June 2006
The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP, Chancellor of the Exchequer, has given his backing to the Cultural Leadership Programme, a two-year, £12 million initiative to promote excellence in management and leadership within the cultural sector. Speaking at a breakfast celebration of the Programme at No 11 Downing Street, the Chancellor said:
“Culture in the UK helps to define and shape and deepen our lives as individuals. It also makes a significant contribution to our nation’s prosperity. If this significant part of our economy is to prosper and grow, we must recognise the role of our cultural leaders in delivering that success and ensure the emergence of a talented and diverse group of future leaders.”
The Cultural Leadership Programme was launched on 19 June at EMI Group headquarters in West London at the EMI Summer Party 2006 hosted by Eric Nicoli, CBE, Chairman of EMI. Launching the Programme, the Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, said:
“The Cultural Leadership Programme will encourage leaders from a wide range of backgrounds to reflect the diversity that has made Britain a cultural powerhouse. In economic terms, the cultural sectors account for over five per cent of the nation’s GDP and for the last decade the sector has grown at twice the rate of the economy as a whole.
“To maintain this position we must continue to invest in the people who will be its future. This £12 million initiative aims to provide a strategic approach to embed a strong leadership culture that will make Britain’s creative sectors more successful – and more accessible – than ever.”
