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Highlights:

Vol. 1, No. 4, November 2003

UNESCO Members Give Green Light
to Undertake Cultural Diversity Convention

The 191 member states of UNESCO agreed at the closing session of the agency’s General Conference October 17 to a resolution mandating UNESCO’s Director General to undertake the development of an international convention on cultural diversity.

The resolution was given final approval during the closing plenary session after it carried by consensus during the Commission IV (Culture) debate held October 13.

Representatives of more than 80 member states spoke during the debate, with 90 per cent of these expressing support for the convention. Normally restrained affairs, the UNESCO debate turned into a lively discussion marked by outbursts of spontaneous applause (unusual, for this forum) when representatives of member states pronounced themselves strongly in favour of the convention proposal.

The strong expressions of support for the convention are believed to have played a role in persuading the U.S., which had spoken out against the convention, to withdraw a counter-resolution they had tabled which would have hopelessly delayed the convention initiative and ensured that any document that resulted was clearly subordinated to the WTO and other international agreements.

In the course of the debate, several countries whose positions on the convention had been unclear in the days leading up the General Conference came out in favour of the convention. These included Argentina, Brazil, and Korea, among others. Government officials on hand for the UNESCO debate credited work by the coalitions for cultural diversity with having a positive influence on these countries.

The next issue of Coalition Currents will look at the UNESCO process for developing the convention—including possible timelines for bringing a draft text back to the General Conference for a vote—and will examine ways in which organizations representing cultural professionals can have an impact on the process.

UNESCO Director General Koïchiro Matsuura is expected to begin the process by appointing a committee of experts to undertake the process of actually drafting a treaty. This experts committee could start its work as early as this December.

A major question for organizations representing working artists and other professionals from the cultural sector will be how UNESCO’s process provides for their participation in this process.

This concern was the focus of an informal 90-minute meeting held October 22 between Katerina Stenou, UNESCO’s director of the division of cultural policies and intercultural dialogue, Pierre Curzi, Co-Chair of the Canadian Coalition for Cultural Diversity, Robert Pilon, the Coalition’s Executive Vice-President, and Cécile Despringre of France’s Comité de Vigilance for Cultural Diversity. The meeting included a discussion of proposals the coalitions had raised during a meeting with the International Network for Cultural Policy (INCP) culture ministers’ network the week prior.

TOP

INCP Culture Ministers Network Hold Sixth Annual Meeting in Croatia; Coalitions Delegation Proposes Joint Action in Support of Convention

A five-person delegation from the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity met with the INCP culture ministers’ network October 17 in Opatija, Croatia to explore ways in which the coalitions and the ministers could work together to advanced the campaign to ensure a strong convention on cultural diversity.

With UNESCO set to undertake the development of a convention on cultural diversity—an initiative the INCP culture ministers have championed through their Working Group of Cultural Diversity and Globalization—the coalitions delegation proposed three axes of cooperation between the ministers and the existing nine coalitions for cultural diversity:

Supporting the creation of new coalitions for cultural diversity around the world.
Consolidating efforts to build support for the convention through regional and international fora such the Association of Ibero-American States, the Association of Asian, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP), the European Union and the International Organization of La Francophonie.
Ensuring the involvement of professionals from the cultural milieu in UNESCO’s process for drafting the convention.

In their statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting, the culture ministers "stressed the importance of continuing the dialogue between civil society and governments in the interest of preserving and promoting cultural diversity," and charged the Working Group on Cultural Diversity and Globalization with exploring ways of ensuring the ongoing involvement of civil society organizations in the convention process.

The coalitions presentation was delivered by Pierre Curzi, a well-known actor (The Barbarian Invasions) and co-chair of Canada’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity, by Ndiawar Mboup, General Director of Senegal’s Association des Métiers de la Musique and General Secretary of the Senegalese Coalition for Cultural Diversity, and Gi Hwan Yang, Executive Director of the Korean Coalition for Cultural Diversity and Executive Director of the Center for Diversity in Moving Images (CDMI).

