PACSOC Webinar on Cultural Policy in a post-Genocide world

I participated in a panel discussion on 30 October hosted by the Palestinian Arts and Culture Solidarity Collective (PACSOC) on the subject of cultural policy after the Gaza genocide.  Till now, international cultural policy and cultural collaboration have been determined largely on the terms of the global north.  Human rights, development, cultural industries, countering radicalism and other themes have been advanced by institutions such as the European Commission, UNESCO, British Council and Goethe Institute, themes that have been embraced by cultural actors in the global south because they come with resources and opportunities.  But the Gaza genocide has once and for all shattered the myths of human rights, of democracy, of equality and have exposed - most starkly - the white supremacy and racism of so-called liberal democracies that have supported, aided and abetted the slaughter of children, women and other innocent civilians for over a year in Gaza.  It is imperative that new terms for international cultural policies and collaborations have to be determined by global south interests and perspectives, and that cultural actors in the global south need to be weaned from dependence on global north funding and co-option to assert and sustain a more humane, more just and anti-racist understanding and pursuit of humanity.

My contribution to the panel may be read here: Cultural Policy in a Time of Barbarism | mikevangraan