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On February 21, the CCD will meet with Deputy Minister Terry Smith and other senior officials of Ontario ’s Culture ministry to jointly develop an event designed to highlight Ontario ’s support for a strong Convention at UNESCO and to build public profile in Ontario for the campaign to secure the Convention.

The discussion will focus on a proposal submitted to Ontario by the CCD and follows on a December 15 meeting CCD representatives had with Minister of Culture Madeleine Meilleur, Terry Smith, and senior advisors to the minister.

At the meeting, Minister Meilleur re-stated Ontario ’s strong support for an effective UNESCO Convention, and underscored the importance of this debate to the province’s cultural industries. Consistent with this, the Deputy Minister invited the CCD to prepare a proposal for a specific project where Ontario and the Coalition could partner together for an event focusing public and media attention on what is at stake in the UNESCO initiative.

The Ontario meeting is part of a program the CCD set in motion last fall to build support for the Convention among the provinces, and follows in the wake of the Coalition ’s presentation at last October’s Meeting of Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Culture and Heritage in Halifax . Since Halifax , CCD Co-Chair Scott McIntyre has also been pursuing discussions with senior officials in British Columbia ’s ministry responsible for culture regarding B.C.’s engagement with the cultural diversity file. It was also preceded earlier in 2004 by a meeting that CCD Co-Chair Pierre Curzi and Robert Pilon had with Percy Mockler, the New Brunswick Minister responsible for the Culture and Sport Secretariat.

More broadly, in the coming weeks the CCD will be sending a letter to all provincial ministers responsible for culture urging their province to support the convention and formally requesting meetings to discuss the state of the convention campaign and ways of working in partnership wherever possible to move the process forward to a successful conclusion.

In December, CCD representatives initiated a series of meetings with opposition critics responsible for the Canadian Heritage and Foreign Affairs portfolios in order to update them on the work of the Coalition and to discuss the status of the campaign to secure a convention on the protection of the diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions at UNESCO.

On December 6, Co-Chair Pierre Curzi, Executive Vice President Robert Pilon and Director of External Relations Jim McKee met with Bloc Quebecois Heritage critic Maka Kotto following the CCD’s presentation before the Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.

On December 15, Pilon and McKee met with NDP Heritage critic Charlie Angus then with the Bloc’s Foreign Affairs critic Francine Lalonde, joined by the party’s Heritage critic Maka Kotto.

Critics from both parties expressed their strong support for an effective convention and urged the CCD to stay in regular contact as the UNESCO process moves forward.

Efforts are already underway to initiate similar meetings with the Conservative party’s Heritage critic Beverley Oda, and with the NDP’s foreign affairs critic Alexa McDonough. This series of meetings will be followed with efforts to secure formal meetings with the leaders of all three opposition parties.

CCD, Quebec Government Meet to Assess Next Steps in UNESCO Convention Campaign

Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Line Beauchamp and senior officials from her department as well as senior officials from the ministries of International Relations and Economic Development met with CCD representatives for two-and-a-half hours in Montreal on January 17 to discuss the state of play of the campaign to secure an effective Convention at UNESCO.

Co-Chair Pierre Curzi, Executive Vice-President Robert Pilon and Director of External Relations Jim McKee attended the meeting on behalf of the CCD.

During the meeting, recent developments in the UNESCO process were reviewed and options for building support for the file both domestically and internationally were discussed.

The session was the third in a series of regular meetings initiated by the Quebec government last year with the goal of ensuring a regular exchange of information with the CCD and to, wherever possible, promote coordinated action to move the UNESCO campaign forward, both at home and internationally.

CCD Meets New Heritage International Relations ADM, and Minister’s New Chief of Staff

On December 14, the CCD’s Robert Pilon and Jim McKee were in Ottawa for a first meeting with Canadian Heritage’s new ADM for International and Intergovernmental Affairs, Jacques Paquette.

As International Affairs ADM, Paquette has responsibility for overseeing the development of Canada ’s position in the UNESCO convention process to develop the convention on the protection of the diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions and will head up the Canadian delegation in Paris for UNESCO’s second intergovernmental negotiations meeting January 31 to February 12.

Paquette will attend the CCD’s January 24 board meeting in Toronto to deliver an update from the Canadian government perspective as the UNESCO process heads into this second intergovernmental negotiations session.

Paquette, who was previously the Director General of Heritage’s Multiculturalism and Human Rights Branch, succeeds Jean-Pierre Blais, who has moved on to his new responsibilities as Assistant Deputy Minister for Cultural Affairs.

Also on December 14, Pilon and McKee met for the first time with Canadian Heritage Minister Liza Frulla’s new Chief of Staff, John Welch. This was followed a month later by a second meeting in Montreal on January 14.

