Suffolk has been chosen by the Government to lead a programme of
innovative and diverse approaches that aspire to meet community
needs through cultural actions.
Under the initiative led by the Department for Culture, Media
and Sport (DCMS) and the Local Government Association (LGA), the
County Council will be one of only 12 local authorities across the
country – and the only one in the region – to show how culture and
sport can help deliver better services to local communities. The 12
councils were chosen from 88 who applied and will be pathfinders
for two years, running from April 2005 to April 2007.
Being a Cultural Pathfinder gives the Council the opportunity to
use culture to address other issues such as child obesity and crime
reduction and to monitor and evaluate very closely the success of
this approach.
"What makes our approach unique is the intention to link the
Pathfinder programme with wider
Local Area Agreement (LAA) (PDF 524, Kb) outcomes" says
Richard Hunt, Head of Culture & Heritage. "This will provide
cultural partners across Suffolk with the opportunity to promote a
series of projects and programmes that illustrate their impact in
relation to achieving these outcomes."
Suffolk’s Pathfinder programme is a multi-project approach
consisting of current projects plus new, innovative projects
developed in conjunction with a wide range of partners.
Some of the key areas to focus on will be:
- improving the life chances for looked after children;
- increasing the number of people involved in volunteering
activities;
- reducing crime and anti-social behaviour;
- tackling child obesity.
Underpinning all of these priorities is a strong commitment to
learning through culture.
We are all aware of the quality of our cultural services in
Suffolk, which is exactly why we have been awarded Cultural
Pathfinder status, but this programme offers us the opportunity to
really raise the profile of cultural services in Suffolk and
celebrate our cultural diversity.