Coalition Currents

The UNESCO Convention Enters Into Force: First Conference of Parties Set For June 18-20

On March 23, UNESCO Director General Koïchiro Matsuura announced that the first Conference of Parties to the Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions will be held June 18-20 in Paris.

Addressing permanent delegations and observers to UNESCO, the Director General emphasized that “this first Conference of Parties will have a heavy agenda.”

In his speech, the Director General also laid out the initial schedule of meetings for the Intergovernmental Committee to be elected at the June Conference. It will hold its first meeting in December, followed by meetings in May 2008, Autumn 2008 and February 2009 leading up to a second Conference of Parties in June of 2009.

Consistent with provisions of the Convention, those states that deposited their ratifications with UNESCO at least three months prior to the June 20 close of the Conference (March 20) will be eligible to attend the first Conference in June. A total of 56 states will therefore gather in Paris for the Conference.

In addition to the States Parties, the Director General stated that “for this first meeting, I will invite a number of observers, non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations that were involved in the process of elaborating the Convention.” Once it meets, the Conference of Parties will adopt its rules of procedure, which will include provisions for according observer status.

The first Conference of Parties will formally begin the process of implementing the convention. As its plenary and supreme body, the Conference of Parties will approve the operational guidelines for the convention, receive and examine reports of Parties to the convention, and take any other measures it considers necessary to further the objectives of the convention.

States attending the first Conference of Parties will also elect the members of the Intergovernmental Committee. As more than 50 states have now ratified, a full 24-member Intergovernmental Committee (IC) will be elected, based on the principles of equitable geographical representation.

Functioning under the direction of the Conference of Parties, to which it will be accountable, the IC is charged with promoting the objectives of the Convention and monitoring its implementation.

Its mandate includes preparing operational guidelines for implementing and applying the provisions of the convention and presenting these for approval by the Conference of Parties.

Its responsibilities also include establishing procedures and other mechanisms for consultation aimed at promoting the objectives and principles of this Convention in other international forums.

The IC will prepare its own rules of procedure, subject to approval by the Conference of Parties. This includes spelling out its provisions for involving public or private organizations or individuals in consultations around specific issues relating to implementation of the convention.

In addition to the first Conference of Parties, and the schedule of four meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee over the next two years, the Director General announced that experts meetings will be held to explore specific issues requiring in-depth conceptual analysis or that otherwise emerge from the discussions on implementation. In this context he gave two examples: an experts meeting that will be organized this July in Madrid on the theme of international cooperation; and another that will be held at a date still to be determined on the question of links between UNESCO’s various major international conventions on culture, notably the articulation between the convention on intangible heritage and the convention on the diversity of cultural expressions.

March 18 marked the entry into force of the convention—three months after it surpassed the minimum threshold of 30 ratifications specified in the text on December 18.

The convention surpassed this minimum threshold just 14 months after it was adopted on October 20, 2005—a tempo of ratification that Director General characterized as “a record for a normative instrument on culture”.(our translation)

This extraordinary momentum has continued. Since December 18, a further 20 states have ratified—a number that includes Brazil, Chile, China, Italy, Germany, South Africa and Tunisia. (For a more detailed account of the ratification campaign that helped produce this remarkable result, see the attached article by Robert Pilon, Executive Vice President of the Canadian Coalition for Cultural Diversity.)

The March 18 entry into force of the convention clearly signals that the campaign for the convention has now entered a new phase. The work is by no means over, but perhaps, to use a phrase from Churchill, we are at the end of the beginning.

However, the importance of continuing to promote widespread ratification of the convention remains. For the convention to realize its legal and political potential, it will require ratification on the same scale as other major international agreements such as the Land Mine Treaty (152) or the Kyoto Protocol (169). And it is worth noting that the World Trade Organization has 150 member states.

In other words, 56 member states is an extremely impressive start for an international agreement that was only adopted 17 months ago. But for the convention to take on real weight internationally, it is imperative that that number quickly surpass 100, and ultimately rise above 150.

Just as important will be to ensure that ratifications come from countries of every region of the world. On that count, there are clear challenges. In Asia, only China and India have ratified; impressive as those countries are, they are but two of 48. From UNESCO’s Arab world geographic zone, only Jordan, Tunisia and Oman’s have ratified. Similarly, it will be important to increase the representation from English-speaking Africa, from Eastern Europe, and Central America/Caribbean.

Why is maximum ratification so important? There are three major reasons for this: 1) broad-based ratification by UNESCO member states will be key to ensuring the convention’s implementation is properly funded in the context of budget discussions during agency’s General Conferences; 2) broad-based ratification of the convention by WTO member states will be crucial if the principles and objectives of the convention are to be successfully upheld in the context of trade agreements; and 3) for the convention to be widely translated into action in the form of cultural policies at the individual country level, it must be ratified by as many countries as possible.

