The French Coalition participated in the fifteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions from 8 to 11 February 2022. This edition was held online and brought together several delegations including the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD), of which the French Coalition is a member.
The two years of the pandemic have greatly destabilised the cultural sector, often bringing physical distribution methods to a standstill and accelerating a digitalisation that poses many challenges for cultural diversity. Following the example of the operational guidelines on digital technology adopted in 2017 at UNESCO, the very text of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions has an important role to play in guaranteeing diversity online and increasing support for creation and culture, as well as its dissemination and visibility.
It was in this context that the delegations met for a fifteenth session during which the Committee adopted its future work plan for 2022-2023 and received the periodic reports of the Parties. Regarding the twelfth call for the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), it approved the funding of new projects submitted. Finally, it considered ways to strengthen collaboration with civil society in the implementation of the 2005 Convention by examining the conclusions of the third Forum of Civil Society Organisations.
The Committee’s work plan for 2022-2023 is organised around the following priorities:
- Supporting good governance of the Convention by broadening and diversifying the range of stakeholders involved in its governance at the international level, including by encouraging and supporting civil society participation in the work of its governing bodies and considering the creation of a regular consultative mechanism with the cultural and creative micro, small and medium-sized enterprises involved in implementation.
- Ensure the application of Articles 9 and 19 of the Convention relating to the analysis, sharing and dissemination of information and transparency in order to guide policy development and stimulate the creation and dissemination of knowledge.
- Ensure the effective implementation of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) by implementing a fundraising and communication strategy (2021-2023) and revising the Operational Guidelines on the use of IFCD resources to effectively integrate consideration of common interests, such as digital issues
- Support and encourage the development and implementation of international cooperation and assistance programmes and take into account cross-cutting imperatives such as gender equality, the protection and promotion of artistic freedom, youth, small island developing states (SIDS) and post-crisis situations.
- Pay particular attention to the implementation of preferential treatment measures for developing countries and to the promotion of the objectives and principles of the Convention in other international forums (cultural cooperation agreements and bilateral, regional or multilateral trade frameworks).
Delegation:
Beat Santschi (Swiss Coalition, IFCCD President), Kodjo Cyriaque Noussouglo (Togolese Coalition, IFCCD Vice-President), Mahamadou Adamou (Nigerien Coalition), Guillaume Prieur and Manon Montrouge (French Coalition), Holly Aylett (UK Coalition), Bill Skolnik (Canadian Coalition), Luanda Smith (Creatividad y Cultura Glocal, Mexico), Klara Kostal (Austrian Coalition), Momo Diakité (Malian Coalition), Anthony Abdel Karim (Club of Lebanese Visual Artists), Annie Njock Njock (CODEC, Cameroon), Hiroko Tsuboi-Friedman (Individual member of the IFCCD), Nathalie Guay (Secretary General of the IFCCD).