Toespraak van minister Ploumen bij de uitreiking van de Prins Clausprijs 2014

Toespraak | 10-12-2014

(as prepared for delivery)

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, ladies and gentlemen,

'I learned about the forest the hard way.' This is a quote by Abel Rodriguez. And clearly there is nothing wrong with the hard way. Because Mr Rodriguez’s hard-won knowledge on the Amazon rainforest has earned him this year’s Principal Prince Claus Award. You’ll hear more about that later. For now, it’s enough to say that the choice of recipient was as fitting as it is inspirational.

But let me address all laureates here. In one way or another, the work of all of you came about 'the hard way', that much is clear from your work. Each in your own way, you have all fought your battles. At the very least, some of you - by choosing unorthodox careers - ran the risk of becoming alienated from your own communities. Others had to face downright repression. You have had to make personal sacrifices. And some of you have even ended up in prison or had to fear for your lives. There’s nothing romantic about that – it is nothing short of grim.

At the same time, those adverse conditions did nothing to diminish your work. On the contrary; your work has benefited from adversity. Because as well as being inherently artistic, the context in which it was created gives it another undeniable quality: direct relevance to the social debate.

Prince Claus said many wise things about the importance of culture to development. Although he had a great sense of humour, he was very serious about culture. He considered it a basic need: all the more important when circumstances are difficult and dialogue is lacking.

In this spirit – the spirit of Prince Claus – the fund seeks to encourage culture in areas where cultural activities are suppressed or prohibited. Or where they are hampered by a lack of resources. In other words, culture that comes about 'the hard way'.

You are living proof of the fund’s success in doing just that: promoting culture where that promotion is needed the most. Let me focus on the two groups that have won awards.

The first is India’s Sparrow Sound & Picture Archives for Research on Women, which was mentioned earlier in this ceremony. It is a unique project in India. In official history, women have largely been invisible. Now, at last, their existence, their history, their activism is being acknowledged and their stories are being preserved: oral witnesses are being recorded or transcribed, and translated into local languages. It is a project that can inspire any Indian, any woman to that matter, to stand up for her rights.

And Sparrow also encourages much-needed debate. About how women are seen in popular culture or about violence against women in Mumbai, to mention only two pressing issues. I don't have to tell you how urgent this is. And let’s not forget this is not a problem in India alone; the status of women is a global issue.

A very different initiative is Peru’s Itinerant Museum of Art for Memory, or the Museo Itinerante de Arte por la Memoria. Its travelling exhibits confront people on the street and in schools – showing victims of the 20-year conflict between rebels and paramilitaries, and encouraging people to talk about it. However deep memories have been buried, the museum tries to unearth them, so that people can start to come to terms with the past and work towards reconciliation. A process that is as courageous as it is painful.

Your Majesties, Your Royal Highnesses, ladies and gentlemen,

Prince Claus had great faith in the power of culture, and in people. People like the laureates who are here today. The award that bears his name is an encouragement to people like you. People who do speak out. People who stubbornly hold on to their dreams, their ideas and their convictions. People who strive to turn their aspirations into reality. And if there is no other way to do it, they are prepared to do it 'the hard way'.

Thank you.