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The Creative Wealth of Nations, with foreword by Amartya Sen (Cambridge 2018)  Press Kit

Development seen from a more holistic perspective looks beyond the expansion of material means and considers the enrichment of people's lives. The arts are an indispensable asset in taking a comprehensive approach toward the improvement of lives.  Available Formats:  Paperback   Hardback   eBook   Also available from:
                                                     
                                                    
 


17 Aug. 2023            The Art of Nations and Global Development 
In 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Straits Times of Singapore commissioned a survey asking people to rank the essential jobs that had kept the city-state going during the pandemic. The answers were shocking.   The Brown Journal of World Affairs  Spring/Summer 2023 • Volume XXIX, Issue II


Sept. 2022              On Cultivating African Architecture for the Africa We Need 
As one African proverb goes, Knowledge is like a garden: If it is not cultivated, it cannot be harvested.  When it comes to African architecture, what is unequivocal is that the knowledge is there. But ...  African Journal on Land Policy and Geospatial Sciences, Vol.5, Issue 4 •  Also in the Jahazi Journal Vol. 10, Issue 3, 2022 special issue on Land Governance, Culture, and Heritage.


15 Aug. 2022             Book chapter – The Arts in the Economy and the Economy in the Arts • In New Mediums, Better Messages? • Edited by David Lewis, Dennis Rodgers, and Michael Woolcock • 'The arts, no one should doubt, are for the enjoyment and enrichment of life,' as John Kenneth Galbraith—who once said that ‘the only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable’—argued. 'But there is another dimension insufficiently recognized. That is their contribution to economic life and well-being.' Open Access • Oxford University Press 


26 Oct. 2021     In American Cities, A Tale of Tree Inequity: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions  Limited tree canopy affects millions of people living in American cities, especially those in people of color and lower-income neighborhoods. Working Paper No. 10-2021 • Cambridge Open Engage


 

1 Sept. 2021             On Harnessing Culture and Heritage for Africa’s Economic Transformation  In May 2021, the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa opened the Africa Dialogue Series, its annual flagship event, under the theme “Cultural Identity and Ownership: Reshaping Mindsets.”    United Nations Economic Commission for Africa


1 June 2021             When It Comes to Sustaining Community Relationships, Small Businesses Are Not Small  Among the many valuable lessons I learned as a music student, besides analyzing how the harmony of meaningful relationships works, was that the dry cleaning expenses for my concert clothing could be tax deductible.
The Tokyo Foundation for Policy Research


3 March 2021               Arts Education and Human Capability
Knowledge, as widely understood, is the engine of modern economic progress.
The World Ensemble


12 Jan. 2021               Portraits from a Shaken Washington
Ever since I arrived in the United States in 1996, I’ve always been surprised by a sense of feckless exceptionalism hanging in the air, mixed with breathtaking underdevelopment — to the point that it’s as if there’s some kind of invisible knee tightly pressing on America’s neck, making it difficult for such a rich country to breathe properly.   »»


15 Dec. 2020                An Interview with Sir James D. Wolfensohn (1933-2020)
James D. Wolfensohn, who served as World Bank president from 1995 to 2005, died on 25th November, 2020 at 86.    Global Policy Journal


13 Nov. 2020                The Kingdom of Wakanda Grants President Trump Asylum
The Kingdom of Wakanda has unanimously voted to grant President Donald J. Trump asylum should he choose to move there anytime after January 20, 2021.    The Satirist


23 Oct. 2020       At the UN, the Arts Emerge as a Force for Sustainable Development  The United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary this year, and while it may not be marked in the way we would have imagined due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an annual concert for UN Day has been pre-recorded for streaming in the UN General Assembly Hall in New York on 24 October.    SDG Knowledge Hub


21 Oct. 2020                Examining Inequality in the Arts
There is nothing new about the nature and scope of inequality engulfing the world today. Still, notwithstanding the ‘starving artist’ mantra—which has become an acceptable truism—inequality in the arts is rarely examined. This discussion aims to shed light on that issue...    Background Paper No. 5-2019 • Human Development Report 2019: Beyond income, beyond averages, beyond today • UNDP


24 Sept. 2020       How Tourism Could Contribute to Cultural Dignity and Planetary Well-Being  The Covid-19 pandemic provides a rare opportunity to rethink how tourism could contribute to cultural dignity and planetary well-being.    Global Policy Journal

