Why is not Culture the 9th Millennium Development Goal?
It is sad but one recurrently has to explain why culture and especially cultural heritage is important, whether it be in a discussion with ambassadors, politicians or military commanders.
One of the first arguments used in this dispute is that people would be much better off with 'substantial' goods, like food and housing, than with some antiquities. Many great mind would disagree with Bertold Brecht who said 'Food comes first, than Morality'. They would instantly refer to the relation between heritage and freedom, and many people would give up their lives for this freedom. Culture and heritage are not just luxury goods, they are basic needs.
The arts as part of cultural heritage like literature, music, painting and sculpture are essential in a peaceful co-habitation of the human species as it will offer them an alternative point of view. In presenting a different picture people will be more lenient in accepting differences in real life as well that in turn will stimulate mutual respect. That is why cultural heritage plays such a vital role in the democratization process.
Cultural heritage: without it we will loose our main source of self-expression and in the end our self-realization.
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