The success of the convention’s implementation will be inextricably linked with the continuing progress of the ratification campaign. A quick and effective implementation of the convention will motivate additional countries to ratify it, and as indicated above, a growing ratification base will increase the political weight of the convention, thereby maximizing its potential impact.

While implementation will continue for as long as the convention is an active international instrument, the first few years will be critical to effectively launching this process.

The Conference of Parties and the Intergovernmental Committee can ensure a successful launch by taking four key steps:

Establishing a steady work-rate with clear timelines. Article 22 of the convention states that the Conference of Parties would normally meet every two years—and the Director General has laid out an initial schedule that would stick to this cycle. On work plan, the Director General has already emphasized that the agenda for the first Conference of Parties will include establishing the mandate for the Intergovernmental Committee. The Director General’s plan of four meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee over the next two years offers the potential of establishing a solid tempo of work on implementing the convention. This could be reinforced by convening an Extraordinary Conference of the Parties, as provided for in Article 22, one year into this cycle—possibly in September of 2008—to take stock of the progress to this point and refine priorities for the remaining two meetings of the IC prior to the June 2009 Conference of Parties already announced by the Director General.

Establishing the International Fund for Cultural Diversity on a priority basis. The Fund will be one of the key vehicles for translating the principles and objectives of the convention into action in the developing world, notably through initiatives to help develop the cultural industries of the global South. The first Conference of Parties has the opportunity to send an extremely positive signal to the developing world by making the articulation of this Fund a priority for the Intergovernmental Committee. And developed countries can reinforce this by committing early to contribute to the fund on a recurring basis. Canada and India have already stated their intention to support the fund. We hope to see that number grow significantly in the run-up to the June Conference. On this count, the Director General’s confirmation that this will be on the agenda for the first Conference of Parties is welcome, as is his exhortation to States Parties to the Convention to contribute to the fund.

Launching early initiatives to promote the convention’s principles and objectives in other international forums. This will be crucial if the convention’s role as a counterweight to the pressure on culture from international trade agreements is to be realized. Article 23 of the Convention explicitly mandates the Intergovernmental Committee to undertake this work, building on Article 20 which commits states to take into account the provisions of the convention “when interpreting and applying the other treaties to which they are parties or when entering into other international obligations.” This undertaking is reinforced in Article 21, which states “Parties undertake to promote the objectives and principles of this Convention in other international forums. For this purpose, Parties shall consult each other, as appropriate, bearing in mind these objectives and principles.”

There are already some encouraging signs that the consensus developed at UNESCO around the convention is being reflected by a general resolve to keep audiovisual services off the table during the current Doha Round of WTO negotiations. But the Doha Round has been all but paralyzed by the impasse on agricultural subsidies, and in the meantime a wave of bilateral negotiations has been initiated—and not just by the United States. Member States attending the first Conference of Parties can clearly demonstrate their resolve on this question by explicitly tasking the Intergovernmental Committee with immediately undertaking the process of drafting consultation procedures and mechanisms for promoting and upholding objectives and principles in other international forums, notably in trade talks. In support of this, they could also convene a special experts meeting to explore this question in depth—consistent with similar meetings Matsuura has already indicated will take place on international cooperation, and on the internal relationship between UNESCO’s major conventions on culture.

Meaningfully involving civil society in implementation of the convention. The process for negotiating, adopting and then ratifying the convention has been supported by a strikingly rapid mobilization of cultural professional organizations around the world, notably through national coalitions for cultural diversity. Today, there are coalitions in 37 countries, representing more than 500 organizations from all sectors of culture—books, film and television, music, live performance, visual arts and new media. Their number continues to grow, and their work has been complementary to expressions of support for the convention coming from major internationals from the world of culture—by CISAC (the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers), FIA (the International Actors Federation), FIM (the International Federation of Musicians, and regional meetings of UNI-MEI (the Media, Entertainment and Arts global union).

There is tremendous potential to now channel these very positive energies into the implementation of the convention—both at the state and country level by governments, as well as through the work of the Conference of Parties and the Intergovernmental Committee. By committing to invite a number of non-governmental organizations as observers for the first Conference of Parties, the Director General has sent a very positive signal of UNESCO’s intention to involve civil society in the process for implementing the convention.

Coalitions Meet for Ninth Assembly in Montreal, Pledge to Continue their Work, Establish International Federation

Delegates from 32 countries gathered in Montreal March 15-17 for the Ninth General Assembly of the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity. The turnout was the largest in the four-year history of ILC General Assemblies—testimony to the high level of engagement among all the coalitions, and to their readiness to continue working in support of the UNESCO convention on the diversity of cultural expressions.

That high level of continuing commitment was also evident in the unanimous decision reached at the end of the Montreal Meeting to transform the ILC into a formally-constituted International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity, with a founding Congress to be held before the end of 2007.

