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Minister of Canadian Heritage Helene Chalifour Scherrer has pledged $350,000 to help finance the Category II inter-governmental negotiations process at UNESCO for developing the convention on diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions.

At the same time, she announced that Prime Minister Paul Martin will be appointing a Special Envoy to concentrate on the cultural diversity file who will act as Canada ’s lead negotiator during the convention process and who broader mandate will be to advance the cultural diversity file both in Canada and internationally.

Minister Scherrer made the announcement in Quebec City on May 20 stating, “The Government of Canada continues to play a leadership role in the development of a Convention on Cultural Diversity. We recognize how important it is to actively support UNESCO in its efforts. I believe that artists, creators and cultural entrepreneurs must have the means to express themselves, both here at home and on the world stage. We hope that this Convention will strengthen our ability to develop and highlight our respective cultures.”

Canada ’s decision to help fund the inter-governmental negotiations phase of the convention process stands as a concrete demonstration of its resolve to keep the process moving forward.

For fast-track initiatives such as this convention, UNESCO generally looks for leader countries championing the project to contribute funding required to help cover hotel and accommodation costs for some member state representatives in order to ensure healthy levels of participation of countries from the developing world. Last June, Japan similarly took on costs associated with the final inter-governmental consultations meeting required to advance the draft convention on intangible heritage to a stage where sufficient consensus existed for it to adopted at the 2003 General Conference.

Canada is not the only country to have committed to support the Category II phase of the convention process. France has also pledged to underwrite the costs associated with holding the three projected meetings between September 2004 and late spring 2005.

The mandate of the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy has not been released in detail, but it is expected that the Envoy’s responsibilities on this file would not supersede those of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, who is fully expected to continue to be the government’s leader on the file. Rather, it is believed the Special Envoy will be charged with raising awareness and support for the convention at both the domestic and international level. By focusing on this one campaign, the Special Envoy will be able to complement the Minister’s efforts through an active program of international diplomacy to expand the base of alliances in support of the convention.

It is not yet known who will be appointed to the position, although it is believed the government is in discussions with leading candidates. With a federal election now underway, it is likely the appointment will be deferred until after the election.

PM Martin Highlights Commitment
to Cultural Diversity in First Major
Foreign Policy Speech

Prime Minister Paul Martin’s first major foreign policy speech focused on the need to modernize international institutions to meet the new challenges facing a globalized world, and he situated Canada’s support for the UNESCO initiative to secure a convention on diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions squarely within this context.

Speaking May 10 at a luncheon in Montreal , the Prime Minister focused on two principal themes in his speech:

Referencing recent unrest in Haiti and Afghanistan , Martin stressed that “there will be no social peace nor economic development without stable, strong and honest public institutions,” he stressed.

“(T)he stability brought by peace-keeping forces can be fleeting at best,” he added.

With regard to updating international institutions, Martin’s principal focus was to propose expanding the G-20 from the finance minister level to the level of a meeting of heads of state level, and to expand the scope of this body beyond economic issues to galvanize “ our efforts at the multilateral level and giv(e) impetus and a better sense of direction to our institutions working in the field of global governance.”

But he went out of his way to cite the initiative to secure a convention on cultural diversity as a positive illustration of the two principal themes of his speech:

“ Canada has relentlessly promoted a convention on cultural diversity under the auspices of UNESCO. Why? First, to protect our own cultural heritage, but also for what it means outside our borders,” he said.

“Countries must have the right to take the necessary measures to preserve and promote their culture. What’s important about the UNESCO convention is that it helps strengthen institutions and reassure societies, by letting them know that they can adopt a modern system of governance and open up to the world, without losing their distinct culture,” he added.

Martin’s comments underscoring Canada ’s commitment to the UNESCO convention elaborated on the statement in favour of the convention that was contained in his government’s first Speech from the Throne back in February.

Meanwhile, Canadian Heritage Minister Helene Scherrer used an interview with the Montreal daily La Presse earlier in May to emphasize the Martin government’s determination to prevent the value of a strong convention at UNESCO from being eroded as a result of countries making commitments in trade agreements that risk constraining their ability of maintain existing cultural policies or develop new ones in the future.

“The Americans are returning to the fray, in particular with certain bilateral agreements, but we have no intention of letting that movement continue unchecked. We need to create a counter-lobby so that Canada remains a leader of the cultural diversity movement,” the Minister told La Presse columnist Alain Brunet.

