We believe that countries that are willing to invest in the arts can achieve something extraordinary in a very short time and over the long-run. The arts have always been at the cutting-edge of new ideas and paradigms about how we need to shape the future of the world and have the capacity to bring about the ‘courageous transformation’ the world so desperately needs. Practically speaking, the arts
are an enabling tool, a platform for culture and the development of the identity of the country through developing the identity of its individuals, with a knock-on impact to openness and transparency, accountability in governance, education and the development of human potential, sustainable growth, democratic processes, creativity and innovation - all huge drivers for economic and social development. The vision and goals
The vision of the project, the Global Arts Impact Agenda, is to drive the prioritization of culture as a key tool for governments and business in the period 2015-2025. 2015 will see the introduction of the UN’s new Sustainable Development Goals, designed to replace the Millennium Development Goals and pave the way for the next decade. We see an opportunity to create an international charter on how the arts can be used to further the goals, and to embed arts and culture as a core part of policy and strategic development in the majority of the identified target countries by 2025. Critically, the policy-advocacy work that we do will be backed up by grassroots programmes on the ground that pioneer our philosophies and are supported by data-driven research to enable us to prove the efficacy of the arts across a range of different areas. Core areas of focus (vertical work streams) would be Culture-Education, Arts and the Economy and Arts and Sustainability and our on-the-ground projects would be run along these streams. As part of our vision, and to contribute to long-term sustainability, we will develop an ‘incubation hub’ for investment in and mentoring of arts organisations and individual artists, as well as a consultancy to advise policy makers and corporate executives in how to use the arts.