Over their two days of meetings, delegates discussed the current state of the continuing campaign to ratify the convention, focusing on initiatives that coalitions and cultural organizations can take to promote the objective of securing the ratification from the broadest possible number of ratifications.

At the time of the meeting, more than half of the countries with national coalitions had already ratified the UNESCO convention—including Niger, whose ratification had been filed with UNESCO on Paris on March 14 by Adamou Mahamadou of Niger’s Coalition en route to the Montreal meeting. Mané Nett of Chile, Christine Merkel of Germany and Zayneb Farhat of Tunisia were also pleased to report on the very recent ratification of the convention by the governments of their countries.

While awaiting the imminent UNESCO announcement of the dates for the first Conference of Parities to begin implementation of the convention, the ILC delegates also discussed key elements for an effective launch of the convention. Their discussions on this count were enriched by a roundtable exchange with two government officials working on this file: Rene Bouchard, Director General of International Affairs with the Department of Canadian Heritage, and Dave Atkinson, governmental coordinator and Chief of the Cultural Diversity Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture and Communications of Quebec.

The ongoing pressure on culture from trade agreements was also on the agenda, as Gi-hwan Yang of the Korean Coalition for Cultural Diversity spoke of the wide-ranging concessions Korea is being asked to make in its current bilateral negotiations with the United States, and Bernardo Jaramillo presented an overview of the impact on culture of recent Free Trade Agreements negotiated by the United States with countries in Latin America, including Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru.

In the declaration adopted at the conclusion of the Montreal Meeting, participants emphasized key priorities in the continuing ratification campaign and in the implementation phase for the convention—and signalled their intention to continue their work on both counts.

Participants at the Montreal meeting represented 31 of the 37 national coalitions for cultural diversity now in existence, joined by Nick Motsatse, Chief Executive Officer of the South African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO).

The decision to establish an International Federation was taken with the objective of strengthening the movement’s capacity to continue this work.

Highlights from the Montreal Declaration:

“Our ultimate objective is to ensure the UNESCO convention obtains widespread ratification on the same scale as such major international agreements as the Land Mine Treaty (152 ratifications) and the Kyoto Protocol (169). It will also be important to work to secure balanced geographical representation among States Parties to the Convention.

Clearly, the Convention is not an end in itself. It is an instrument in service of cultural diversity that will only have value to the extent that States effectively put it into practice.

Therefore, the Coalitions call on the States Parties at their very first Conference to take the measures necessary for the concrete realization of the objectives of the convention. In particular, we consider it essential that the States Parties:

1. Take the necessary steps to adopt and implement cultural policies in line with the principles, objectives and provisions of the Convention.

2. Rapidly put in place the International Fund for Cultural Diversity, and ensure that this fund is resourced at a level appropriate to its ambitious and important objective—the development of the cultural industries of the South.

3. Refrain, going forward, from making commitments in any trade negotiation—bilateral or multilateral—that would risk calling into question the right now clearly accorded to countries to freely determine their own cultural policies.

4. Involve civil society in the implementation of the Convention and in the development and application of cultural policies.

The difficult circumstances experienced today by the cultural sectors of countries that have accepted liberalization commitments on culture in bilateral and/or multilateral negotiations—such as Korea is in the process of doing—are testimony to the importance of the campaign we are pursuing.

The Coalitions for Cultural Diversity gathered in Montreal are convinced that all sectors of culture must continue their mobilization in order to ensure the potential of the Convention is realized.

For this reason, we have agreed to transform the ILC into the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity. Once established, it will seek official recognition for the Federation from UNESCO on a priority basis, so that at this organization, just as in all other forums that it considers it useful, it can defend and promote cultural diversity.”

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Coalitions Celebrate Entry Into Force of the UNESCO Convention

Taking place on the eve of the March entry into force of the UNESCO convention on the diversity of cultural expressions, the closing ceremonies for the Ninth General Assembly of the Coalitions for Cultural Diversity served as an occasion to mark this historic moment—and quickly transitioned into a celebration of this occasion.

With Canadian Coalition Co-Chair Solange Drouin presiding over the ceremonies, Debora Abramowicz of France, Geraldo Moraes from Brazil, Rasmané Ouedraogo from Burkina Faso and Robert Pilon of the Canadian Coalition each addressed themes emerging from the Montreal Meeting—including the importance of maintaining the mobilization of coalitions and cultural organizations, of continuing the close working partnership between the coalitions and leader governments on the file, of ensuring an early and effective launch of the fund for cultural diversity, and of ensuring that countries maintain coherence with the principles and objectives of the convention by upholding these in other international forums.

Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Line Beauchamp was a guest speaker at the ceremony, and in a powerful speech as eloquent as it was moving, expressed her hopes regarding what the convention might make possible in the future:

“The convention will certainly serve as a rampart from which we can all defend cultural diversity.” She said. “But my hope for all of you, for the cultural milieu, is that it will also serve as a springboard. That you will be able to use it to advocate for policies in each of your countries that ensure your fellow citizens have access to books, films, television, music, theatre and other art coming from within their own borders—and that, because these works have been created, we will be able to have access to these internationally as well.”