A total of 16 culture ministers attended this year's meeting--13 members of the INCP and three guest culture ministers from India, Iran and Serbia-Montenegro--along with representatives of another 13 INCP member countries.

The INCP culture ministers’ network was initiated in 1998 by Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps and has been one of the leading advocates for the development of an international convention on cultural diversity. Previous ministerial meetings of the INCP have been held in Canada, Mexico, Greece, Switzerland and South Africa. The 2004 meeting is to be held in China.

Also in the Coalitions delegation for the Opatija meeting were Ho Jun Lee, responsible for international relations for the Korean Coalition, and Jim McKee, the Canadian Coalition’s Director of External Relations.

TOP

Korean Coalition Planning Third International Meeting
of Cultural Professional Organizations
For End of First Quarter 2004

Gi Hwan Yang, Executive Director of the Korean Coalition for Cultural Diversity, used the coalitions meeting with the INCP culture ministers as an opportunity to announce plans for the Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations next year in Seoul, Korea.

Mr. Yang advised the ministers that the meeting was being scheduled for the end of the first quarter of 2004 and that the Korean Coalition hoped to be in a position to invite organizations representing cultural professionals from more than 50 countries to take part in the conference.

The Korean meeting will follow the Second International Meeting held in Paris in February of this year, which brought together representatives of more than 125 professional organizations from 30 countries and was hosted by France’s Comité de Vigilance with the participation of Canada’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity. The original meeting of cultural professionals was held in September of 2001 in Montreal.

TOP

International Affiliation of Writers Guilds
Backs Australian Bid for Cultural Exemption
in Bilateral Talks With U.S.

With negotiations between the Australian and United States governments for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) nearing a critical stage, the Australian cultural sector has obtained important international support for their efforts to have culture exempted outright from the FTA.
The support came in the form of a resolution adopted by the International Affiliation of Writers’ Guilds—which includes the Writers Guild of America, west and East—during the affiliation’s annual meeting, which concluded October 10 and was held in Toronto, Canada.

The IAWG agreed on a resolution that included the following key statements:

"the IAWG acknowledges that a commitment to cultural diversity and to the promotion of vibrant indigenous production industries can and does co-exist with a commitment to international free trade.

"The IAWG supports the right of all Governments to intervene in respect of the promotion of indigenous production and cultural industries and urges all Governments to maintain these rights.

"To this end, the IAWG unequivocally supports the right of all Australian Governments to legislate in respect of film, television, radio, theatre and new media industries across all existing delivery platforms and those which may exist in the future."

The International Affiliation of Writers' Guilds is comprised of: Australian Writers' Guild, Writers Guild of America West, Writers Guild of America East, Writers Guild of Canada, New Zealand Writers Guild, Irish Playwrights / Screenwriters Guild, Société des Auteurs de Radio, Télévision et Cinema (Quebec) and the Writers Guild of Great Britain.

"The resolution shows that there are differing points of view within the US entertainment industry on this issue and the Australian Writers Guild was very pleased to have the support of the US membership of IAWG," says Megan Elliott, Executive Director of the Australian Writers' Guild.

The support from the IAWG comes at a key moment in the Australia-U.S. bilateral talks. During a visit by U.S. President George Bush to Australia the week of October 22, Australian Prime Minister John Howard was reported to have said that his government was prepared to be flexible to U.S. interests in the area of film and television.

This statement was at odds with previous assurances by government officials that Australia would not give up its right to regulate the cultural industries.

The apparent softening of the Australian position prompted a quick response from all of Australia’s major organizations representing actors, directors, writers and producers, which mobilized their membership to oppose any concessions on culture through the trade talks.

TOP

Coalition Reps Take Part
in Civil Society Conference on Cultural Diversity

Representatives from coalitions for cultural diversity from Senegal, Canada and Korea were panelists at the fourth annual conference of the International Network for Cultural Diversity.

