This booklet about the role of culture in development and cooperation efforts was published by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It contains background information, programme guidelines, and lessons learned, as well as project examples from Mali, Mozambique, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Nicaragua, Vietnam, India, Bangladesh, Romania, Macedonia, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. The authors argue that culture is an essential element of life and plays a major role in development. The 44-page publication builds on the efforts of other organizations over the past several decades, and the entire text is available online.