During the one-hour meeting, Welch signalled Minister Frulla’s resolve to use upcoming international missions to engage her counterparts in other countries in discussions concerning the importance of the proposed UNESCO Convention. He also confirmed the department would be putting into motion a strategic plan for rallying broader international support for a strong, focused Convention, and to this end committed to continue the close working partnership with the Coalition.

Welch, who succeeds Richard Paradis as head of the Minister’s office, was previously a senior advisor for the Denis Paradis, the former minister responsible for Francophonie.

34 International Missions, Nine New Coalitions: Highlights of CCD Activity Report for First Nine Months of 04-05

With three months left to go in the current fiscal year, the CCD has carried out an unprecedented number of international missions geared to encouraging the formation of new coalitions for cultural diversity and generally strengthen awareness and support among cultural professional organizations for an effective convention at UNESCO.

The high level of international activity in the first nine months of the year reflected the recognition that the UNESCO process to develop a Convention was entering a critical phase with the imminent release of a preliminary draft text last summer—increasing the urgency of encouraging broad mobilization from cultural organizations around the world in support of the convention.

The Coalition ’s decision to front-load its international activity in the first part of the year was also made with the objective of reaping maximum benefit from the Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations held in Seoul , Korea last June.

In the two months following that meeting, CCD representatives travelled to 12 countries to meet with cultural professional organizations.

The immediate result of this work was the creation of nine new coalitions, almost doubling the number to 20. This include new coalitions in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Ireland, and Spain, joining new coalitions that were also being established in Belgium, Benin, Germany, and Togo, and the development of strong contacts with cultural organizations committed to establishing coalitions of their own in Brazil, Hungary and South Africa.

The report was filed the week of January 17 with the Department of Canadian Heritage and with the Ministry of Culture and Communications of Quebec in conformity with the CCD’s respective funding agreements, and will be tabled with CCD member organizations at the Coalition ’s January 24 board meeting in Toronto .

Other international highlights:

The CCD’s close working partnership with the Korean Coalition for Cultural to plan and stage the Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations, June 1-4 in Seoul , Korea , which was attended by more than 200 representatives of cultural organizations from 57 countries.

As Co-Secretariat of the International Liaison Committee of Coalition s for Cultural Diversity, the organization of ILC meetings in Seoul , Korea (June) and Paris (September).

The ILC’s organization of a seminar on the Convention at UNESCO headquarters in September; held immediately prior to the first intergovernmental experts meeting, the seminar was attended by more than 200 people, including ambassadors and other senior officials from more than 60 national delegations to UNESCO.

The ILC’s formal participation in the first intergovernmental session, delivering a consensus position regarding the draft text supported by delegates from the 15 coalitions represented at the September ILC meeting.

The ILC’s organization of a major meeting of cultural professional organizations from 18 Francophonie member countries, held November 21-23 in Ouahigouya , Burkina Faso , immediately prior to the Xth Francophonie Summit.

While the first half of 2004-05 was characterized by a heavy concentration on international work, the CCD continued to be active on the domestic front and in the fall of 2004 laid the foundation for an active program of domestic lobbying to conclude the fiscal year. This included:

Participation in the roundtable discussion on the UNESCO Convention jointly hosted by Minister of Canadian Heritage Liza Frulla and Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Line Beauchamp. Delegates of 32 CCD member organizations took part in this roundtable, along with the full Coalition Secretariat. The roundtable was just the most high profile example of the Coalition ’s close working relationship with both governments, manifest in almost daily contact at both the political and departmental levels.

A presentation by the CCD to the Federal Provincial and Territorial Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Culture and Heritage, October 29 in Halifax, attended by Canadian Heritage Minister Liza Frulla, seven provincial ministers and two territorial ministers.

A December 15 meeting with Ontario Minister of Culture Madeleine Meilleur, the first in a planned series of meetings geared to establish partnerships with the culture ministers of other provinces in support of a strong UNESCO Convention.

A December 6 presentation to the Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage.
December meetings with federal NDP Canadian Heritage critic Charlie Angus and with Bloc Quebecois critic for Canadian Heritage Maka Kotto and Francine Lalonde, the Bloc’s Foreign Affairs critic.

