Cultural policy
The Cultural Services Branch is currently preparing the second Willoughby City Cultural Plan. Council’s moving to establish Cultural Planning Guidelines to assist communities in planning for the development and management of arts and cultural resources. Councils are now required to have all their plans integrated into a City Strategy or Community Plan and council released its Willoughby City Strategy – together towards tomorrow in 2006. The new Cultural Plan will be designed to better integrate into the Willoughby City Strategy.
It is anticipated that the new Cultural Plan will be completed by the end of 2009. Its broad directions are based on the research for the City Strategy and Councils Customer satisfaction surveys. The draft will be posted on Council’s website and targeted community consultation will then be undertaken to seek feedback and input on its content.
One of the tenets of the Cultural Policy 2004-2008, which will be continued in the new Plan is that programming in Council’s Cultural Facilities fosters cultural and community development.
Council’s programming and operations reflects the Cultural Policy observation that people were interested in seeing the perceived strengths of theatre, music, and cultural diversity being the basis of cultural development and programming in the city. Collaborative and participatory arts and cultural activities can generate a sense of community belonging and pride and can make significant contributions to a unique and cultural environment. The community programming reflects this sentiment.
The Civic Place programming attempts to eliminate barriers that affect people’s capacity and opportunities for participation, and to uphold Council’s access and equity principles. The range of community involvement shows the extent of the diversity of the Willoughby community, who will take advantage of the new Civic Place facilities. It also addresses the issue of innovative economic solutions by considering existing and potential cultural resources.
On completion, the new Cultural Plan will be on Council’s website in late 2009.