Culture: an instrument for development
Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. It has been called "the way of life for an entire society" and is manifested in music, literature, lifestyle, rituals, painting and sculpture, theater and film and similar things. For this reason culture is a key element in all development cooperation. It is a value in itself that exerts a strong influence on human behaviour and human relations, and through that can affect economic choices and business decisions, as well as social and political behaviour.
With this spirit, Swiss Cooperation Office in Nepal has been supporting various similar activities, through small contributions, under its culture promotion programme. The contribution includes for the contemporary activities, like the peace concerts, film festival, and film and documentary projects, as well as action that are more rooted in the secular cultural and religious tradition of the country like restoration of old heritage sites.
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SDC supported the Jiri Open Air Film Festival in April 2007 with an aim to attract local people, as well as international and national tourists creating new economic opportunities and give confidence to the people of Jiri to reinvest into the tourism sector. Jiri lies in the snow mountain surrounded district of Dolakha of the eastern Nepal. Jiri is perceived by many Nepali as little Switzerland and is a symbol of long lasting collaboration with Swiss people. Jiri has been promoted since the early days as a hill tourist station and a trekking gateway to the Khumbu valley (leading to Mt. Everest). Over the last few years the number of tourists have dramatically reduced in the trekking route due to insurgency, which virtually removed Jiri from the tourist map. The film festivals has brought |
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positive impacts to the people of Jiri and the locals are enthusiastic and active in developing it as an model village. SDC is looking forward to support similar event in Jiri in the coming years.
Partner: Nepa~laya in collaboration with Federation of Nepalese Journalist of Dolakha, the Local Schools of Jiri (in particular the Sec. Schools) and the FNCCI of Dolakha
Contributions: CHF 50,000.00 (2007) |
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The first peace concert, Sundar Shanta Nepal – The Travelling Peace Concert 2003 was organized by Himal Association and Nepalaya with assistance from The Royal Danish Embassy, The Royal Norwegian Embassy and SNV in 2003. SDC joined the collaboration from the second edition of the tour in 2005. The main objective of this concert was to generate public awareness and gather a musical referendum for peace to heal conflict-hit minds with music. SDC also supported the another concert in 2006 “Santi
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ko Laagi Sikchhya (Education for Peace) with the like minded donors.
Partners: Nepalaya with the joint assistance of The Royal Danish Embassy, The Royal Norwegian Embassy and SNV.
Contribution: CHF 37,500.00 in 2005; CHF 50,000.00 in 2006 |
- The Sari Soldiers: Women in the frontline
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Film is a popular media in the subcontinent and a particularly powerful suited in a context with high rates of analphabetism. SDC has supported different documentaries that contributes towards the awareness raising for peace and development issues.
The project "The Sari Soldiers" is an in-depth documentary that delves into the anatomy of Nepal's conflict through the stories of six extraordinary women at the forefront of the political crises in Nepal. It is a character-driven, verity style documentary that weaves the stories of the women who are driven to the conflict, while incorporating the political events that continue within the country during the period of heightened conflict. Officially launched during the Human Rights Watch film festival (13 – 17 March 2008) in London, the film has been awarded the Nestor Almendros Prize, the top prize at the festival.
Partner : Butter Lamp Films, LLC, USA (BLF)
Contribution: CHF 22,000.00 and CHF 40,000.00 from COPRET, SDC for Production (2005) and CHF 48,500.00 for Post production (2008) |
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Nepal is heavily dependent on remittances, totalling US$2 billion a year, surpassing foreign aids, tourism, or carpets, traditionally the leading foreign exchange generators. In spite of the staggering scope of migrant labourers’ contribution to the Nepali economy, and particularly to the poor, there is a woeful lack of representation of this reality in the public realm, whether in film, writing, media, or other discourse. The documentary film will highlight the multi-faceted nature of the migrants’ experience and to influence the public and the Government towards pushing for safer and more rewarding migration policies. The film will be completed by the end of August 2008.
Partner: Shunyata Film Production Pvt Limited, Kathmandu, Nepal
Contribution: CHF 43,400.00 (2008) |
- Destination Dolakha: A visual profile of Dolakha District
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The other documentary, ‘Destination Dolakha’ is a visual profile of Dolakha district of Nepal, which is also one of the focus district of SDC. With an aim to promote natural, archaeological, cultural and historical heritage of the district through visual documentation, the documentary introduces the district naturally, culturally and religiously. It is believed that the documentary will open various doors which can play vital role to generate the economic resources in Dolakha through the promotion of tourism.
Partner: Integrated Community Development Movement (ICDM), Dolakha
Contribution: CHF 7,700.00 (2007) |
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- Sherpa cameraman training
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The SDC head office contributed CHF 35’000 in collaboration with other donors for the filming of ‘Beyond the Everest, the untold stories of the climbing Sherpas’. Soon it was realized that the filming would require two local Sherpas (who are also experienced climbers) for shooting beyond 5400 meters up to the Everest. This also called for the camera training for two non professionals. Swiss Cooperation Office Nepal supported the training for the two cameramen as a portion of development grants towards the cultural development of the country.
Partner: Contemporary Vision Pvt. Ltd.
Contribution: CHF 10,900.00 (2008) |
- Restoration of Kempgun Gomba in Lukla
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The contribution to the restoration of the Kempgun Gomba in Lukla is part of the Swiss support to the maintenance and the promotion of the cultural heritage of Nepal. SDC contributed for interior decoration of the 1st floor of the Lukla Gompa and for the training of young monk/students in traditional Buddhist painting.
(In picture: Statue of Cherenzi, God of Passion)
Partners: Lukla Kempgun Gompa Construction Committee (2007)
Contribution: CHF 35,300.00 |
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