The fourth National Local Government Cultural Forum was held in Darwin, 8 October 2014.
The bi-annual meeting brings together cultural policy and planning representatives from Australia’s local government associations, capital cities, Commonwealth Ministry for the Arts and the Australia Council for the Arts. The objective is to increase the capacity of local government to strengthen the arts and cultural development in their communities.
More information, including the Terms of Reference and previous communiqués, is available here.
National Local Government Cultural Forum Meeting, 8 October 2014
Darwin, Northern Territory
The fourth meeting of the Cultural Forum considered progress on the priority areas agreed to in previous meetings. The key outcomes are as follows.
The Cultural Forum will;
- Identify a baseline set of local government indicators that is usable by councils making investments in arts and cultural activities and demonstrates the scope and impact of arts and cultural development across local government in Australia. This work is in response to the lack of local government arts and culture data currently reported at a national level.
- Work with the Australia Council for the Arts to agree data to be included in the State of the Arts report that best represents local government’s contribution to national arts and cultural activity;
- Work with the eight capital cities to aggregate the data currently used in planning and reporting as a prototype dataset that will inform work on a baseline set of local government measures and indicators.
- Continue working with five sample councils on their needs and use of local data to inform their arts and culture business planning and project management decisions;
- Build on the examination of existing local cultural development projects in NSW, including outcomes, measures and dynamics, to design a proof of concept for an on-line project management system for sharing and showcasing the work and outcomes of local government investment in the arts.
- The cultural forum discussed closure of the ABS National Centre for Culture and Recreation Statistics and reflected the concern of councils and associations about discontinuing production of essential cultural data.
The fourth meeting of the Cultural Forum was preceded by meetings of the capital cities and local government associations to address national items that relate to the business of the National Local Government Cultural Forum. These meetings also provide an opportunity for discussion on more specific issues outside of the Cultural Forum.
The National Local Government Cultural Forum is assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body, and managed by the Cultural Development Network in cooperation with the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA).
Communiqué – Cultural Forum Meeting 1
Communiqué – Cultural Forum Meeting 2
Communiqué – Cultural Forum Meeting 3
Further information, contact the Cultural Development Network: John Smithies john.smithies@culturaldevelopment.net.au or +61 3 99250974.