Culture: Hidden Development

This report on culture and international development was launched by Creative Exchange and funded by the United Kingdom's Department for International Development. It is intended to serve as a practical working guide for the combined issues of culture and development for the international development sector. Its findings are based on research which explored the use of culture and creative activities within the work of five UK-based development agencies - ActionAid, Comic Relief, Health Unlimited, Save the Children UK and Tearfund.

According to the publisher, one of their most significant discoveries was the degree to which culture was embedded in their partners' work and thinking. There was a realisation that five agencies spent a conservatively estimated £30 million on 350 projects in 40 countries and that - inspite of the fact that culture was a thread running through all work - "it was largely invisible at policy level." This publication seeks to make culture visible by inspiring development thinking and action. It explores how culture is taken into account, "whether as a social landscape in which communities evolve, as a source of rich content and expression, or as a means of communication on key issues such as HIV/AIDS and human rights."