OPINION. Daniel Boeri: Culture, a major asset for the country’s attractiveness!
Alice Blangero
Daniel Boeri, member of the National Council and Chairman of the Culture and Heritage Committee, shares his vision on Monaco’s attractiveness and culture’s major contribution to it.
The concept of attractiveness is very often simplified, reducing it to the economic development of a country alone, to the point where specific components are overshadowed.
Advertising
Culture is an integral part of it, with its social as well as economic value. In our country, it resonates particularly strongly in terms of notoriety.
Culture goes far beyond mere budgetary considerations.
Even though it is very important in our country; culture represents around 4.5% to 5% of the state budget. While substantial, this figure does not reveal the true impact and we need to remember that culture is an investment and not just an expense.
It has something a of a double personality in our country, if I may put it like that.
READ ALSO: Monaco shows France that culture can stay open during a pandemic
On the one hand, on the non-profit side in the broadest sense, it has a strong social contribution, far from the pomp. On the other hand, of course, we have what the well-known Cultural Institutions propose, an “exposure to works”; whether they are musical, lyrical, scenographic or museum pieces, they make the artistic world legible. But more than that; the pandemic has shown, very clearly, how much culture provides spectators with a “breathing space”. What’s more, in Monaco, it creates a new dimension! Life in Monaco is a fantastic opportunity to experience vibrant creations. Living in Monaco, wherever we come from, the wide offering means we can say, “there is something for all tastes” whether it is as a spectator or even as a participant.
But also, the creations contribute greatly to the Country’s notoriety. The Monegasque cultural offering travels beyond our borders, both in neighbouring countries and much father afield and therefore contributes to our country’s image. This international artistic recognition goes far beyond mere performances and creations, as such, in terms of developing the country’s notoriety. It is a foundation for attractiveness.
Basically, culture puts the citizen in the broader sense, here and elsewhere, in touch with the complex world around us. As such, it can be said that it is becoming, or already is, one of the mainstays of the country’s attractiveness.
So much so, that any rejection or backward step in the choice of new creations should be seen as a knife wound to the attractiveness of the country.
In fact, as we often see, each new event attracts a large number of spectators to Monaco from elsewhere!
Not to mention the impact of international press reviews of these creations.
It is therefore high time we realised that artistic creation in the broad sense is an intrinsic part of attractiveness, with as much of an economic and social impact as other economic or promotional activities, if not more.
Daniel BOERI