Approximately 125 people attended the conference, which was entitled ‘Advancing Civil Society Globally: the Role of Civil Society Movements’, and hosted by the INCD in conjunction with Culturelink Network.

Ndiawar Mboup of Senegal and Jim McKee of Canada (who was appearing on behalf of the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity) joined Jean Tardif of Planetagora and moderator Mireille Gagné for a session entitled ‘A Diversity of Coalitions.’
The session also included a presentation by Ki Taek Lee, a special advisor to the President Republic of Korea on culture and civil society, who spoke of the important role cultural policy has played in furthering cultural diversity in Korea, and the key work the Korean coalition has played in ensuring their country maintains its right to have cultural policies.

The conference was held immediately prior to the annual meeting of the INCP culture ministers. For the fourth consecutive year, a delegation of the INCD met with the INCP ministers to present them with the final declaration of their conference as well as a report on their activities.

TOP

UNESCO Members Give Green Light to Undertake Cultural Diversity Convention

INCP Culture Ministers Network Hold Sixth Annual Meeting in Croatia; Coalitions Delegation Proposes Joint Action in Support of Convention

Korean Coalition Planning Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations For End of First Quarter 2004

International Affiliation of Writers Guilds Backs Australian Bid for Cultural Exemption in Bilateral Talks With U.S.

Coalition Reps Take Part in Civil Society Conference on Cultural Diversity

Coalition Currents is published by the Secretariat for the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (ILC). Member Coalitions:

Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Senegal.

154 Laurier Ave. West, Suite 240
Montreal, QUE H2T 2N7
T. (514) 277-2666
F. (514) 277-9994

www.comitedevigilance.org
e-mail:

Editor: Jim McKee
Contributors in this issue: Robert Pilon,
Geneviève Grimard,
Mélanie Marron, Bruno Bettati

Interested in bringing organizations representing cultural professionals in your country together in a coalition for cultural diversity?

For assistance, contact the Secretariat of the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity:
mckee@cdc-ccd.org.