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	Vol. 3, No. 1, January 2005 IN THIS ISSUE: CCD Initiates Plans With Ontario to Put Spotlight on UNESCO Convention On February 21, the CCD will meet with Deputy Minister Terry Smith and other senior officials of Ontario ’s Culture ministry to jointly develop an event designed to highlight Ontario ’s support for a strong Convention at UNESCO and to build public profile in Ontario for the campaign to secure the Convention. The discussion will focus on a proposal submitted to Ontario by the CCD and follows on a December 15 meeting CCD representatives had with Minister of Culture Madeleine Meilleur, Terry Smith, and senior advisors to the minister. At the meeting, Minister Meilleur re-stated Ontario ’s strong support for an effective UNESCO Convention, and underscored the importance of this debate to the province’s cultural industries. Consistent with this, the Deputy Minister invited the CCD to prepare a proposal for a specific project where Ontario and the Coalition could partner together for an event focusing public and media attention on what is at stake in the UNESCO initiative. The Ontario meeting is part of a program the CCD set in motion last fall to build support for the Convention among the provinces, and follows in the wake of the Coalition ’s presentation at last October’s Meeting of Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers Responsible for Culture and Heritage in Halifax . Since Halifax , CCD Co-Chair Scott McIntyre has also been pursuing discussions with senior officials in British Columbia ’s ministry responsible for culture regarding B.C.’s engagement with the cultural diversity file. It was also preceded earlier in 2004 by a meeting that CCD Co-Chair Pierre Curzi and Robert Pilon had with Percy Mockler, the New Brunswick Minister responsible for the Culture and Sport Secretariat. More broadly, in the coming weeks the CCD will be sending a letter to all provincial ministers responsible for culture urging their province to support the convention and formally requesting meetings to discuss the state of the convention campaign and ways of working in partnership wherever possible to move the process forward to a successful conclusion. TOP CCD Meets NDP, Bloc Critics to Discuss State of UNESCO Campaign In December, CCD representatives initiated a series of meetings with opposition critics responsible for the Canadian Heritage and Foreign Affairs portfolios in order to update them on the work of the Coalition and to discuss the status of the campaign to secure a convention on the protection of the diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions at UNESCO. On December 6, Co-Chair Pierre Curzi, Executive Vice President Robert Pilon and Director of External Relations Jim McKee met with Bloc Quebecois Heritage critic Maka Kotto following the CCD’s presentation before the Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. On December 15, Pilon and McKee met with NDP Heritage critic Charlie Angus then with the Bloc’s Foreign Affairs critic Francine Lalonde, joined by the party’s Heritage critic Maka Kotto. Critics from both parties expressed their strong support for an effective convention and urged the CCD to stay in regular contact as the UNESCO process moves forward. Efforts are already underway to initiate similar meetings with the Conservative party’s Heritage critic Beverley Oda, and with the NDP’s foreign affairs critic Alexa McDonough. This series of meetings will be followed with efforts to secure formal meetings with the leaders of all three opposition parties. TOP CCD, Quebec Government Meet to Assess Next Steps in UNESCO Convention Campaign Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Line Beauchamp and senior officials from her department as well as senior officials from the ministries of International Relations and Economic Development met with CCD representatives for two-and-a-half hours in Montreal on January 17 to discuss the state of play of the campaign to secure an effective Convention at UNESCO. Co-Chair Pierre Curzi, Executive Vice-President Robert Pilon and Director of External Relations Jim McKee attended the meeting on behalf of the CCD. During the meeting, recent developments in the UNESCO process were reviewed and options for building support for the file both domestically and internationally were discussed. The session was the third in a series of regular meetings initiated by the Quebec government last year with the goal of ensuring a regular exchange of information with the CCD and to, wherever possible, promote coordinated action to move the UNESCO campaign forward, both at home and internationally. TOP CCD Meets New Heritage International Relations ADM, and Minister’s New Chief of Staff On December 14, the CCD’s Robert Pilon and Jim McKee were in Ottawa for a first meeting with Canadian Heritage’s new ADM for International and Intergovernmental Affairs, Jacques Paquette. As International Affairs ADM, Paquette has responsibility for overseeing the development of Canada ’s position in the UNESCO convention process to develop the convention on the protection of the diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions and will head up the Canadian delegation in Paris for UNESCO’s second intergovernmental negotiations meeting January 31 to February 12. Paquette will attend the CCD’s January 24 board meeting in Toronto to deliver an update from the Canadian government perspective as the UNESCO process heads into this second intergovernmental negotiations session. Paquette, who was previously the Director General of Heritage’s Multiculturalism and Human Rights Branch, succeeds Jean-Pierre Blais, who has moved on to his new responsibilities as Assistant Deputy Minister for Cultural Affairs. Also on December 14, Pilon and McKee met for the first time with Canadian Heritage Minister Liza Frulla’s new Chief of Staff, John Welch. This was followed a month later by a second meeting in Montreal on January 14. During the one-hour meeting, Welch signalled Minister Frulla’s