Paris Trip Latest Occasion for Quebec PM Charest
to Emphasize Cultural Diversity as a Priority File

Since taking power a little in the April 2003 election, Quebec Prime Minister Jean Charest has used virtually every appearance on the international stage as an opportunity to make the case for a strong convention on cultural diversity. His early May trip to France was no exception.

Accompanied by Deputy Premier and Minister of International Relations Monique Gagnon-Tremblay and Culture Communications Minister Line Beauchamp, Premier Charest emphasized the importance Quebec places on the cultural diversity convention in meetings with French President Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, as well as in a meeting with UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, another with Secretary-General of La Francophonie, Abdou Diouf, and in meetings with several French cabinet ministers.

Interviewed by the French daily Le Figaro prior to his meeting with Jacques Chirac, Charest noted that “ France and Quebec , along with Canada , are at the forefront of the campaign for a UNESCO international convention on cultural diversity that would solidify the right of states to support their national culture. As francophones representing 2 per cent of the North American population, we defend all peoples who lack strength in numbers.”

In early May, Coalition Co-Chair Pierre Curzi joined Quebec Premier Jean Charest and cabinet ministers Monique Gagnon-Tremblay and Line Beauchamp for several key meetings with French government officials and leaders of the country’s cultural sector.

While in Paris, Curzi joined Pascal Rogard, the co-chair of France’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity, for a meeting with Katarina Stenou, director of UNESCO’s cultural policies and intercultural dialogue division to discuss the question of how professional organizations representing artists and other cultural professionals will be consulted in the agency’s process for developing the convention on diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions.

The meeting came a little over a week after UNESCO Executive Board had approved Director General Koïchiro Matsuura’s recommendation that the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity, which brings together the 11 existing coalitions, be accorded observer status during the convention process. This status includes the right to speak during UNESCO’s debates on the issue.

Meanwhile, Executive Vice-President Robert Pilon joined Gi-Hwan Yang, Executive Director of the Korean Coalition, in Stockholm to deliver a presentation on May 4 at an officials-level meeting of the International Network for Cultural Policy (INCP).

The Stockholm meeting was part of the preparation for the seventh ministerial meeting of the INCP, to be held October 15-16 and hosted by the government of China in the city of Shanghai .

Pilon and Yang were appearing on behalf of the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity, and their presentation was in preparation for an anticipated meeting of a delegation of the coalitions with the ministers during the Shanghai meeting.

Their presentation in Stockholm included an update on plans for the Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations, to be held in Seoul , Korea , June 1-4. As well, they discussed plans of the coalitions to hold a meeting of the International Liaison Committee in Shanghai at the time of the INCP ministers gathering, and to also organize a day-long working session with leading professional organizations from China ’s cultural sector.

Following the Stockholm meeting, Robert Pilon travelled to Madrid where he met with the Director General of the Organization of Ibero-American States, Francisco Piñon, as well as with several leading Spanish cultural professional organizations.

The Association of Ibero-American States brings 21 Spanish-speaking countries together with Portugal and Brazil , which combined represent more than 460 million people. In April of 2003, the OEI joined with the Latin Union and the International Organization of la Francophonie to issue a declaration in support of the proposed convention on cultural diversity at UNESCO.

Last December, at the VIIth Ibero-American Conference on Culture, the OEI also issued a declaration which included a commitment to engage in the UNESCO convention process to ensure their perspective was brought to this process.

Pilon’s mission to Spain came just over a month after the election of the new socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, whose Minister of Culture, Carmen Calvo, almost immediately spoke out strongly in favour of cultural diversity—signalling a major departure from the position of the previous government. Pilon met with leaders of organizations representing actors, directors and independent producers as well as with SGAE, the collective society that represents authors of audiovisual works.

