_The Creative Wealth of Nations_ policy design. We shall link this to areas such as climate action, nation branding and tourism, and what the arts can do about it.

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# **|| Box 1** **_||_ Definitions**

Culture is a broad concept. In every country, the rich as well as the poor interact with it, and needless to say, it has various definitions and meanings. The meaning implied here is the one echoed by Irina Bokova the Director General of UNESCO and Helen Clark the Administrator of UNDP, as they emphasize the need to put culture on the development agenda now:

- Culture “is who we are; shapes our identity; is a means of fostering respect and tolerance among people; is a way to create jobs and improve people’s lives; is a way to include others and understand them; helps preserve our heritage and make sense of our future; empowers people.” This is why, they argue, culture “works for development.”<sup>13</sup>

The performing arts, which are the focus of this paper, are a substantial branch of culture. They “include numerous cultural expressions that reflect human creativity, [and] range from vocal and instrumental music, dance and theatre to pantomime, sung verse and beyond, according to UNESCO.”<sup>14</sup> On the idea of engaging the performing arts (or promoting cultural industries) in development, the WBG could benefit from partnerships with agencies including UNCTAD, UNDP, UNESCO, regional development banks and the public and private sectors. But here, the Bank’s strategy should, at least initially, focus on those countries with a clear comparative advantage. In other words, the Bank may not be able to implement this everywhere, nor does this document ask it do so. The idea is to target those countries where activities related to the performing arts could be a viable source of income and where they could especially help advance such matters as social inclusion. Accordingly, there is a need to identify select developing countries that have interest in working on this area. There is also a need to develop proposals (or policy instruments) for those countries that could benefit from this knowledge, especially in relation to economic diversification.

On the latter, developing countries with a restricted range of exports and job creating arrangements are often advised to diversify. So, if they have a comparative advantage in the cultural sector, there is a compelling reason for them to augment their performing arts resources; this could be under a broad framework of developing cultural industries. Essentially, it is difficult to dismiss Julio A. Larcarte’s counsel delivered more than three decades ago: If developing countries wish to overcome the problems caused by the fluctuating and low levels of export earnings, they must do everything they can to diversify their economies and their markets.

> 13 Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, and Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator, “Let’s put culture on the agenda now.” Source: Extract: Joint video message _, Creative Economy Report 2013 Special Edition: Widening Local Development Pathways_ , UNESCO and UNDP.

> 14 UNESCO, “Performing Arts” accessed April 10, 2014, http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/?pg=00054.

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