How cultural value and soft power benefit us
How can concepts like cultural value and soft power help us achieve long-term goals for our organisations, our communities and our society?
As John Newbigin suggests, “it is sometimes said that where oil was the primary fuel of the 20th-century economy, creativity is the fuel of the 21st century” (n.d., para. 12). There is a lot of data to suggest the benefits of culture on the economy. For example, as del Fresno highlights, “if the creative economy were a product, it would have the fifth greatest volume of business in the world. If it were a country, it would be the fourth economic power with a GDP of $4.3 billion, 2.5 times the planet’s military expenditure, and a total of 144 million workers” (2016, para. 4). The term creative economy, sometimes referred to as the orange economy in Latin America, has grown in popularity in the last several years. In this kind of economic model, cultural and creative assets are considered “everything that is developed through people’s creativity and inspiration that becomes a good or service” (del Fresno, 2016, para. 2). A creative economy relies on cultural and creative sectors coordinating their activities amongst themselves as well as having a good understanding of the value culture holds and the potential for its use in soft power (Invest in Columbia, n.d.). As Newbegin notes, “in a time of rapid globalisation, many countries recognise that the combination of culture and commerce that the creative industries represents is a powerful way of providing a distinctive image of a country or a city, helping it to stand out from its competitors” (n.d., para. 8).
The economic impact of culture combined with aspects of cultural exchange, of “sharing different ideas, traditions, and knowledge with someone who may be coming from a completely different background than your own” (Greenheart club, n.d., para. 3), can ultimately play a role in sustainable development as well as supporting stability and prosperity in societies going through substantial change (Thomas, 2019). As we know, most societies around the world have recently gone through substantial change due to the Covid-19 pandemic. D’Orville (2019) suggests “creativity is a special kind of renewable resource and human talent … involv[ing] transforming ideas, imagination and dreams into reality, often blending tradition and innovation” (p. 68). He adds that “the soft power elements of creativity, ingenuity, innovation and imagination are playing an important role in the development process at all levels and in the quest for equitable prosperity” (p. 69).
From an international perspective, UNESCO indicates that “cultural soft power is essential to countering the systematic destruction of cultural heritage by extremists, as well as to rebuilding societies in post-conflict situations,” noting that “extremists target heritage for the values it represents, seeking to destroy references to diversity that clash with their own exclusionary vision of history and culture.” UNESCO suggests that “intercultural dialogue and respect for diversity are therefore among our most powerful tools for safeguarding heritage and promoting reconciliation” (UNESCO, n.d.d, p. 2). The organisation highlights that they consider soft power as “fundamental to UNESCO’s efforts to promote peace through international dialogue and exchange in the areas of culture, natural science, education, social and human sciences and communications” (UNESCO, n.d.d, p.2).