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				Highlights:
	Vol. 2, No. 4, May 2004 IN THIS ISSUE: Minister Scherrer Announces Canada to Help Fund UNESCO Convention Process, New PM’s Special Envoy Position for Cultural Diversity File Minister of Canadian Heritage Helene Chalifour Scherrer has pledged $350,000 to help finance the Category II inter-governmental negotiations process at UNESCO for developing the convention on diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions. At the same time, she announced that Prime Minister Paul Martin will be appointing a Special Envoy to concentrate on the cultural diversity file who will act as Canada ’s lead negotiator during the convention process and who broader mandate will be to advance the cultural diversity file both in Canada and internationally. Minister Scherrer made the announcement in Quebec City on May 20 stating, “The Government of Canada continues to play a leadership role in the development of a Convention on Cultural Diversity. We recognize how important it is to actively support UNESCO in its efforts. I believe that artists, creators and cultural entrepreneurs must have the means to express themselves, both here at home and on the world stage. We hope that this Convention will strengthen our ability to develop and highlight our respective cultures.” Canada ’s decision to help fund the inter-governmental negotiations phase of the convention process stands as a concrete demonstration of its resolve to keep the process moving forward. For fast-track initiatives such as this convention, UNESCO generally looks for leader countries championing the project to contribute funding required to help cover hotel and accommodation costs for some member state representatives in order to ensure healthy levels of participation of countries from the developing world. Last June, Japan similarly took on costs associated with the final inter-governmental consultations meeting required to advance the draft convention on intangible heritage to a stage where sufficient consensus existed for it to adopted at the 2003 General Conference. Canada is not the only country to have committed to support the Category II phase of the convention process. France has also pledged to underwrite the costs associated with holding the three projected meetings between September 2004 and late spring 2005. The mandate of the Prime Minister’s Special Envoy has not been released in detail, but it is expected that the Envoy’s responsibilities on this file would not supersede those of the Minister of Canadian Heritage, who is fully expected to continue to be the government’s leader on the file. Rather, it is believed the Special Envoy will be charged with raising awareness and support for the convention at both the domestic and international level. By focusing on this one campaign, the Special Envoy will be able to complement the Minister’s efforts through an active program of international diplomacy to expand the base of alliances in support of the convention. It is not yet known who will be appointed to the position, although it is believed the government is in discussions with leading candidates. With a federal election now underway, it is likely the appointment will be deferred until after the election. TOP PM Martin Highlights Commitment to Cultural Diversity in First Major Foreign Policy Speech Prime Minister Paul Martin’s first major foreign policy speech focused on the need to modernize international institutions to meet the new challenges facing a globalized world, and he situated Canada’s support for the UNESCO initiative to secure a convention on diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions squarely within this context. Speaking May 10 at a luncheon in Montreal , the Prime Minister focused on two principal themes in his speech: the international institutions created 30 to 50 years ago, for all their usefulness and importance, have yet to adapt sufficiently to meet the new challenges the world is now facing; and the international community must build the capacity of vulnerable countries to create and manage their own public and private institutions. Referencing recent unrest in Haiti and Afghanistan , Martin stressed that “there will be no social peace nor economic development without stable, strong and honest public institutions,” he stressed. “(T)he stability brought by peace-keeping forces can be fleeting at best,” he added. With regard to updating international institutions, Martin’s principal focus was to propose expanding the G-20 from the finance minister level to the level of a meeting of heads of state level, and to expand the scope of this body beyond economic issues to galvanize “ our efforts at the multilateral level and giv(e) impetus and a better sense of direction to our institutions working in the field of global governance.” But he went out of his way to cite the initiative to secure a convention on cultural diversity as a positive illustration of the two principal themes of his speech: “ Canada has relentlessly promoted a convention on cultural diversity under the auspices of UNESCO. Why? First, to protect our own cultural heritage, but also for what it means outside our borders,” he said. “Countries must have the right to take the necessary measures to preserve and promote their culture. What’s important about the UNESCO convention is that it helps strengthen institutions and reassure societies, by letting them know that they can adopt a modern system of governance and open up to the world, without losing their distinct culture,” he added. Martin’s comments underscoring Canada ’s commitment to the UNESCO convention elaborated on the statement in favour of the convention that was contained in his government’s first Speech from the Throne back in February. Meanwhile, Canadian Heritage Minister Helene Scherrer used an interview with the Montreal daily La Presse earlier in May to emphasize the Martin government’s determination to prevent the value of a strong convention at UNESCO from being eroded as a result of countries making commitments in trade agreements that risk