19 Sept. 2020       In Barbados, An Inter-American Cultural Meeting Met a Beaming Ficus Citrifolia  Once up on a time, there was an island that appeared in the Caribbean.    Medium


30 March 2020     The Arts Enrich Lives, But Are Also Beset with Gross Inequality
In the prelude to my book The Creative Wealth of Nations, I begin by saying that I grew up in two worlds.    Medium • UNDP


17 March 2020             Prelude and Fugue in Bird Major: Why Birds Matter 
If you comb through the literature of international affairs, you will find a litany of treaties, from the familiar to the obscure.    Environment for the Americas


11 Jan. 2020                Gladys Nalwoga, 1948 – 2019
I sometimes like to joke that if my mother had been someone who didn’t take her time to do certain things, I’d probably have been born on the first and not the third of January.   »»


4 Oct. 2018                 Beat by Bit: On Measuring Trade in Value Added in the Creative Economy of Southeast Asia  Trade in cultural goods and services is one of the least understood areas in commerce. In Bilangan: Selected Papers from the 2018 International Conference on Cultural Statistics and Creative Economy    National Commission for Culture and the Arts • The Republic of the Philippines


31 Oct. 2017         Do Pineapples Grow on Trees? Young People and Farming in Thailand, Uganda, and South Sudan  In recent years, the first thing that normally comes to mind when talking about food crises is climate change.    Africa Policy Journal • Harvard Kennedy School


25 June 2017                Living the Dream
Thank you for such a wonderful story about the life Harry Radliffe lived ("Support for Storytellers," Fall 2016).   Letter to the Editor • Fletcher Magazine


29 Nov. 2016               Introducing a Cultural Trade Index
A few years ago, when Craigslist was just “The List,” a friend circulated an ad posted on Craigslist Vancouver.    Let's Talk Development • World Bank


26 Oct. 2016              For the people, by the people: How inclusive design can help tackle extreme poverty  A museum is probably not the most obvious place to examine global inequality, but something is happening at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City that deserves a good look.    Nasikiliza • World Bank

24 Oct. 2016                 The Cultural Trade Index: An Introduction 
The Cultural Trade Index aims to shed light on cultural trade and stimulate interest in how this little-known area can contribute to economic diversification, boost shared prosperity, and reduce extreme poverty.    Working Paper 7871 • World Bank


Sept. 2016                    Music Going for a Song
Intellectual property rights date to ancient Egypt.    Finance & Development, Vol. 53, No. 3 • IMF


28 Sept. 2016               El mundo nos da basura, y nosotros les devolvemos música    English
La alianza global que busca promover la vida sostenible está encontrando nuevos aliados en los lugares más insospechados.    Kreatopolis • Inter-American Development Bank


24 May 2016                 Creative Trade for Human Development
In recent years, international trade in creative goods and services has been expanding. Working Paper 7684 • World Bank


24 May 2016             Creative Natives in the Digital Age: How Digital Technology Has Revolutionized Creative Work  Digital technologies have permeated modern life, and their impact on creative work has been revolutionary.     Working Paper 7683 • World Bank


May 2016                      Work as Art: Links between Creative Work and Human Development  Creative work has enhanced human development since early times; similarly, the latter can expand the former.    Background Paper • Human Development Report 2015: Work for Human Development • UNDP


1 May 2016              The Arts, Africa & Economic Development: the Problem of Intellectual Property Rights  The subject of this article is the application of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) to Africa's cultural economy, and its implications for development.    Journal of Law, Social Justice & Global Development • University of Warwick • UK


March 2016                  Music for Development in the Digital Age
The music world has had its share of Internet-led shake-ups.    Background Paper • World Development Report 2016: Digital Dividends • World Bank


21 Oct. 2015                African art needs to come home - and this is why 
(With Dilip Ratha)  African art dots museums across Europe and North America, gracing countries where many Africans would be hard pressed to get a visa.
The Guardian


22 Sept. 2015        The road not shared: Turning to the arts to help increase pedestrian safety  A few years ago on a busy Kampala intersection, cars zoomed by while pedestrians braced themselves to cross a road.    Let's Talk Development • World Bank


5 June 2015         Development as Music: Using Africa's Creative Wealth to Improve Lives across the Continent  When I was a child I lived in two worlds. The first world was a creative one, filled with music, a teeming treasure of sounds that stretched from church to nature.    Nasikiliza • World Bank