Speaking on behalf of Minister of Canadian Heritage Beverley Oda, Assistant Deputy Minister Jacques Paquette saluted the work done by the coalitions in support of the rapid ratification of the convention, and underlined the importance of civil society’s continued involvement as the process for implementing the convention begins:

“Canada firmly believes that civil society representatives should be associated with the activities of the Conference of the Parties. We will want to benefit from the expertise and knowledge of civil society when pursuing the implementation of this Convention,” he said.

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Coalitions Join Francophonie Working Group for Roundtable on Implementation

A delegation of representatives of the Coalitions for Cultural Diversity was in Paris March 23 for a roundtable exchange with a working group on cultural diversity of the International Organization of La Francophonie.

Members of Francophonie’s bureau of UNESCO members also took part in the session, which focused on work relating to the ratification and implementation of the UNESCO convention on the diversity of cultural expressions, and so provided an opportunity for the coalitions delegation to report on discussions on this question during the Ninth General Assembly of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity in Montreal March 15-17.

Taking place on the day that UNESCO Director General Matsuura announced the dates of the first Conference of Parties and a timeline for a series of four Intergovernmental Committee meetings to follow, the roundtable was a timely opportunity to discuss approaches to maximizing the work that could be accomplished during this schedule. In this context, the working group members reiterated Francophonie’s support for involving civil society in the implementation of the convention.

Representatives of some 20 Francophonie member states took part in the session, which was established in 2002 by the Secretary General of la Francophonie on the eve of the organization’s Beirut Summit of Heads of State and Government.

The Coalitions delegation consisted of Cheikh Ngaido Ba, Vice President of Senegal’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity, Diego Gradis of Switzerland’s Coalition, Rasmane Ouedraogo, President of Burkina Faso’s Coalition and Secretary of the African Network of Coalitions, Debora Abramowicz, Coordinator of France’s Coalition, Pascal Rogard, President of France’s Coalition, and Robert Pilon, Executive Vice President of the Canadian Coalition.

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Coalitions, INCP Discuss Role of Civil Society in Convention Implementation

The role of civil society in UNESCO’s processes for implementing the convention as well as in implementation at the national level was on the agenda when representatives of the International Liaison Committee met with the Working Group on Cultural Diversity Globalization and Cultural Diversity of the International Network on Cultural Policy in Nyon, Switzerland on February 1.

The Working Group meeting, which continued February 2, was pursuing a mandate established at last year’s Ninth INCP Ministerial meeting held in Rio de Janeiro in November of 2006.

The preliminary exchange in Nyon on the question of avenues for involving civil society in implementation of the convention will be pursued in a discussion paper being prepared by the Swiss delegation that hosted the Nyon meeting. That paper will be discussed at the mid-year officials meeting of the INCP to be held April 19 and 20 in Madrid.

The Madrid meeting will serve to prepare the agenda for the INCP’s Tenth Ministerial Meeting in Seville September 20 and 21, and will also serve to prepare for UNESCO’s first Conference of Parties to the Convention June 18-20.

At the February INCP working group meeting, Cécile Despringre of France’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity and Diego Gradis of Switzerland’s Coalition represented the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions.

In their presentation, they emphasized the resolve of coalitions and cultural professional organizations to continue their mobilization as the process for implementing the convention. They underscored the convention’s importance as a foundation for countries to apply cultural policies, and signalled the ongoing challenge of building broad public awareness of what is at stake in the campaign for cultural diversity. They stressed the urgency of maximizing the convention’s potential for supporting the emergence of cultural industries in the developing world; to this end, they noted, the International Fund for Cultural Diversity provided for in the Convention must be launched and funded on a priority basis. And they noted that the ratification campaign must continue—to secure much broader-based ratification, and to ensure balanced ratification from every region of the world.

