Overview of the

Department of Arts and Culture

Fiona Clayton

1 July 2014

Arts and culture open powerful spaces for debate about where a society finds itself and where it is going. Promoted effectively, the

creative and cultural industries can contribute substantially to small business development, job creation, and urban development and

renewal.National Development Plan (NDP) 2030

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Purpose of this presentation is to provide the Portfolio Committee on Arts and Culture with an administrative overview of the Department of Arts and Culture.

Introduction

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• Basic overview of the Department• Legislative mandate• Key national policies• Selected key international instruments

Outline

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This section will look at the Department’s:• Constitutional mandate,• Vision,• Mission, and• Strategic outcome oriented goals.

Basic overview of the Department

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The mandate of the Department is derived from the following sections of the Constitution:

•Section 16(1) “Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes-

(a) freedom of the press and other media;

(b) freedom to receive or impart information or ideas;

(c) freedom of artistic creativity; and

(d) academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.”

Constitutional Mandate

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• Section 30

“Everyone has the right to use the language and to participate in the cultural life of their choice, but no one exercising these rights may do so in a manner inconsistent with any provision of the Bill of Rights.”

• Section 32(1) “Everyone has the right of access to-

(a) any information held by the state; and

(b) any information that is held by another person and that is required for the exercise or protection of any rights.

Constitutional Mandate(continued)

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We are a thriving arts, culture and heritage sector contributing to sustainable

economic development, leveraging on partnerships for a socially cohesive nation.

Vision

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We enhance job creation by preserving, protecting and developing arts, culture and

heritage to sustain our democracy and build our nation.

Mission

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• Job creation:Create 150 000 decent jobs in arts, culture and heritage by March 2016

• Human capital development:Implement targeted programmes that are geared towards human capital development in the arts, culture and heritage sector by 2014

• Access to information:Enhance access by citizens and public institutions to accurate, reliable and timely information in their language of choice though the provision of archives, libraries and language services

Strategic outcome oriented goals

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• Linguistic diversity:

Entrench linguistic diversity in a manner that facilitates equitable cultural expression by citizens and communities

• Development, and the protection and preservation of arts, culture and heritage:

Enhance the capacity of the sector through equitable and sustainable development, and the protection and preservation of arts, culture and heritage through policy development, legislative promulgation and implementation

Strategic outcome oriented goals (continued)

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• Governance and accountability:

Align public-sector art, culture and heritage institutions around a shared vision, a common mandate, and strong governance and accountability

Strategic outcome oriented goals (continued)

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• National Archives and Record Service of South Africa Act, 1996 (Act 43 of 1996)

• Cultural Institutions Act, 1998 (Act 119 of 1998)

• Culture Promotion Act, 1983 (Act 35 of 1983)

• South African Geographical Names Council Act, 1998 (Act 118 of 1998)

• Heraldry Act, 1962 (Act 18 of 1962)

• Legal Deposit Act, 1997 (Act 54 of 1997)

• National Arts Council Act, 1997 (Act 56 of 1997)

• National Film and Video Foundation Act, 1997 (Act 73 of 1997)

Legislative Mandate

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• National Heritage Council Act, 1999 (Act 11 of 1999)

• National Heritage Resources Act, 1999 (Act 25 of 1999)

• Pan South African Language Board Act, 1995 (Act 59 of 1995)

• National Library of South Africa Act, 1998 (Act 92 of 1998)

• South African Library for the Blind Act, 1998 (Act 91 of 1998)

• National Council for Library and Information Act, 2001 (Act 6 of 2001)

• Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act 2 of 2000)

• South African Language Practitioners’ Council Act (Act 8 of 2014)

Legislative Mandate (continued)

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• National Development Plan• White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage• National Language Policy Framework• National Living Heritage Policy• National Policy on the Digitisation of Heritage Resources

Key National Policies

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White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage• 1996 White Paper is outdated• Currently under review• Revised White Paper will communicate government’s

current vision for the sector

Key National Policies (continued)

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South Africa has ratified a number of international conventions related to the protection, documentation and conservation of cultural heritage and heritage resources:•United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage•UNESCO Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict•UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property

Selected key International Instruments

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• UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage

• UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage

• UNIDROIT Convention on Stolen or Illegally Exported Cultural Objects

• Charter for African Cultural Renaissance

Selected key International Instruments (continued)

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Thank you

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