for 90% of ICA in Japan; 3% in Germany; 2% in the UK; less than 2% in Canada; and 1% in France. The Japanese data reflects the collaborative nature of Japanese ICA in which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs collaborates with other departments and agencies. In one case, the Ministry collaborated with 11 different ministries and agencies in the delivery of ICA activity.

Observations

In addition to data, the survey provided background and other bits of information relevant to understanding differing foreign experience and practice. Three observations of this kind need to be made at this time. First, of ten reporting countries, eight had or are in the process of creating some form of external cultural agency - Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain and the UK. Only Canada and the Netherlands have no such institution.

Second, each country surveyed, except one, had extreme difficulty in compiling relevant information from all departments and agencies of national government. The exception was France. Since 1982, the Government of France has required all departments and agencies of government to make an annual report concerning international cultural relations (État Récapitulatif des Crédits concurrent à l'Action Culturelle de la France à l'Étranger, No. 82-126 du Decembre 1982).

Third, the United States is engaged in a series of legislative initiatives including the National Education Intelligence Act to stimulate greater international cultural competence. The US Senate Intelligence Committee and its chairman, argue that with the end of the Cold War, international competition has shifted to cultural and economic battlefields. To compete successfully in this new world order, they believe it necessary to enhance second and third language training and regional study programs.

CONSULTATIONS

Three sets of consultations were conducted in preparation of this comparative policy assessment. The first involved foreign cultural attaches, resident in Ottawa, from countries included in the survey. The second involved Canadian cultural attaches resident abroad as well as representatives of the Canadian cultural community. Finally, informal consultations were conducted by the consultant while attending the World Economic Forum held in Switzerland in January and February 1992. Highlights from each consultation are included as findings of this assessment.

Foreign Cultural Attaches

On November 18th 1991, ICRB conducted a consultation with foreign cultural attaches, resident in Ottawa, from countries included in the survey. Representatives from 13 of the 14 countries surveyed attended. The exception was Sweden. Held in the Board Room of the Canada Council, the consultation highlighted major aspects of the differing experience in international cultural relations. First, both Korea and Italy are actively engaged in international cultural relations with immigrant communities abroad. Maintenance of a cultural connection between expatriate communities and the motherland is considered critical to the political and economic well being of their nations. It was suggested that the abilities required of cultural attaches had less to do with relating to a foreign country than with the ability to cultivate these expatriate communities.

Second, it was noted that there was a growing need to justify international cultural relations activities. Furthermore, it was suggested that the effectiveness of satellites and other means of overseas broadcasting was open to question compared with traditional 'on the ground' cultural diplomacy, e.g. tours by peforming companies.

Third, the consultation highlighted continuing tension between cultural and trade aspects of international cultural affairs. For some countries such as Australia and the UK, cultural sales and services are accepted as a ICR. In both, the concept of 'fade out' emerged in discussion. In effect, cultural attaches foster commercial cultural sales and services until the private sector, e.g. British rock'n roll, are firmly established in a foreign market. Cultural attaches then fade out of the picture leaving the private sector to handle sales and promotion activities.

Finally, all countries except Australia, Canada, the USA and the UK, i.e. English-speaking countries, treat international cultural relations with developing countries as cultural not developmental in nature. One can properly speak of developed and developing in an economic GDP per capita sense, but one should not do so with respect to art and culture. Accordingly, other countries do not distinguish between the target, i.e developed vs developing countries, and the function, i.,e. culture. This has implications for current treatment of international cultural affairs activities of CIDA as distinct from economic development.

Canadian Cultural Attaches

The most repeated theme emerging from the consultation of December 2-4 1991 between Canadian cultural attaches posted abroad, representatives of the Canadian cultural constituenices and ICRB headquarters staff was the need to link culture and trade. The attaches were seen as the early warning system for Canadian exporters of cultural goods and services. They should identify local markets and venues. They should facilitate delivery of product. They should follow up after delivery and determine client satisfaction. They should keep the domestic market, i.e. the media, apprised of the success of Canadian cultural sales and services abroad. They should raise the image of Canada in the minds of Canadians and foreigners by fostering pride of Canada's place in the world of culture and trade. In short, they should help make Canada a brand name for quality in the global marketplace.

Global Business

In the course of the ICRB survey, Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and president of the World Economic Forum (WEF) became aware of the work of the consultant in the field of cultural economics. WEF, which publishes the annual World Competitiveness Report, meets every year in Davos Switzerland to discuss the state of the world economy. Global corporate executives like the Presidents of Sony, Olivetti, Pepsico and Kellogs also have an opportunity to meet, on an informal basis, with government leaders from around the world, e.g. in 1992 these included the Prime Ministers of China, India and Pakistan, the presidents of the newly independent republics of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, President de Klerk and Nelson Mandela, the European Commissioner for Competition Policy as well as the Canadian Minister for International Trade and the Premiers of British Columbia and Quebec. WEF, in short, is a general assembly for the united nations of business.