				Français \| Español

				Highlights:
	Vol. 1, No. 4, November 2003 UNESCO Members Give Green Light to Undertake Cultural Diversity Convention The 191 member states of UNESCO agreed at the closing session of the agency’s General Conference October 17 to a resolution mandating UNESCO’s Director General to undertake the development of an international convention on cultural diversity. The resolution was given final approval during the closing plenary session after it carried by consensus during the Commission IV (Culture) debate held October 13. Representatives of more than 80 member states spoke during the debate, with 90 per cent of these expressing support for the convention. Normally restrained affairs, the UNESCO debate turned into a lively discussion marked by outbursts of spontaneous applause (unusual, for this forum) when representatives of member states pronounced themselves strongly in favour of the convention proposal. The strong expressions of support for the convention are believed to have played a role in persuading the U.S., which had spoken out against the convention, to withdraw a counter-resolution they had tabled which would have hopelessly delayed the convention initiative and ensured that any document that resulted was clearly subordinated to the WTO and other international agreements. In the course of the debate, several countries whose positions on the convention had been unclear in the days leading up the General Conference came out in favour of the convention. These included Argentina, Brazil, and Korea, among others. Government officials on hand for the UNESCO debate credited work by the coalitions for cultural diversity with having a positive influence on these countries. The next issue of Coalition Currents will look at the UNESCO process for developing the convention—including possible timelines for bringing a draft text back to the General Conference for a vote—and will examine ways in which organizations representing cultural professionals can have an impact on the process. UNESCO Director General Koïchiro Matsuura is expected to begin the process by appointing a committee of experts to undertake the process of actually drafting a treaty. This experts committee could start its work as early as this December. A major question for organizations representing working artists and other professionals from the cultural sector will be how UNESCO’s process provides for their participation in this process. This concern was the focus of an informal 90-minute meeting held October 22 between Katerina Stenou, UNESCO’s director of the division of cultural policies and intercultural dialogue, Pierre Curzi, Co-Chair of the Canadian Coalition for Cultural Diversity, Robert Pilon, the Coalition’s Executive Vice-President, and Cécile Despringre of France’s Comité de Vigilance for Cultural Diversity. The meeting included a discussion of proposals the coalitions had raised during a meeting with the International Network for Cultural Policy (INCP) culture ministers’ network the week prior. TOP INCP Culture Ministers Network Hold Sixth Annual Meeting in Croatia; Coalitions Delegation Proposes Joint Action in Support of Convention A five-person delegation from the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity met with the INCP culture ministers’ network October 17 in Opatija, Croatia to explore ways in which the coalitions and the ministers could work together to advanced the campaign to ensure a strong convention on cultural diversity. With UNESCO set to undertake the development of a convention on cultural diversity—an initiative the INCP culture ministers have championed through their Working Group of Cultural Diversity and Globalization—the coalitions delegation proposed three axes of cooperation between the ministers and the existing nine coalitions for cultural diversity: Supporting the creation of new coalitions for cultural diversity around the world. Consolidating efforts to build support for the convention through regional and international fora such the Association of Ibero-American States, the Association of Asian, Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP), the European Union and the International Organization of La Francophonie. Ensuring the involvement of professionals from the cultural milieu in UNESCO’s process for drafting the convention. In their statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting, the culture ministers "stressed the importance of continuing the dialogue between civil society and governments in the interest of preserving and promoting cultural diversity," and charged the Working Group on Cultural Diversity and Globalization with exploring ways of ensuring the ongoing involvement of civil society organizations in the convention process. The coalitions presentation was delivered by Pierre Curzi, a well-known actor (The Barbarian Invasions) and co-chair of Canada’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity, by Ndiawar Mboup, General Director of Senegal’s Association des Métiers de la Musique and General Secretary of the Senegalese Coalition for Cultural Diversity, and Gi Hwan Yang, Executive Director of the Korean Coalition for Cultural Diversity and Executive Director of the Center for Diversity in Moving Images (CDMI). A total of 16 culture ministers attended this year's meeting--13 members of the INCP and three guest culture ministers from India, Iran and Serbia-Montenegro--along with representatives of another 13 INCP member countries. The INCP culture ministers’ network was initiated in 1998 by Minister of Canadian Heritage Sheila Copps and has been one of the leading advocates for the development of an international convention on cultural diversity. Previous ministerial meetings of the INCP have been held in Canada, Mexico, Greece, Switzerland and South Africa. The 2004 meeting is to be held in China. Also in the Coalitions delegation for the Opatija meeting were Ho Jun Lee, responsible for international relations for the Korean Coalition, and Jim McKee, the Canadian Coalition’s Director of External Relations. TOP Korean Coalition Planning Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations For End of First Quarter 2004 Gi Hwan Yang, Executive Director of the Korean Coalition for Cultural Diversity, used the