resolve to use upcoming international missions to engage her counterparts in other countries in discussions concerning the importance of the proposed UNESCO Convention. He also confirmed the department would be putting into motion a strategic plan for rallying broader international support for a strong, focused Convention, and to this end committed to continue the close working partnership with the Coalition. Welch, who succeeds Richard Paradis as head of the Minister’s office, was previously a senior advisor for the Denis Paradis, the former minister responsible for Francophonie. TOP 34 International Missions, Nine New Coalitions: Highlights of CCD Activity Report for First Nine Months of 04-05 With three months left to go in the current fiscal year, the CCD has carried out an unprecedented number of international missions geared to encouraging the formation of new coalitions for cultural diversity and generally strengthen awareness and support among cultural professional organizations for an effective convention at UNESCO. The high level of international activity in the first nine months of the year reflected the recognition that the UNESCO process to develop a Convention was entering a critical phase with the imminent release of a preliminary draft text last summer—increasing the urgency of encouraging broad mobilization from cultural organizations around the world in support of the convention. The Coalition ’s decision to front-load its international activity in the first part of the year was also made with the objective of reaping maximum benefit from the Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations held in Seoul , Korea last June. In the two months following that meeting, CCD representatives travelled to 12 countries to meet with cultural professional organizations. The immediate result of this work was the creation of nine new coalitions, almost doubling the number to 20. This include new coalitions in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Ireland, and Spain, joining new coalitions that were also being established in Belgium, Benin, Germany, and Togo, and the development of strong contacts with cultural organizations committed to establishing coalitions of their own in Brazil, Hungary and South Africa. The report was filed the week of January 17 with the Department of Canadian Heritage and with the Ministry of Culture and Communications of Quebec in conformity with the CCD’s respective funding agreements, and will be tabled with CCD member organizations at the Coalition ’s January 24 board meeting in Toronto . Other international highlights: The CCD’s close working partnership with the Korean Coalition for Cultural to plan and stage the Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations, June 1-4 in Seoul , Korea , which was attended by more than 200 representatives of cultural organizations from 57 countries. As Co-Secretariat of the International Liaison Committee of Coalition s for Cultural Diversity, the organization of ILC meetings in Seoul , Korea (June) and Paris (September). The ILC’s organization of a seminar on the Convention at UNESCO headquarters in September; held immediately prior to the first intergovernmental experts meeting, the seminar was attended by more than 200 people, including ambassadors and other senior officials from more than 60 national delegations to UNESCO. The ILC’s formal participation in the first intergovernmental session, delivering a consensus position regarding the draft text supported by delegates from the 15 coalitions represented at the September ILC meeting. The ILC’s organization of a major meeting of cultural professional organizations from 18 Francophonie member countries, held November 21-23 in Ouahigouya , Burkina Faso , immediately prior to the Xth Francophonie Summit. While the first half of 2004-05 was characterized by a heavy concentration on international work, the CCD continued to be active on the domestic front and in the fall of 2004 laid the foundation for an active program of domestic lobbying to conclude the fiscal year. This included: Participation in the roundtable discussion on the UNESCO Convention jointly hosted by Minister of Canadian Heritage Liza Frulla and Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Line Beauchamp. Delegates of 32 CCD member organizations took part in this roundtable, along with the full Coalition Secretariat. The roundtable was just the most high profile example of the Coalition ’s close working relationship with both governments, manifest in almost daily contact at both the political and departmental levels. A presentation by the CCD to the Federal Provincial and Territorial Meeting of Ministers Responsible for Culture and Heritage, October 29 in Halifax, attended by Canadian Heritage Minister Liza Frulla, seven provincial ministers and two territorial ministers. A December 15 meeting with Ontario Minister of Culture Madeleine Meilleur, the first in a planned series of meetings geared to establish partnerships with the culture ministers of other provinces in support of a strong UNESCO Convention. A December 6 presentation to the Commons Standing Committee on Canadian Heritage. December meetings with federal NDP Canadian Heritage critic Charlie Angus and with Bloc Quebecois critic for Canadian Heritage Maka Kotto and Francine Lalonde, the Bloc’s Foreign Affairs critic. TOP			CCD Initiates Plans With Ontario to Put Spotlight on UNESCO Convention CCD Meets NDP, Bloc Critics to Discuss State of UNESCO Campaign CCD, Quebec Government Meet to Assess Next Steps in UNESCO Convention Campaign CCD Meets New Heritage International Relations ADM, and Minister’s New Chief of Staff 34 International Missions, Nine New Coalition s: Highlights of CCD Activity Report for First Nine Months of 04-05 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, Geneviève Grimard Coalition Update is published with the financial assistance of the Government of Canada's Department of Canadian Heritage, and the Government of Quebec's Department of Culture and Communications.