Development of cultural centers/capital/products/industries as a segment of sustainable cultural development
The main objective of the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport was to demonstrate through the funded projects and programmes in last 8 years that the public cultural infrastructures, i.e. cultural centers, play a key role in promoting cultural education and cultural participation, as well as that cultural infrastructures are contributing to elimination of social exclusions and marginalization. Moreover, they are also crucial in creating an enabling environment for the emergence of dynamic cultural sectors and cultural clusters. The aim of the Ministry was to build inclusive and creative society, equitable access to cultural life and diverse expressions and to increase literacy of diversity and its expressions in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Then, cultural products and cultural industries attract investments (domestic and foreign), so therefore contributing to the sustainable development of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Indeed, through this measure cultural infrastructures and cultural industries have demonstrated they are essential in making culture “work” for sustainable development at all levels in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This measure has been implemented thorough conservation, reconstruction, restoration and rehabilitation of 30 cultural facilities (most of them are cultural centers), 16 public facilities, 60 sacral object of cultural heritage, 17 old towns, 8 movable cultural properties, 11 necropolis and archaeological localities. And trough providing funds for strengthening, development and promotion of cultural industries and products, especially of the B&H cinematography.
Challenges identified in the implementation of this measure: The main challenge was to provide funding for reconstruction and conservation of public cultural infrastructures due to the fact that cultural infrastructures in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina have been totally or partially destroyed from 1992 to 1995. The Government of Federation of B&H and the Federal Ministry of Culture and Sport have provided a large sum of money from the Budget as well as international donors in order to implement this measure.
Cultural centers contributed in elimination of exclusions and marginalization of the citizens especially cultural centers in small towns and rural areas of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cultural centers also play key role in promoting cultural education, participation, activity and social inclusion. The impact of cultural products and cultural industries are very important and significant because they contribute to the national GDP. Study surveying the businesses in the sector of culture according to their structure and contribution to gross domestic product has been developed in 2011. Report on indicators for measuring of the contribution of culture to development used in Bosnia and Herzegovina presented the data of 6.7% share of culture in GDP.