constraining their ability of maintain existing cultural policies or develop new ones in the future. “The Americans are returning to the fray, in particular with certain bilateral agreements, but we have no intention of letting that movement continue unchecked. We need to create a counter-lobby so that Canada remains a leader of the cultural diversity movement,” the Minister told La Presse columnist Alain Brunet. TOP Paris Trip Latest Occasion for Quebec PM Charest to Emphasize Cultural Diversity as a Priority File Since taking power a little in the April 2003 election, Quebec Prime Minister Jean Charest has used virtually every appearance on the international stage as an opportunity to make the case for a strong convention on cultural diversity. His early May trip to France was no exception. Accompanied by Deputy Premier and Minister of International Relations Monique Gagnon-Tremblay and Culture Communications Minister Line Beauchamp, Premier Charest emphasized the importance Quebec places on the cultural diversity convention in meetings with French President Jacques Chirac, Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, as well as in a meeting with UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura, another with Secretary-General of La Francophonie, Abdou Diouf, and in meetings with several French cabinet ministers. Interviewed by the French daily Le Figaro prior to his meeting with Jacques Chirac, Charest noted that “ France and Quebec , along with Canada , are at the forefront of the campaign for a UNESCO international convention on cultural diversity that would solidify the right of states to support their national culture. As francophones representing 2 per cent of the North American population, we defend all peoples who lack strength in numbers.” TOP CCD Representatives Continue Active Program of International Missions In early May, Coalition Co-Chair Pierre Curzi joined Quebec Premier Jean Charest and cabinet ministers Monique Gagnon-Tremblay and Line Beauchamp for several key meetings with French government officials and leaders of the country’s cultural sector. While in Paris, Curzi joined Pascal Rogard, the co-chair of France’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity, for a meeting with Katarina Stenou, director of UNESCO’s cultural policies and intercultural dialogue division to discuss the question of how professional organizations representing artists and other cultural professionals will be consulted in the agency’s process for developing the convention on diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions. The meeting came a little over a week after UNESCO Executive Board had approved Director General Koïchiro Matsuura’s recommendation that the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity, which brings together the 11 existing coalitions, be accorded observer status during the convention process. This status includes the right to speak during UNESCO’s debates on the issue. Meanwhile, Executive Vice-President Robert Pilon joined Gi-Hwan Yang, Executive Director of the Korean Coalition, in Stockholm to deliver a presentation on May 4 at an officials-level meeting of the International Network for Cultural Policy (INCP). The Stockholm meeting was part of the preparation for the seventh ministerial meeting of the INCP, to be held October 15-16 and hosted by the government of China in the city of Shanghai . Pilon and Yang were appearing on behalf of the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity, and their presentation was in preparation for an anticipated meeting of a delegation of the coalitions with the ministers during the Shanghai meeting. Their presentation in Stockholm included an update on plans for the Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations, to be held in Seoul , Korea , June 1-4. As well, they discussed plans of the coalitions to hold a meeting of the International Liaison Committee in Shanghai at the time of the INCP ministers gathering, and to also organize a day-long working session with leading professional organizations from China ’s cultural sector. Following the Stockholm meeting, Robert Pilon travelled to Madrid where he met with the Director General of the Organization of Ibero-American States, Francisco Piñon, as well as with several leading Spanish cultural professional organizations. The Association of Ibero-American States brings 21 Spanish-speaking countries together with Portugal and Brazil , which combined represent more than 460 million people. In April of 2003, the OEI joined with the Latin Union and the International Organization of la Francophonie to issue a declaration in support of the proposed convention on cultural diversity at UNESCO. Last December, at the VIIth Ibero-American Conference on Culture, the OEI also issued a declaration which included a commitment to engage in the UNESCO convention process to ensure their perspective was brought to this process. Pilon’s mission to Spain came just over a month after the election of the new socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero, whose Minister of Culture, Carmen Calvo, almost immediately spoke out strongly in favour of cultural diversity—signalling a major departure from the position of the previous government. Pilon met with leaders of organizations representing actors, directors and independent producers as well as with SGAE, the collective society that represents authors of audiovisual works. TOP			Minister Scherrer Announces Canada to Help Fund UNESCO Convention Process, New PM’s Special Envoy Position for Cultural Diversity File PM Martin Highlights Commitment to Cultural Diversity in First Major Foreign Policy Speech Paris Trip Latest Occasion for Quebec PM Charest to Emphasize Cultural Diversity as a Priority File CCD Representatives Continue Active Program of International Missions Update is published by Canada's Coalition for Cultural Diversity. 154 Laurier Ave. West, Suite 240 Montreal, QUE H2T 2N7 T. (514) 277-2666 F. (514) 277-9994 www.cdc-ccd.org e-mail: Editor: Jim McKee Contributors: Robert Pilon, Mélanie Marron, Sylvie Riendeau