Dr. Alasambom Nyingchuo
“[c]ulture must be integrated in the post 2015 agenda, as a driver and as an enabler of sustainable development.”
This point of view is especially worth noting in the Cameroonian context, where arts have not seriously been considered as a vector of sustainable development over the past decades, such that public spending has consistently skirted around the culture and arts sector to other areas (Butake, 2005). Consequently, Cameroon has not yet developed a clear cultural policy which could serve as a roadmap for the development of the culture and arts industry in general and the film sector in particular.
However, for any nation to come to terms with the pivotal role of arts and culture in sustainable development, there is need for a multi- dimensional understanding of the functions attributed to culture in the society.
Human development thrives on creativity, creative expression, the arts and cultural heritage as means of emotional and psycho-logical catharsis, intellectual stimulation, and the exploration, celebration and transformation of the human condition within given circumstances.
Dr. Alasambom Nyingchuo
Assistant Lecturer
Dr. Alasambom Nyingchuo is an Assistant lecturer of Theatre, Television and Film Studies at the University of Bamenda, Cameroon. He obtained his PhD in Cultural Sustainability in July 2020 from the Center for the Study and Promotion of cultural Sustainability (CSPCS), at the University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria. His doctoral studies were conducted under the tutelage of the SDG Graduate School ‘Performing Sustainability, Cultures and Development in West Africa’, between the Universities of Hildesheim (Germany), Maiduguri (Nigeria), and Cape Coast (Ghana). He is an actor, writer, filmmaker; and the current Secretary General of the Cameroon Film Industry (CFI) organization. His research interests include Theatre and filmmaking practices in Cameroon and Africa, Popular Culture, Applied Drama, Cultural Policy, Arts Management, Cultural Diplomacy, Cultural Sustainability, Community Development, Facilitative Leadership, Cultural Political Economy, and Digital Technologies and the Arts.
Photos: National Theater in Lagos State, Nigeria photo by Omoeko Media; book cover Art of NIgeria by Ulli Beier. Images for use from author, or under creative commons and / or public domain.
