LEAF International envisions a world where communities actively engage their youth in learning their cultural traditions while empowering them with the life skills necessary to be active agents of change in their communities.
At LEAF International, we believe in the power of music, art, and culture to empower individuals and transform lives. LEAF recognizes that these benefits are both tangible and intangible and that at times, quantifying and qualifying the impact of arts education can be elusive. LEAF International utilizes the Culture for Development Indicators as a guiding framework for the development, evaluation, and monitoring of programs.
Believing that cultural expressions provide a wealth of benefits that are crucial for a healthy and vibrant world, LEAF International aligns with the UN System Task Team for the post-2015 UN Development Agenda, who assert that cultural expression provides communities “with greater social inclusiveness and rootedness, resilience, innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship for individuals and communities, and the use of local resources, skills, and knowledge.”
The Culture for Development Indicators identifies 7 key dimensions that address the interrelations between culture and development. The CDIS has identified 22 indicators that inform these 7 key dimensions and provide a guiding framework for quantifying the contribution of culture in development.
LEAF International has aligned with these 5 guiding forces to design and evaluate global programs: (1) Economy Dimension, (2) Education Dimension, (3) Social Participation Dimension, (4) Communication Dimension, and (5) Heritage Dimension.
Within these 5 dimensions, 9 indicators are utilized by LEAF International as direct indications of how our programs are enriching individual lives, communities, and preserving forms of cultural expression.