Optimising culture and development partnerships

Culture is increasingly recognised as part of sustainable development, reflected in growing research and innovative approaches in policymaking, interventions and national strategies. The UN has declared 2027–2036 the International Decade of Culture for Sustainable Development. In ASEAN, the 2025 Creative Economy Sustainability Framework recognises the contribution of the creative economy to social, cultural, economic and environmental outcomes, and calls for cross-sectoral and multistakeholder collaboration.  

Yet collaboration between culture and development sectors remains uneven, particularly in shaping programmes and agendas. Organisations may lack the understanding, networks or experience needed to work across sectors. This can mean missed opportunities in funding and partnerships, as well as opportunities to strengthen programme impact and develop new approaches to tackling global challenges. 

EXPLORING NEW APPROACHES, LINKING CULTURE, DEVELOPMENT AND CIVIL SOCIETY

Against this background, artlink, the INGO Network (INN) and Helvetas Laos are organising the webinar ‘Optimising culture and development partnerships: New approaches and opportunities in the Mekong' on 4 November 2026. The event will examine what culture can contribute to development practice and what makes collaboration across the two sectors possible. 

The discussion will combine conceptual framing, practical examples and an open exchange around four questions: what culture-led approaches in development can mean in practice; when they can make a difference; what makes culture–development partnerships work; and where there are opportunities for stronger partnerships and scale in Laos, the Mekong, ASEAN and with international partners.

FEATURED CASE STUDIES

Three case studies will illustrate different ways cultural partnerships can engage with development priorities:

• MAG (Mines Advisory Group) International: partnering with the arts to discuss a humanitarian issue in Lao PDR, presented by Isabelle Urumath, Grants and Communications Manager, MAG International and Manithip Vongphachanh, Director and CEO, XYZ Art Center.
• BEQUAL: government partnerships and creative education for young people in Lao PDR, presented by Souliya Phoumivong, Artist and Founder, Clay House Studio and Corinne Javary, Communication and Video Production Manager, BEQUAL
• artlink: arts-education partnerships focused on the future skills of young practitioners, drawing on experience across countries, presented by Malaya del Rosario, Programme Manager, artlink (Switzerland). Malaya will also facilitate the discussion.

The programme will also include insights from Jesper Elias Lauridsen, Country Director, Helvetas Lao PDR and Pathana Siphandone, Director, INGO Network 

EVENT DETAILS

• Wednesday, 4 November 2026
• 15:00 - 16:30 (Vientiane, Laos) / 09:00 - 10:30 (Zurich, Switzerland)
• Online via Zoom

➜ Register here. Registration is open until 2 November 2026. 
 

A COLLABORATION THROUGH THREE PERSPECTIVES

artlink
Founded in 1984 by six Swiss charities, artlink creates spaces for dialogue, and connects the cultural landscape of Switzerland with the world. It empowers artists and cultural practitioners mainly from Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe. As the only organisation in Switzerland working across culture, sustainable development and inclusion, it promotes equal opportunities for artists, creates spaces for understanding and lived-in diversity, and sparks systemic change by advocating for cultural diversity on a political and societal level. It has a network of 10’000 artists, cultural practitioners and civil society organisations from 100 countries. 

INN
For more than 20 years, the INGO Network (INN) has brought together 70+ international NGOs to strengthen collective action and contribution to development in Lao PDR. The Network connects members with government, civil society, development partners and wider networks through dialogue, knowledge sharing, learning and collaboration. 

Today, as the development landscape changes, INN continues to ask how networks can stay relevant, adaptive and connected. This event is one opportunity to step outside familiar approaches, exchange experiences and explore how creative and cultural perspectives can open up new possibilities for development. 

Helvetas
Helvetas is a denominationally neutral, politically independent, not-for-profit organization with a strong member base in Switzerland and sister organizations in the United States and Germany. Each year, our development projects and humanitarian responses make a real difference in the lives of more than five million vulnerable and marginalized people around the world. Since 2001, Helvetas Laos has partnered with public institutions, civil society organizations, academia, and the private sector to share capacities and implement development projects. We create immediate, tangible improvements in people’s lives while catalyzing inclusive, systemic change.  

For 25 years, Helvetas Laos has nurtured environmentally sustainable value chains, inclusive economic development and trade, youth entrepreneurship and skills, and constructive social dialogue among communities, civil society, and local authorities. In a rapidly changing world, we advance locally owned solutions, share knowledge, and connect actors who can collectively help Lao PDR overcome challenges, seize opportunities, and achieve national and local development priorities. Recognizing Laos as a vital country in the Mekong region and a member of ASEAN, we foster cross-boundary collaboration, networks, and policy engagement to address regional challenges and seize opportunities in an integrated social, economic, political, and environmental context.