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	Vol. 5, No. 1-2 Spring 2007 The UNESCO Convention Enters Into Force: First Conference of Parties Set For June 18-20 On March 23, UNESCO Director General Koïchiro Matsuura announced that the first Conference of Parties to the Convention on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions will be held June 18-20 in Paris. Addressing permanent delegations and observers to UNESCO, the Director General emphasized that “this first Conference of Parties will have a heavy agenda.” Matsuura stated that this agenda will include: Electing the 24 members of the Intergovernmental Committee. Establishing the mandate for the Intergovernmental Committee “with a view to preparing the operational guidelines necessary for implementing the convention.” Creating the International Fund for Cultural Diversity, “for which contributions are, I remind you, voluntary. I hope that a large number of Parties to the Convention will be contributing to it.” In his speech, the Director General also laid out the initial schedule of meetings for the Intergovernmental Committee to be elected at the June Conference. It will hold its first meeting in December, followed by meetings in May 2008, Autumn 2008 and February 2009 leading up to a second Conference of Parties in June of 2009. Consistent with provisions of the Convention, those states that deposited their ratifications with UNESCO at least three months prior to the June 20 close of the Conference (March 20) will be eligible to attend the first Conference in June. A total of 56 states will therefore gather in Paris for the Conference. In addition to the States Parties, the Director General stated that “for this first meeting, I will invite a number of observers, non-governmental organizations and intergovernmental organizations that were involved in the process of elaborating the Convention.” Once it meets, the Conference of Parties will adopt its rules of procedure, which will include provisions for according observer status. The Process for Implementing the Convention: The first Conference of Parties will formally begin the process of implementing the convention. As its plenary and supreme body, the Conference of Parties will approve the operational guidelines for the convention, receive and examine reports of Parties to the convention, and take any other measures it considers necessary to further the objectives of the convention. States attending the first Conference of Parties will also elect the members of the Intergovernmental Committee. As more than 50 states have now ratified, a full 24-member Intergovernmental Committee (IC) will be elected, based on the principles of equitable geographical representation. Functioning under the direction of the Conference of Parties, to which it will be accountable, the IC is charged with promoting the objectives of the Convention and monitoring its implementation. Its mandate includes preparing operational guidelines for implementing and applying the provisions of the convention and presenting these for approval by the Conference of Parties. Its responsibilities also include establishing procedures and other mechanisms for consultation aimed at promoting the objectives and principles of this Convention in other international forums. The IC will prepare its own rules of procedure, subject to approval by the Conference of Parties. This includes spelling out its provisions for involving public or private organizations or individuals in consultations around specific issues relating to implementation of the convention. In addition to the first Conference of Parties, and the schedule of four meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee over the next two years, the Director General announced that experts meetings will be held to explore specific issues requiring in-depth conceptual analysis or that otherwise emerge from the discussions on implementation. In this context he gave two examples: an experts meeting that will be organized this July in Madrid on the theme of international cooperation; and another that will be held at a date still to be determined on the question of links between UNESCO’s various major international conventions on culture, notably the articulation between the convention on intangible heritage and the convention on the diversity of cultural expressions. Maintaining the Momentum: The Importance of Ensuring Maximum Ratification March 18 marked the entry into force of the convention—three months after it surpassed the minimum threshold of 30 ratifications specified in the text on December 18. The convention surpassed this minimum threshold just 14 months after it was adopted on October 20, 2005—a tempo of ratification that Director General characterized as “a record for a normative instrument on culture”.(our translation) This extraordinary momentum has continued. Since December 18, a further 20 states have ratified—a number that includes Brazil, Chile, China, Italy, Germany, South Africa and Tunisia. (For a more detailed account of the ratification campaign that helped produce this remarkable result, see the attached article by Robert Pilon, Executive Vice President of the Canadian Coalition for Cultural Diversity.) The March 18 entry into force of the convention clearly signals that the campaign for the convention has now entered a new phase. The work is by no means over, but perhaps, to use a phrase from Churchill, we are at the end of the beginning. However, the importance of continuing to promote widespread ratification of the convention remains. For the convention to realize its legal and political potential, it will require ratification on the same scale as other major international agreements such as the Land Mine Treaty (152) or the Kyoto Protocol (169). And it is worth noting that the World Trade Organization has 150 member states. In other words, 56 member states is an extremely impressive start for an international agreement that was only adopted 17 months ago. But for the convention to take on real weight internationally, it is imperative that that number quickly surpass 100, and ultimately rise above 150. Just as important will be to ensure that ratifications come from countries of every region of the world. On that count, there are clear challenges. In Asia, only China and India have ratified; impressive as those countries are, they are but two of 48. From UNESCO’s Arab world geographic zone, only Jordan, Tunisia and Oman’s have ratified. Similarly, it will be important to increase the representation from English-speaking Africa, from Eastern Europe, and Central America/Caribbean. Why is maximum ratification so important? There are three major reasons for this: 1) broad-based ratification by UNESCO member states will be key to ensuring the convention’s