1 April 2015                  Mozart seduces the World Bank and the IMF
Something curious happened recently at the D.C. enclaves of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Mozart, no less, seized hold of the two institutions.    Let's Talk Development • World Bank


19 Jan. 2015                Haiti's Economic Imperative
Re "Haiti’s economic aftershocks" (Opinion, Jan. 12): Paul E. Fallon makes a point that anyone concerned about Haiti or even global poverty must consider.
Letter to the Editor • New York Times International Edition


Nov. 2014                  The Creative Wealth of Nations: How the Performing Arts Can Advance Development and Human Progress • Foreword by Amartya Sen Cultural activities are increasingly noted as drivers of meaningful development.    Working Paper 7118 • World Bank


April 2014                     Africa's Creative Sector: Why Intellectual Property Matters
"When you play the flute in Zanzibar all Africa dances," goes a Zanzibari saying.    Africa.com


19 Feb. 2014                An Untapped Economy: Africa's Creative Sector
“All roads lead to Kilembe.” As a child growing up in Uganda, I heard that statement countless times.    World Policy Journal


24 May 2013                A Ugandan in Southeast Asia
It was as if I was in Thailand before I got there.    Photo Essay • The Fletcher Forum
 


9 July 2010                  For God and My Feet: The Pain of Walking in Uganda
IF a survey were conducted to measure the natural beauty of countries, Uganda would score highly. Its vegetation makes Uganda a gem.    Edited by The New Vision
See original article


3 June 2009                 U.S. Students: See the World, and Change It
Re "Cum Laude in Evading Bandits" (column, May 31):  Since America is at the center of global power, Nicholas D. Kristof’s "15 travel tips" should be discussed at all American schools.    Letter to the Editor • New York Times


6 Nov. 2008                  Northern Uganda: Halting the War is Just the Beginning
Like Rwanda, northern Uganda has had its share of political upheavals.    The Phillipian • Vol. CXXX1 No. 23


30 Oct. 2008                Rwanda Strives to Redeem Its Dark Past
Since I left Uganda 12 years ago, I have had a couple of opportunities to go back — thanks to my musical activities.    The Phillipian • Vol. CXXX1 No. 22


14 Dec. 2007               The Overture to the North Koreans
Re "Philharmonic Agrees to Play in North Korea" (front page, Dec. 10):  The Philharmonic’s decision to play in Pyongyang is a brazen act that shows how music remains a powerful tool of communication.    Letter to the Editor • New York Times


5 Oct. 2005                  The Other Gold in Southern Africa: Music

                                     The Andover Gazette • Vol. XXXI No. 5


Oct. 2003                     Sylff Music and Minds in Cairo
I first heard about Egypt in my geography classes in Uganda, the location of Lake Victoria, one of the sources of the Nile River, the source of prosperity for Egyptians.    Sylff Newsletter, No.7 • The Tokyo Foundation


Oct. 2003                     Young Minds and Music Converge in Egypt

                                     The Juilliard Journal • Vol. XIX No. 2


Oct. 2000                     African Odyssey: Bringing the Music Home

                                     The Juilliard Journal • Vol. XVI No. 2


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If it isn’t creative, you don’t have much of an economy

By Diane Coyle • The Enlightened Economist • Inaugural Bennett Professor of Public Policy,  University of Cambridge • June 13, 2018 – I went to the launch last week of Patrick Kabanda’s The Creative Wealth of Nations, and was lucky enough to hear the great Amartya Sen (who wrote the foreword) give an introduction.

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The creative wealth of nations: can the arts advance development?

By S. R. Osmani • Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, Vol. 23, 2022 - Issue 3 • 16 June 2022 – Does culture matter for economic development? In view of the pervasive influence of culture in our personal and social lives, it would be surprising if it did not. The relevant question, therefore, is not whether culture matters but how it does so. The latter question was addressed by Amartya Sen in his insightful essay “How Does Culture Matter” (in Culture and Public Action edited by Vijayendra Rao and Michael Walton), where he investigated a number of causal connections between culture and development. Other scholars and institutions (including the World Bank and UNESCO in recent years) have also contributed to this discussion. In this fascinating book, Patrick Kabanda carries forward this line of investigation, focussing specifically on the role of performing arts in advancing the cause of what he calls ‘meaningful’ development.

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