coalitions meeting with the INCP culture ministers as an opportunity to announce plans for the Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations next year in Seoul, Korea. Mr. Yang advised the ministers that the meeting was being scheduled for the end of the first quarter of 2004 and that the Korean Coalition hoped to be in a position to invite organizations representing cultural professionals from more than 50 countries to take part in the conference. The Korean meeting will follow the Second International Meeting held in Paris in February of this year, which brought together representatives of more than 125 professional organizations from 30 countries and was hosted by France’s Comité de Vigilance with the participation of Canada’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity. The original meeting of cultural professionals was held in September of 2001 in Montreal. TOP International Affiliation of Writers Guilds Backs Australian Bid for Cultural Exemption in Bilateral Talks With U.S. With negotiations between the Australian and United States governments for a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) nearing a critical stage, the Australian cultural sector has obtained important international support for their efforts to have culture exempted outright from the FTA. The support came in the form of a resolution adopted by the International Affiliation of Writers’ Guilds—which includes the Writers Guild of America, west and East—during the affiliation’s annual meeting, which concluded October 10 and was held in Toronto, Canada. The IAWG agreed on a resolution that included the following key statements: "the IAWG acknowledges that a commitment to cultural diversity and to the promotion of vibrant indigenous production industries can and does co-exist with a commitment to international free trade. "The IAWG supports the right of all Governments to intervene in respect of the promotion of indigenous production and cultural industries and urges all Governments to maintain these rights. "To this end, the IAWG unequivocally supports the right of all Australian Governments to legislate in respect of film, television, radio, theatre and new media industries across all existing delivery platforms and those which may exist in the future." The International Affiliation of Writers' Guilds is comprised of: Australian Writers' Guild, Writers Guild of America West, Writers Guild of America East, Writers Guild of Canada, New Zealand Writers Guild, Irish Playwrights / Screenwriters Guild, Société des Auteurs de Radio, Télévision et Cinema (Quebec) and the Writers Guild of Great Britain. "The resolution shows that there are differing points of view within the US entertainment industry on this issue and the Australian Writers Guild was very pleased to have the support of the US membership of IAWG," says Megan Elliott, Executive Director of the Australian Writers' Guild. The support from the IAWG comes at a key moment in the Australia-U.S. bilateral talks. During a visit by U.S. President George Bush to Australia the week of October 22, Australian Prime Minister John Howard was reported to have said that his government was prepared to be flexible to U.S. interests in the area of film and television. This statement was at odds with previous assurances by government officials that Australia would not give up its right to regulate the cultural industries. The apparent softening of the Australian position prompted a quick response from all of Australia’s major organizations representing actors, directors, writers and producers, which mobilized their membership to oppose any concessions on culture through the trade talks. TOP Coalition Reps Take Part in Civil Society Conference on Cultural Diversity Representatives from coalitions for cultural diversity from Senegal, Canada and Korea were panelists at the fourth annual conference of the International Network for Cultural Diversity. Approximately 125 people attended the conference, which was entitled ‘Advancing Civil Society Globally: the Role of Civil Society Movements’, and hosted by the INCD in conjunction with Culturelink Network. Ndiawar Mboup of Senegal and Jim McKee of Canada (who was appearing on behalf of the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity) joined Jean Tardif of Planetagora and moderator Mireille Gagné for a session entitled ‘A Diversity of Coalitions.’ The session also included a presentation by Ki Taek Lee, a special advisor to the President Republic of Korea on culture and civil society, who spoke of the important role cultural policy has played in furthering cultural diversity in Korea, and the key work the Korean coalition has played in ensuring their country maintains its right to have cultural policies. The conference was held immediately prior to the annual meeting of the INCP culture ministers. For the fourth consecutive year, a delegation of the INCD met with the INCP ministers to present them with the final declaration of their conference as well as a report on their activities. TOP			UNESCO Members Give Green Light to Undertake Cultural Diversity Convention INCP Culture Ministers Network Hold Sixth Annual Meeting in Croatia; Coalitions Delegation Proposes Joint Action in Support of Convention Korean Coalition Planning Third International Meeting of Cultural Professional Organizations For End of First Quarter 2004 International Affiliation of Writers Guilds Backs Australian Bid for Cultural Exemption in Bilateral Talks With U.S. Coalition Reps Take Part in Civil Society Conference on Cultural Diversity Coalition Currents is published by the Secretariat for the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (ILC). Member Coalitions: Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, France, Korea, Mexico, New Zealand, Senegal. 154 Laurier Ave. West, Suite 240 Montreal, QUE H2T 2N7 T. (514) 277-2666 F. (514) 277-9994 www.comitedevigilance.org e-mail: Editor: Jim McKee Contributors in this issue: Robert Pilon, Geneviève Grimard, Mélanie Marron, Bruno Bettati Interested in bringing organizations representing cultural professionals in your country together in a coalition for cultural diversity? For assistance, contact the Secretariat of the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity: mckee@cdc-ccd.org.