implementation is properly funded in the context of budget discussions during agency’s General Conferences; 2) broad-based ratification of the convention by WTO member states will be crucial if the principles and objectives of the convention are to be successfully upheld in the context of trade agreements; and 3) for the convention to be widely translated into action in the form of cultural policies at the individual country level, it must be ratified by as many countries as possible. The First Three Years: A Critical Period in Implementation of the Convention The success of the convention’s implementation will be inextricably linked with the continuing progress of the ratification campaign. A quick and effective implementation of the convention will motivate additional countries to ratify it, and as indicated above, a growing ratification base will increase the political weight of the convention, thereby maximizing its potential impact. While implementation will continue for as long as the convention is an active international instrument, the first few years will be critical to effectively launching this process. The Conference of Parties and the Intergovernmental Committee can ensure a successful launch by taking four key steps: Establishing a steady work-rate with clear timelines. Article 22 of the convention states that the Conference of Parties would normally meet every two years—and the Director General has laid out an initial schedule that would stick to this cycle. On work plan, the Director General has already emphasized that the agenda for the first Conference of Parties will include establishing the mandate for the Intergovernmental Committee. The Director General’s plan of four meetings of the Intergovernmental Committee over the next two years offers the potential of establishing a solid tempo of work on implementing the convention. This could be reinforced by convening an Extraordinary Conference of the Parties, as provided for in Article 22, one year into this cycle—possibly in September of 2008—to take stock of the progress to this point and refine priorities for the remaining two meetings of the IC prior to the June 2009 Conference of Parties already announced by the Director General. Establishing the International Fund for Cultural Diversity on a priority basis. The Fund will be one of the key vehicles for translating the principles and objectives of the convention into action in the developing world, notably through initiatives to help develop the cultural industries of the global South. The first Conference of Parties has the opportunity to send an extremely positive signal to the developing world by making the articulation of this Fund a priority for the Intergovernmental Committee. And developed countries can reinforce this by committing early to contribute to the fund on a recurring basis. Canada and India have already stated their intention to support the fund. We hope to see that number grow significantly in the run-up to the June Conference. On this count, the Director General’s confirmation that this will be on the agenda for the first Conference of Parties is welcome, as is his exhortation to States Parties to the Convention to contribute to the fund. Launching early initiatives to promote the convention’s principles and objectives in other international forums. This will be crucial if the convention’s role as a counterweight to the pressure on culture from international trade agreements is to be realized. Article 23 of the Convention explicitly mandates the Intergovernmental Committee to undertake this work, building on Article 20 which commits states to take into account the provisions of the convention “when interpreting and applying the other treaties to which they are parties or when entering into other international obligations.” This undertaking is reinforced in Article 21, which states “Parties undertake to promote the objectives and principles of this Convention in other international forums. For this purpose, Parties shall consult each other, as appropriate, bearing in mind these objectives and principles.” There are already some encouraging signs that the consensus developed at UNESCO around the convention is being reflected by a general resolve to keep audiovisual services off the table during the current Doha Round of WTO negotiations. But the Doha Round has been all but paralyzed by the impasse on agricultural subsidies, and in the meantime a wave of bilateral negotiations has been initiated—and not just by the United States. Member States attending the first Conference of Parties can clearly demonstrate their resolve on this question by explicitly tasking the Intergovernmental Committee with immediately undertaking the process of drafting consultation procedures and mechanisms for promoting and upholding objectives and principles in other international forums, notably in trade talks. In support of this, they could also convene a special experts meeting to explore this question in depth—consistent with similar meetings Matsuura has already indicated will take place on international cooperation, and on the internal relationship between UNESCO’s major conventions on culture. Meaningfully involving civil society in implementation of the convention. The process for negotiating, adopting and then ratifying the convention has been supported by a strikingly rapid mobilization of cultural professional organizations around the world, notably through national coalitions for cultural diversity. Today, there are coalitions in 37 countries, representing more than 500 organizations from all sectors of culture—books, film and television, music, live performance, visual arts and new media. Their number continues to grow, and their work has been complementary to expressions of support for the convention coming from major internationals from the world of culture—by CISAC (the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers), FIA (the International Actors Federation), FIM (the International Federation of Musicians, and regional meetings of UNI-MEI (the Media, Entertainment and Arts global union). There is tremendous potential to now channel these very positive energies into the implementation of the convention—both at the state and country level by governments, as well as through the work of the Conference of Parties and the Intergovernmental Committee. By committing to invite a number of non-governmental organizations as observers for the first Conference of Parties, the Director General has sent a very positive signal of UNESCO’s intention to involve civil society in the process for implementing the convention. TOP Coalitions Meet for Ninth Assembly in Montreal, Pledge to Continue their Work, Establish International Federation Delegates from 32 countries gathered in Montreal March 15-17 for