The pursuit of sustainable development through cultural law and governance frameworks: a South African perspective

Abstract

The idea of including a cultural dimension in development policies has become the focus of international scholarly and policy debates. Analysing and conceptualising the role of culture in the sustainable development context was brought into focus by the World Commission on Culture and Development (WCCD), with the publication of the report Our Creative Diversity: Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development in 1995. The Report highlighted the cultural dimensions of a human-centered development paradigm and proposed placing culture at the center stage of development thinking. This argument was taken further at the International Conference on Cultural Policies for Development held in Stockholm in 1998, where it was proposed that cultural policies become key components of development strategies. This article will examine the infiltration of culture into the contemporary understanding of sustainable development and the relevance of international law developments to domestic (South African) law and policy with regards to sustainable development and culture.