POPULAR MUSIC AS VEHICLE FOR CULTURAL CHANGE INTERVENTION: TAKUN J’S CULTURAL DIPLOMACY IN POST-CONFLICT LIBERIA

Benjamin A.  MORGAN

Authors

Benjamin A. MORGAN MA Graduate, of the Cultural Diplomacy and the Global Economy programs, Babeș-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; BA in Philosophy and German Studies, University of Pennsylvania, United States. Email: morgan@culturaldiplomacy.org. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3777-351X

Keywords:

cultural diplomacy, international development, instrumentalization, Liberia, impact evaluation

Abstract

Hiring local artists to collaborate on efforts intending to change values and alter behavior is an approach used by aid organizations in international development. Soft-power campaigns targeting local attitudes are often seen by the development institution as positive collaborations between foreign humanitarians and local artists. Song for Hawa, a 2013 collaboration between Liberian artist/rapper Takun J, and the international NGO PCI Media Impact, is a cultural diplomacy campaign intending to engage Liberians about the difficult topic of child rape. This paper discusses concerns with this instrumental approach to culture in development, and difficulties with the impact evaluationof using art to affect social change.

References

Azango, Mae (2013), “He Almost Got Me Killed’ - Rep. Snowe Accused of Assaulting Hipco Star Takun J,” Front Page Africa, June 19, 2013, [http://allafrica.com/stories/201306191070.html], accessed 29 July 2015.

Belfiore, Eleonora and Bennett, Oliver (2010), “Beyond the ‘Toolkit Approach’: Arts Impact Evaluation Research and the Realities of Cultural Policy‐Making,” Journal for Cultural Research 14, no. 2: 121–42. DOI: 10.1080/14797580903481280.

Brooks, Cholo (2015), “Gender Ministry Reports 554 Rape Cases in 2014,” GNN Liberia, [http://www.gnnliberia.com/articles/2015/01/23/liberia-gender-ministry-reports-554-rape-cases-2014], accessed 30 July 2015.

Cambridge Dictionaries Online, s.v. “diplomacy”, [http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/diplomacy], accessed 29 July 2015.

Cull, Nicolas J (2008), The National Theatre of Scotland’s Black Watch: Theatre as Cultural Diplomacy, USC Center on Public Diplomacy and the British Council.

Feigienbaum, Harvey (2001), “Globalization and Cultural Diplomacy,” Center for Arts and Culture, Washington D.C., 30-31.

Koffa, Jonathan “Takun J bio,” ReverbNation, date unknown, [https://www.reverbnation.com/takunj], accessed 29 July 2015.

Koffa, Jonathan (2013), “Song for Hawa," Liberia, PCI Media Impact Website, [http://mediaimpact.org/song-for-hawa/], accessed 29 November 2013.

Kong, Lily (2000), “Cultural Policy in Singapore: Negotiating Economic and Socio-Cultural Agendas,” Geoforum 31, no. 4: 409–24.

Mukpo, Ashoka (2014), “‘Hipco’ Is the Soundtrack of Monrovia’s Post-War Youth,” Vice, 31 March 2014, [http://www.vice.com/en_uk/read/hipco-liberia], accessed 29 July 2015.

Mukpo, Ashoka (2015), “Surviving Ebola: Public Perceptions of Governance and the Outbreak Response in Liberia” International Alert, [http://www.international-alert.org/sites/default/files/Liberia_SurvivingEbola_EN_2015.pdf], 28 July 2015.

PCI Media Impact, “Entertainment-Education.” PCI Media Impact Website, [http://mediaimpact.org/entertainment-education/], accessed 30 November 2013.

PCI Media Impact (2012), “Media Impact celebrates international day of the girl”, PCI Media Impact Website. 11 December 2012, [http://mediaimpact.org/news/media-impact-celebrates-international-day-of-the-girl/], accessed 30 November, 2013.

Press TV (2014), “65% of 2013 Rape Victims in Liberia Were Children,” PressTV.com, 29 January 2014, [http://www.presstv.com/detail/2014/01/29/348236/kids-65-of-2013-rape-victims-in-liberia] accessed 30 July 2015.

Rahimian, Nora (2013), email interview, 24 October 2013.

Sacco, Pierluigi; Ferilli, Guido and Blessi, Giorgio Tavano (2014), “Understanding Culture-Led Local Development: A Critique of Alternative Theoretical Explanations,” Urban Studies 51, no. 13: 2806–21, DOI: 10.1177/0042098013512876

Stupples, Polly (2014) “Creative Contributions: The Role of the Arts and the Cultural Sector in Development” in Progress in Development Studies 14, no. 2.

Toral, Almudenta (2012), “History of Violence: Struggling with the Legacy of Rape in Liberia,” Time Magazine Online, 30 April 2012, [http://world.time.com/2012/04/30/history-of-violence-struggling-with-the-legacy-of-rape-in-liberia/] Accessed 29 November, 2013.