A nivel institucional, los siguientes:

Mohamed%supported%his%understanding%of%‘culture’,%and%thus%his%role%as%Cultural%Of?icer%% with%a%broad%de?inition.%During%one%of%my%meetings%with%him%in%2010%he%noted:

% As% Cultural% Of?icer,% I% use% E.% B.% Tylor’s% de?inition% of% culture;% culture% is% a% % comprehensive% whole% including% value,% beliefs,% traditions,% customs,% practices,% % and% every% other% capability% of% humans% (I% replace% ‘man’% –% I% am% educated% and% % gender%aware),%in%his%or$ her%environment.% Here% we%are% the%Ministry%of%Tourism%

% and%Cultural% Affairs;% therefore,% we% are% the% Ministry%of% Everything.% (Mohamed,% % cultural%of?icer%at%the%MoTC%% 2011)

In% the% above% quotation,% Mohamed% references% Edward% B.% Tylor’s% iconic% de?inition% of% culture%from%the%?irst%page%of%Primitive$Culture%(Tylor%1958%[1871]),%repeating%it%almost% word%for%word:

% Culture,%or%civilisation,% taken% in% its%broad,%ethnographic% sense,% is%that%complex% % whole%% which%includes%knowledge,%belief,%art,%morals,%law,%custom,%and%any%other% % capabilities% and% habits% acquired% by%man% as%a% member% of% society.% (Tylor%1958% % [1871]:%1)% %

In%the%context%of% our%discussion,%however,%it%was%subject%to%what%Mohamed% termed%his% own% personal%critique;% namely%his% substitution% of% man$with% the% more% ‘gender% aware’%

human.%He%noted%this%was%informed%by%his%recently%acquired%degree%in%Gender%Studies,%

but% it% also% slots% into% his% wider% professional% concerns% to% engage% in% broader% national% development,%also%highlighted%through%his%work%with%youth%groups.%

Mohamed’s%use%of%Tylor%had%the%affect%of%emphasising%the%importance%of%his%profession.% Such% a%broad% de?inition% of%culture%as%encompassing% ‘every%other%capability%of% humans’% appears% to% legitimise% his% later% claim% concerning% the% MoTC% as% the% ‘Ministry% of% Everything’.%The%same%words%were%used%at%a%press%conference%at%the%SLNM%in%April%2011% organised% to% launch% the% rehabilitation% of% the% permanent% displays,% supported% by% the% British% Museum’s%Africa% Programme.% As% discussed,% the% revised% gallery% now%houses%a% collection% of% masquerade% costumes%representing% a% number%of% Sierra% Leone’s%esoteric% societies.%Mohamed%began% by%introducing%Brima,%the%Director%of%Cultural%Affairs%at%the% MoTC,% as% the% ‘Director% of% Everything’.% This% ?lattering% introduction% was% supported% by% Brima,% who% continued% by% mentioning% his%work% with% Sierra% Leone’s% esoteric% societies,% ?irmly%positioning%his%own%role%as%expert:

% For%those% of%us%who%know%about%these%things,% as%advisors%and%experts,% they%are% % not% secret% societies,% they% are% traditional% schools,% or% esoteric% societies.% These% % social% programmes% are% teaching% people% things% that% are% not% taught% in% schools,% % sometimes% they% replace% schools...these% social% programmes% helped% to% set% up% % agriculture% in% areas% in% Freetown.% (Director% of% Cultural% Affairs,% speech% at% the% % SLNM%% press%% conference,%April%2011)% % % %

In% this% statement% Brima% expands% the% traditional% remit% of% the% Directorate% of% Cultural% Affairs% to% include% broader% development% programmes,% in% this% case% education% and% agriculture.% This% narrative% taps% into% the% ‘culture% for% development’% discourse% that% informs%the%nexus%of% culture%and%development%that%I%discuss%earlier%in%this%thesis.%As%I% explore% in% the% following% chapter,% this% discourse% also% pervades% Sierra% Leone’s% draft% Cultural% Policy% which% aligns% with% UNESCO’s% proposal% to% broaden% the% remit% of% such% policies%to%outline% the%role%of% ‘culture’%in%national%development%(UNESCO%1995:%40C43).% Returning% to% Brima’s% speech,% esoteric% societies% are% introduced% as% central% to% national% development% through% their% description% as% ‘social% programmes’,% by% providing% a% local% alternative% to%international%intervention.%Crucially,%however,%the%Directorate% of%Cultural% Affairs% is% presented% as% ingrained% in% these% wider% trajectories% of% national% change% and% transformation.% In% this% narrative,% Mohamed,% Brima% and% the% Directorate% of% Cultural% Affairs% emerge% as% key% players% in% Sierra% Leone’s% future% despite% the% relative% lack% of% governmental% and% international% agency% interest,% compared% to% the% Directorate% of% Tourism.

Though%the%cultural%sector%does%not%feature% in%the%PRSP%II,%Brima’s%comments%align%the% MoTC% with% Koroma’s% broader% rhetoric% concerning% ‘attitudinal% change’,% informed% by%a% similar% discourse% of% ‘autonomy’.% Earlier% I%quoted% the% de?inition% of% ‘attitudinal% change’% included%in%the%PRSP%II,%where%it%warns%against%‘backwardness’,%associating%it%with%poor% attitudes% towards% ‘one% another’,% ‘work’,% ‘responsibilities’% and% the% nation.% Koroma’s%

Agenda% for% national% development% proposes% greater% governmental% responsibility% in%

driving%change%through%political%and%social%reform,%rather%than%remaining%dependant%on% change% led% by% Sierra% Leone’s%development%partners.% Of% course% these% partners%remain%

in?luential% to% reform,% ?inancially% backing% initiatives% that% conform% to% their% individual% agendas% and% concerns,% yet% the% message% which% emerges% from% the% Agenda% is%one% of% a% wider% national% duty% to% drive% national% transformations% from% within.% A% framework% of% ‘culture%as%everything’%conforms%to%this%in%the% way%it%is%used%by%Mohamed% and% Brima,% proposing% that% the% potential% for% future% change% can% lie% within% Sierra% Leone’s% own% ‘culture’.

Despite% this% alignment,% Mohamed’s% earlier% discussion% of% ‘backwardness’% and% not% ‘reinventing% the% wheel’% appears%as%an% odd% contradiction.% Rather% than% drawing% on% the% nexus%of%culture%and%development,%or%the%‘autonomy’%message%in%the%PRSP%II,%Mohamed% does%the%opposite%by%using%a%particular%understanding%of%the%West%as%a%proposed%model% of% change% in% Sierra% Leone.% ‘Traditional% culture’,% represented% by% ‘magic’,% ‘folklore’% and% ‘leaving%everything%up%to%God’%comes%to%de?ine%everything%that%is%‘backward’.%Returning% to%Mohamed’s%description%of% his%own%role%concerning% Sierra% Leone% having% both% ‘good’% and%‘bad’% culture,%there% is%some% ambiguity%in%what% is%‘good’,% or%worth% supporting,%and% what% is% ‘bad’% and% can% be% left% behind.% Although% the% ‘culture% is% everything’% rhetoric% proposes% a% more% positive% relationship% between% culture,% heritage% and% development,% it% also%adds%to%this%%lack%of%clarity.%%Arguably,%it%limits%the%Directorate%of%Cultural%Affairs%by% broadening% its% agenda% to% include% areas% which% are% the% remit% of% other% specialist% ministries,% such% as% the% Ministry% of% Education,% Science% and% Technology,% rather% than% focusing%on%its%own%agenda.%