Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in subsequent chapters of the book. The book aims to contribute to the understanding of sustainable cultural development and also to the exchange of knowledge and experience between different places and environments. It explores the recent developments in cultural policy-making and the experiences of people working within the sector throughout a variety of regions and cities. The book explains how the need for effective cultural policy in contemporary culture is increasing due to movements in society which are inevitably impacting both the arts and, equally, cultural institutions themselves. It also shows that good cultural policies enhance democratisation and development. The book examines how cultural institutions are becoming much more open than they used to be, and how these institutional changes go hand in hand with social changes that thereby allow them to take an active role in that process. It also provides an evaluation of specific cultural projects.