The founder of the World Economic Forum, Professor Klaus Schwab organized the First World Arts Forum in Venice this August. The importance of the arts and culture to the global 21st century economy was a major theme. Over 200 artists and leaders of the various arts communities from around the world attended. Development of a World Arts Report and a World TV Network were just two of the proposal emerging from the conference. Jack Lang, Minister of Culture for France, remarked concerning the forum:
I remember the indignation that confronted me when I dared to say: 'culture and economy, the same battle!' For some I was a traitor to culture; for others I was a farceur. But today, these two world - the economic and the aesthetic - hold a forum together (World Arts Forum 1991).

The Professor invited the EAITC consultant to attend the World Economic Forum in order to discuss development of a World Arts Report. ICRB provided a grant so that KEI's Chief Economist could accept the invitation and assess global business' attitudes towards international cultural affairs.

At WEF, the theme of which was Global Cooperation and Megacompetition, the consultant observed and participated in many discussions and attended most of the plenary sessions. One finding was a shift away from 'multinational' towards 'multi-domestic corporations'. Business recognized that to do business in different cultures required awareness, sensitivity and responsiveness to those cultures. Furthermore, it is necessary for global business to use arts and culture as a medium for communicating between various 'multi-domestic' markets and insure peace and tolernace in these markets

It was also noted that fears of 'trading blocs' like Fortress Europe are overstated. It was argued that the level of multi-domestic cross-investment is now so great, and therefore the level of intra-firm transfers, that 'nationalistic' barriers are having less and less meaning and represent a declining threat to the stability of world trade.

The plenary address by President of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic, Vaclav Havel, was the most dramatic presentation - a show stopper. Excerpts from his speech have been reprinted in recent issues of the Globe & Mail and the New York Times. Essentially he argued that the meaning of the death of communism is the end of the modern age and of the belief that scientific rationality, that has created a technological nightmare, can solve the problem. The President eloquently argued that only the human heart can solve it. And, of course, art and culture are vehicles for expressing the wants and needs of the human heart (Chartrand 1992).

References

Andruszkiewicz, T., V. Skok, Cultural Industries Foreign Investment Measures in Selected Countries, International Comparative Policy Group, Communications Canada, Ottawa, October 1990.

Card, D.C., Canada-United States Free Trade and Cultural Sovereignty, Vol. I & II, Institute for Research in Public Policy, Halifax, December 1987.

Ca'Zorzi, A., The Public Administration and the Funding of Culture in the European Community, Commission of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 1989.

Chartrand, H.H., Private Financing of Cultural Activities in Canada: A Data Quality Assessment -- A Commission from the Office of Statistics Unesco (Paris), Research and Evaluation, The Canada Council, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 1988.

Chartrand, H.H., "Investment Protection: Reducing Financial Loss from Fraudulent Art", Journal of Cultural Economics, Vol. 14, No.1, June 1990.

Chartrand, H.H., "Canada and the European Community: Cultural Policy Commonalities and Convergence", Bulletin of the Canadian Conference of the Arts, April 1991.

Chartrand, H.H., "Art, Culture and Global Business: Snapshots from the World Economic Forum", Journal of Arts Management and Law, Summer 1992.

The Economist, "Meet the new media monsters", March 11, 1989, pp. 65-66.

The Economist, "Cultural Diplomacy: Britain's Washington Coup", November 2, 1985, pp. 51-55.

France, Government of, État Récapitulatif des Crédits concurrent à l'Action Culturelle de la France à l'Étranger, No. 82-126 du Decembre 1982

Mitchell, J.M., International Cultural Relations, Allen & Unwin, London, 1986.

National Telecommunications and Information Administration, Comprehensive Study on the Globalization of Mass Media Firms: Notice of Inquiry and Request for Comments, Department of Commerce, Washington, D.C., February 16, 1990.

OECD, Statistics on Members Countries, Supplement Observer No. 170, June-July 1991

Unesco, Copyright Bulletin, Vol. 30, No. 2, 1991.

Vettraino-Soulard, M-C., "Media in the World of 1984", in Understanding 1984, Canadian Commission for Unesco, December 1983.

Wedell, G., et al, Towards a European Common Market for Television: Contribution to the Debate, European Institute for the Media, University of Manchester, UK, 1987.

World Arts Forum, Highlights of the World Arts Forum, Geneva, 1991.