The Integrated City: Local Cultural Policy and Sustainable Integrated Urban Development

This seminar at UCT’s African Centre for Cities looks to continue a set of dialogues around cultural governance and sustainable urban development in South Africa. It brings two processes together:

1.  The Local Cultural Policy Agenda: South African cities are potential spaces for dynamic change as a result of being the nexus for flows of people and ideas. Culture is increasingly seen as significant in urban transformation.  A long-term approach to exploring innovative urban governance frameworks that forward the use of culture has been proposed as a research agenda. These speak to new national frameworks around integrated urban development as well as revisions to the Arts and Culture White paper.
2. Integrating the Dual City:  The African Centre for Cities recent Integration and Ideas Festival continue a interest in the role of culture for sustainable development, putting forward a number of innovative provocations to address the dual city.  These included a strong focus on issues related to culture (memory, storytelling and identity), placemaking (densified, dynamic neighborhoods) and relationality (including through mobility, solidarity networks, “hubs”, and the digital space).

The seminar objectives

• Further a dialogue between researchers working in civil society and government concerned with the culture and its role in  urban transformation.
• To test the viability of a specific provocation – the UCLG Agenda 21 for Culture – Culture Actions: a framework for  governance that furthers the use of culture for sustainable development in cities –  against provocations at the recent  festival, and including engaging with practitioners.
  
• To identify possible future paths of inquiry and collaboration amongst researchers based in Cape Town with those elsewhere in South Africa.

WHEN: 17 August 2018
TIME: 8.30 for 9:00-15:00
VENUE: John Martin Room, New Engineering Building, UCT
RSVP: Places are limited. Please send an RSVP email with any dietary requirements to africancentreforcities.rsvp@gmail.com  

PROGROGRAMME

8:30-9:00 Registration and coffee

9:00-9:30   Welcome, Introduction and Viewing of Exhibition
Introduction.  Providing the input on Local Cultural Policy Agenda, responding to Integration ideas Festival and introducing the UCLG Agenda 21 for Culture Actions.

Speaker: Zayd Minty

9:30-10:30 Cultural Narratives – Heritage, Creativity, Urban Change
Working with memory and notions of heritage, building on local creativity, provide a powerful way to build meaning for citizens and so build sense of purpose. Why is this important for cities and what can we do about it?

Presenters: Naomi Roux (UCT) and Valmont Layne (UWC)
Respondent: Deirdre Prins-Solani (Education, Culture and Heritage Specialist)

10:30-11:00 Tea

11:00-12:00  Place Making and the potential of Socially Engaged Public Practise
There is a growing need for thinking about denser, more livable spaces that are also more resonant and meaningful through socially engaged public art/practices.  How can local government make this happen?

Presenters:  Rike Sitas (UCT) and Anna Selmeczi (UCT)
Respondent: Brenda Skelenge (Lukhanyo Hub)

12:00-13:00  Cultural Mapping and Planning
The CoCT’s Cultural Mapping and Planning initiative provides an opportunity for communities to revalue their tangible and intangible assets and begin dialogues for community change.  How is this relevant for cities?

Presenters: Vaughn Sadie (UCT/DUT) and Laura Nkula-Wenz (UCT)
Respondent: TBC

13:00-14:00 Lunch

14:00-15:00  Closing discussion 
Way forward for research, policy and practice agendas and support network.  Led by Avril Joffe (Wits)