Arts and humanities research benefits all problems, says Damian Popolo

We tend to ignore the human dimension of problems such as global terrorism, and forget that they cannot simply be resolved with increasingly sophisticated technological devices.  The European Commission’s latest proposals for a European programme on security research have a very strong focus on technological advances.

The same mindset has applied in the US. There were only six graduates in Arabic from all US colleges and universities in 2002. It is not surprising that the US Senate declared 2005 to be ‘the year of languages’.  The resolution stresses the importance of training and research in languages for a number of issues, ranging from economic well-being to security threats, cultural understanding and critical thinking. 

Virtually all disciplines within the humanities have something to contribute to our understanding of security problems, from religious studies, cultural theory and identity politics to history and philosophy. 

Almost a third of all UK public spending in research is channelled through the Ministry of Defence, and this exacerbates a research focus on traditional science and engineering disciplines. (See Scientists for Global Responsibility) Only 6 per cent of the UK defence research budget is spent on preventing conflict.

The AHRC, in collaboration with the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE), is funding a £22million  programme to create a world class cadre of researchers who have the language skills to undertake research that will ultimately enhance the UK's understanding of the Arabic-speaking world, China, Japan, and Eastern Europe including areas of the former Soviet Union. 
    
Millennium Development Goals 
Research in the arts and humanities is of fundamental importance for the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. 

Such research can help build inclusive, culturally diverse societies, allowing people full cultural expression. It can be deployed to communicate across cultures and disciplines. Its advantage is that it can put subjective cultural experience at the centre of ‘development theory’ – crucial if policy is to help people survive poverty.

A central theme of the AHRC’s ‘Diasporas, migration and identities’ programme is an understanding of how societies and cultures view themselves.  The AHRC also funds a number of projects on diasporic communities with origins in the developing world. For example, a £124,000 grant was recently awarded to explore to what extent Muslim diasporas act as mediators of business knowledge in their countries of origin.

Creative industries in developing countries
The fostering of creative industries – such as the Indian film and Brazilian music industries – also promises to generate employment and open new opportunities for international trade in developing countries.  Creative industries are estimated to account for more than 7 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product and are forecast to grow, on average, by 10 per cent a year.      

The creative industries call for research in many fields including design, art and art history. These industries have high developmental potential because poor countries have what is needed to foster them: excellence in artistic expression, abundance of talent, and openness to new influences and experimentation.

The AHRC funds research in the creative and performing arts in developing countries. Collaborations between UK performers, writers and artists and those based in the developing world can help create a market for cultural products. Such activity also opens opportunities for transferring skills and expertise to those involved in developing local creative industries.

Creativity and innovation in the UK
The creative industries account for 8 per cent of the UK’s GDP and, according to Lord Sainsbury, have twice the impact on our balance of trade as the pharmaceutical industry.

The varied backgrounds of academics, industrialists and consumers educated in different ways of thinking has meant that subsets of design communities have grown with their own distinctive cultures. Cross-fertilisation of ideas is essential if old forms of production are to modernise and new forms are to flourish.

To bring about this cross-fertilisation, the AHRC and the EPSRC are taking forward a joint £5 million initiative entitled ‘Designing for the 21st century’. One project is designing attractive outdoor play spaces for children, to get them moving and help prevent obesity. Its research teams include architects, landscape designers, traffic engineers, community safety experts, child psychologists and NGOs involved in child welfare. Their cooperation will ensure that designs for public open spaces integrate the elements vital to encourage children and adolescents to play in safety.

Damian Popolo is International Affairs Manager at the AHRC