Dutch Embassy; Budget For Culture And Development

Kenya Thu 19-04-2007

Dutch Embassy; Budget For Culture And Development
Courtesy of powerofculture.nl

The Culture and Development programme (C&D) is part of the Dutch development cooperation policy. The aim of this programme is to reinforce cultural identity in a number of developing countries in order to contribute to sustainable socio-economic development. The programme is run by embassies; 15 C&D branches receive a budget for it.

The total annual budget for this Culture and Development programme is 6.5 million euro. Approximately 3.5 million of this amount is reserved for the Prince Claus Fund every year and some 2.7 million is allocated by the embassies.

The embassies with a C&D-budget are: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Bolivia, Egypt, Ghana, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Macedonia, Mali, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Tanzania, Vietnam en South-Africa. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently investigating whether to include Rwanda, the Palestine areas and India in this programme. MARIJE BALT:

"Our programme is aimed at reinforcing Kenyan cultural identities and improving mutual understanding between different cultures. For example, the embassy has supported the Kuona Trust for three years, offering talented, underprivileged visual artists professional training and temporary studios. Another partner is the Sarakasi Trust which trains, coaches and promotes acrobats from the slums.

They also have a fair trade music label, run the radio station Ghetto Radio and organize the North Sea Jazz Festival in Nairobi. We also support the Godown Centre, a building that accommodates all kinds of cultural organizations and a theatre. The Nairobi International Festival of the Arts was a major success.

It was organized by the Kenya Performing Arts Group. Winners of the talent competitions in various slums found a stage and could develop themselves professionally. To me this was the most impressive event this year. It gave young people from deprived areas an opportunity to show their talent and to be proud of it.

Kenya has a rich tradition of dance and theatre with plenty of hip hop and reggae. The visual arts, however, are still very much in their infancy. There is no art academy and the elite goes abroad for art education. The cultural sector is only scantily supported by companies and sponsors.

We keep in contact with cultural organizations in Kenya, but not with the government. We do keep in regular contact with HIVOS, the Prince Claus Fund, the Ford Foundation and the cultural attachés of other embassies. Kenyan artists regularly visit the Netherlands, for example to participate in the Festival Mundial and the North Sea Jazz Festival."

Posted By: African Colours

skip to top

Your Comments

skip to top

African Artists Portfolios

Attukwei 'Serge' Clottey is a Fine Artist

Miguel Petchkovsky is a Mixed Media Artist

Click To View All African Artist Portfolios

Kaafiri Kariuki at the Creativity Gallery

Shades of Time: An exhibition by Kaafiri Kariuki at the Creativity Gallery National Museum of Kenya

News By Regions

Featured Artist Portfolio

Title: Making Ways
Name: Tabitha Wa Thuku
Country: Kenya
Medium: Mixed media on heavy canvas
Size: 149 X 140 cms
Click here to view