the Ninth General Assembly of the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity. The turnout was the largest in the four-year history of ILC General Assemblies—testimony to the high level of engagement among all the coalitions, and to their readiness to continue working in support of the UNESCO convention on the diversity of cultural expressions. That high level of continuing commitment was also evident in the unanimous decision reached at the end of the Montreal Meeting to transform the ILC into a formally-constituted International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity, with a founding Congress to be held before the end of 2007. Over their two days of meetings, delegates discussed the current state of the continuing campaign to ratify the convention, focusing on initiatives that coalitions and cultural organizations can take to promote the objective of securing the ratification from the broadest possible number of ratifications. At the time of the meeting, more than half of the countries with national coalitions had already ratified the UNESCO convention—including Niger, whose ratification had been filed with UNESCO on Paris on March 14 by Adamou Mahamadou of Niger’s Coalition en route to the Montreal meeting. Mané Nett of Chile, Christine Merkel of Germany and Zayneb Farhat of Tunisia were also pleased to report on the very recent ratification of the convention by the governments of their countries. While awaiting the imminent UNESCO announcement of the dates for the first Conference of Parities to begin implementation of the convention, the ILC delegates also discussed key elements for an effective launch of the convention. Their discussions on this count were enriched by a roundtable exchange with two government officials working on this file: Rene Bouchard, Director General of International Affairs with the Department of Canadian Heritage, and Dave Atkinson, governmental coordinator and Chief of the Cultural Diversity Secretariat of the Ministry of Culture and Communications of Quebec. The ongoing pressure on culture from trade agreements was also on the agenda, as Gi-hwan Yang of the Korean Coalition for Cultural Diversity spoke of the wide-ranging concessions Korea is being asked to make in its current bilateral negotiations with the United States, and Bernardo Jaramillo presented an overview of the impact on culture of recent Free Trade Agreements negotiated by the United States with countries in Latin America, including Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, and Peru. In the declaration adopted at the conclusion of the Montreal Meeting, participants emphasized key priorities in the continuing ratification campaign and in the implementation phase for the convention—and signalled their intention to continue their work on both counts. Participants at the Montreal meeting represented 31 of the 37 national coalitions for cultural diversity now in existence, joined by Nick Motsatse, Chief Executive Officer of the South African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO). The decision to establish an International Federation was taken with the objective of strengthening the movement’s capacity to continue this work. Highlights from the Montreal Declaration: “Our ultimate objective is to ensure the UNESCO convention obtains widespread ratification on the same scale as such major international agreements as the Land Mine Treaty (152 ratifications) and the Kyoto Protocol (169). It will also be important to work to secure balanced geographical representation among States Parties to the Convention. Clearly, the Convention is not an end in itself. It is an instrument in service of cultural diversity that will only have value to the extent that States effectively put it into practice. Therefore, the Coalitions call on the States Parties at their very first Conference to take the measures necessary for the concrete realization of the objectives of the convention. In particular, we consider it essential that the States Parties: 1. Take the necessary steps to adopt and implement cultural policies in line with the principles, objectives and provisions of the Convention. 2. Rapidly put in place the International Fund for Cultural Diversity, and ensure that this fund is resourced at a level appropriate to its ambitious and important objective—the development of the cultural industries of the South. 3. Refrain, going forward, from making commitments in any trade negotiation—bilateral or multilateral—that would risk calling into question the right now clearly accorded to countries to freely determine their own cultural policies. 4. Involve civil society in the implementation of the Convention and in the development and application of cultural policies. The difficult circumstances experienced today by the cultural sectors of countries that have accepted liberalization commitments on culture in bilateral and/or multilateral negotiations—such as Korea is in the process of doing—are testimony to the importance of the campaign we are pursuing. The Coalitions for Cultural Diversity gathered in Montreal are convinced that all sectors of culture must continue their mobilization in order to ensure the potential of the Convention is realized. For this reason, we have agreed to transform the ILC into the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity. Once established, it will seek official recognition for the Federation from UNESCO on a priority basis, so that at this organization, just as in all other forums that it considers it useful, it can defend and promote cultural diversity.” TOP Coalitions Celebrate Entry Into Force of the UNESCO Convention Taking place on the eve of the March entry into force of the UNESCO convention on the diversity of cultural expressions, the closing ceremonies for the Ninth General Assembly of the Coalitions for Cultural Diversity served as an occasion to mark this historic moment—and quickly transitioned into a celebration of this occasion. With Canadian Coalition Co-Chair Solange Drouin presiding over the ceremonies, Debora Abramowicz of France, Geraldo Moraes from Brazil, Rasmané Ouedraogo from Burkina Faso and Robert Pilon of the Canadian Coalition each addressed themes emerging from the Montreal Meeting—including the importance of maintaining the mobilization of coalitions and cultural organizations, of continuing the close working partnership between the coalitions and leader governments on the file, of ensuring an early and effective launch of the fund for cultural diversity, and of ensuring that countries maintain coherence with the principles and objectives of the convention by upholding these in other international forums. Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Line Beauchamp was a guest speaker at the ceremony, and in a powerful speech as eloquent as it was moving, expressed her hopes regarding what the convention might make possible in the future: “The convention will certainly serve as a rampart from which we can all defend cultural diversity.” She said. “But my hope for all of you, for the cultural milieu, is that it will also serve as a springboard. That you will be able to use it to advocate for policies in each of your countries that ensure your fellow citizens have access to books, films, television, music, theatre and other art coming from within their own borders—and that, because these works have been created, we will be able to have access to these internationally as well.” Speaking on behalf of Minister of Canadian Heritage Beverley Oda, Assistant Deputy Minister Jacques Paquette saluted the work done by the coalitions in support of the rapid ratification of the convention, and underlined the importance of civil society’s continued involvement as the process for implementing the convention begins: “Canada firmly believes that civil society representatives should be associated with the activities of the Conference of the Parties. We will want to benefit from the expertise and knowledge of civil society when pursuing the implementation of this Convention,” he said. TOP Coalitions Join Francophonie Working Group for Roundtable on Implementation A delegation of representatives of the Coalitions for Cultural Diversity was in Paris March 23 for a roundtable exchange with a working group on cultural diversity of the International Organization of La Francophonie. Members of Francophonie’s bureau of UNESCO members also took part in the session, which focused on work relating to the ratification and implementation of the UNESCO convention on the diversity of cultural expressions, and so provided an opportunity for the coalitions delegation to report on discussions on this question during the Ninth General Assembly of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity in Montreal March 15-17. Taking place on the day that UNESCO Director General Matsuura announced the dates of the first Conference of Parties and a timeline for a series of four Intergovernmental Committee meetings to follow, the roundtable was a timely opportunity to discuss approaches to maximizing the work that could be accomplished during this schedule. In this context, the working group members reiterated Francophonie’s support for involving civil society in the implementation of the convention. Representatives of some 20 Francophonie member states took part in the session, which was established in 2002 by the Secretary General of la Francophonie on the eve of the organization’s Beirut Summit of Heads of State and Government. The Coalitions delegation consisted of Cheikh Ngaido Ba, Vice President of Senegal’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity, Diego Gradis of Switzerland’s Coalition, Rasmane Ouedraogo, President of Burkina Faso’s Coalition and Secretary of the African Network of Coalitions, Debora Abramowicz, Coordinator of France’s Coalition, Pascal Rogard, President of France’s Coalition, and Robert Pilon, Executive Vice President of the Canadian Coalition. TOP Coalitions, INCP Discuss Role of Civil Society in Convention Implementation The role of civil society in UNESCO’s processes for implementing the convention as well as in implementation at the national level was on the agenda when representatives of the International Liaison Committee met with the Working Group on Cultural Diversity Globalization and Cultural Diversity of the International Network on Cultural Policy in Nyon, Switzerland on February 1. The Working Group meeting, which continued February 2, was pursuing a mandate established at last year’s Ninth INCP Ministerial meeting held in Rio de Janeiro in November of 2006. The preliminary exchange in Nyon on the question of avenues for involving civil society in implementation of the convention will be pursued in a discussion paper being prepared by the Swiss delegation that hosted the Nyon meeting. That paper will be discussed at the mid-year officials meeting of the INCP to be held April 19 and 20 in Madrid. The Madrid meeting will serve to prepare the agenda for the INCP’s Tenth Ministerial Meeting in Seville September 20 and 21, and will also serve to prepare for UNESCO’s first Conference of Parties to the Convention June 18-20. At the February INCP working group meeting, Cécile Despringre of France’s Coalition for Cultural Diversity and Diego Gradis of Switzerland’s Coalition represented the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions. In their presentation, they emphasized the resolve of coalitions and cultural professional organizations to continue their mobilization as the process for implementing the convention. They underscored the convention’s importance as a foundation for countries to apply cultural policies, and signalled the ongoing challenge of building broad public awareness of what is at stake in the campaign for cultural diversity. They stressed the urgency of maximizing the convention’s potential for supporting the emergence of cultural industries in the developing world; to this end, they noted, the International Fund for Cultural Diversity provided for in the Convention must be launched and funded on a priority basis. And they noted that the ratification campaign must continue—to secure much broader-based ratification, and to ensure balanced ratification from every region of the world. TOP			The UNESCO Convention Enters Into Force: First Conference of Parties Set For June 18-20 Coalitions Meet for Ninth Assembly in Montreal, Pledge to Continue their Work, Establish International Federation Coalitions Celebrate Entry Into Force of the UNESCO Convention Coalitions Join Francophonie Working Group for Roundtable on Implementation Coalitions, INCP Discuss Role of Civil Society in Convention Implementation Coalition Currents is published by the Secretariat for the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (ILC). Member Coalitions: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, France, Germany, Guinea, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Korea, Mali, Morocco, Mexico, New Zealand, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Uruguay, Venezuela. 154 Laurier Ave. West, Suite 240 Montreal, QUE H2T 2N7 T. (514) 277-2666 F. (514) 277-9994 www.coalitionfrancaise.org e-mail: Editor: Jim McKee Contributors in this issue: Robert Pilon, Bruno Bettati, Jean-Luc Pilon, Julie Masson We welcome re-use of material from this bulletin with attribution. Coalition Currents is published with the financial assistance of Canada’s Department of Canadian Heritage, Department of Foreign Affairs, the Government of Quebec, the Ministry of Culture of Ontario, and the Government of New Brunswick