Culture includes everything from language, traditions, history, cultural heritage, faith, food and food, social habits, music, dance, drama, storytelling, poetry plays, movies, arts and crafts. Culture is important for sustainable development, as it links the past, the present and the future. Without a transformation of the past, there can be no development.
Culture is the band that unites people and provides a framework that shapes people’s norms, way of life and behaviour. In this way, the importance of culture for business opportunities, job creation, integration, health and well-being, education, technology, creativity and much more. Culture means that people and communities can build an identity and develop an active citizenship. It can help prevent conflicts and reconciliation processes and is therefore an important ingredient for post-war reconstruction and the healing process. The ability of culture to link people together is necessary to create open, inclusive and democratic societies.
Challenges in the cultural sector are related to documentation, information and research, as well as improvements in resources within administration, technical expertise and financing.
Our work aims to strengthen the cultural dimension of development, preserve cultural diversity and strengthen the creative interaction between different cultural actors and stakeholders. JLOF initiates and supports cultural interaction that enables people to realize a common future. We enable voices that are too often not heard to be heard. We want to instill pride in rural ethnic groups and give them tools to actively manage their cultural heritage that is crucial for ensuring cultural vitality and sustainable development. This is done by supporting development programs for livelihoods, supporting rural craftsmen, mainly young people and women, so that they can receive income by using their traditional craftsmanship skills.
Our programs and projects are always carried out in close collaboration with a network of local partners, as well as representatives of the institutions in the civil society who know the socio-cultural environment in the regions where we implement our investments.
The business include:
- Promotion of culture, heritage and history.
- Keep the annual JLOF Cultural and Scholarship Award day with film, music, singing and dance performances as well as supporting other cultural activities necessary to support the implementation of related programs.
- Establish a common resource center to facilitate documentation and structured management of cultural expressions and cultural heritage, and for language and culture to be preserved.
- To provide a platform and a forum that connects actors and stakeholders in the cultural sector and to discuss historical and modern directions for the development of culture, the problems and opportunities preservation of cultural heritage entails.
- Keeping exhibitions and workshops for reflection and exchange between cultural actors and raising awareness.
- Education to stimulate creativity, to improve the quality of products and to increase socio-economic effects.
- Promoting human rights, gender equality and diversity.