Strategy -
Biennial priority 2: Promoting the diversity of cultural expressions and the dialogue of cultures with a view to fostering a culture of peace

Extracts from Draft Programme and Budget 2010-2011
35 C/5, vol. 2
Major Programme IV

04019 - The aim of the second biennial sectoral priority will be to achieve two Strategic Objectives set out in the Medium-Term Strategy (34 C/4): "Strengthening the contribution of culture to sustainable development" and "Demonstrating the importance of exchange and dialogue among cultures to social cohesion and reconciliation in order to develop a culture of peace". Focus will be on two mutually reinforcing areas, namely the diversity of cultural expressions and the development of creative industries, on the one hand, and the promotion of pluralism and intercultural dialogue, on the other.

Main line of action 4: Protecting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions through the implementation of the 2005 Convention and the development of cultural and creative industries

04020 - The 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions constitutes a standard-setting instrument in support of cultural diversity as conveyed by cultural activities, goods and services. UNESCO will provide the secretariat and acquire the means needed to collect, exchange and disseminate information as well as best practices concerning the protection and the promotion of cultural expressions. The governing bodies of the Convention will continue with the drafting and approval of the operational guidelines which define its main operational procedures, while the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) will fund the first requests for international assistance. The following operational mechanisms will strengthen the implementation of the Convention: the platform of the Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity aimed at public-private partnerships; the International Fund for the Promotion of Culture; and two observatories, one on the fight against piracy and the other on the social status of the artist. The Organization will also monitor the Universal Copyright Convention, the Florence Agreement and its Protocol, and the Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist.

04021 - In order to assess more accurately, and to demonstrate, the impact of culture on development, action will also aim at the implementation of the Revised International Framework for Cultural Statistics produced in cooperation with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) and national statistical institutes, as well as the promotion of South-South, North-South and North-South-South public-private partnerships for the development of creative industries through capacity-building and monitoring. Priority will be given to activities in which UNESCO has a recognized expertise, namely the book industry, translation, crafts and design, involving the promotion and sharing of best practices in these areas. Action to promote publishing and translation will also be enhanced through the intersectoral platform on languages and multilingualism for which the Sector assumes a leadership role and whose contribution to development will be highlighted, particularly in regard to the role of African languages. The scheme for the Award of Excellence in Crafts will be pursued and extended to new subregions, as will the programmes Social Design 21, Dream Center and the development of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network. In order to bring further impulse to innovation, creativity and talent, it is proposed to establish an Annual Forum on Culture and the Creative Industries to be financed by extrabudgetary funding, as a space for dialogue among three constituencies – decision-makers, creators and the private sector –, all crucial for placing culture at the core of development. Renewed support to regional and subregional festivals will be accorded in order to foster action in favour of regional integration, primarily in Africa as part of the follow-up to the Khartoum Summit and the Action Plan for the Promotion of Creative Industries for African Development, and in Latin America and the Caribbean.

04022 - Lastly, arts education will receive special attention on the occasion of the holding of and the follow-up to the 2nd World Conference on Arts Education, which will be held in Seoul in 2010. The goal will be to promote the review of national school policies and to highlight the role of artists and various cultural venues (such as museums) that could help in developing arts education as both a component of quality education and a means of enhancing cognitive and creative capacities. This action will continue to be carried out in cooperation with Major Programme I.

Main line of action 5: Integrating intercultural dialogue and cultural diversity into national policies

04023 - During the biennium, focus will be placed on two related priority concerns. The first is to pursue the integration of culture as an indispensable pillar of development policies by mainstreaming culture at the country level as well as the principles of cultural diversity and respect for such diversity as conditions for dialogue and social cohesion. This priority shall be pursued in the context of the "Delivering as One" approach within UNCT joint programming exercises, including CCA/UNDAFs, poverty reduction strategies (PRSs), Sector-Wide Approaches (SWAp) and joint assistance strategies (JAS), which will benefit from the use of the Cultural Diversity Programming Lens as a policy tool. Efforts will equally be deployed through the implementation of UNDP/Spain MDG-Fund projects in particular through the monitoring and evaluation of the 18 extrabudgetary projects under the Thematic Window on Culture and Development, and the participation in other Thematic Windows. Priority will be given to African countries and LDCs, as well as to dedicated advocacy at UNCT level. At the same time, UNESCO will continue to engage in national and regional cultural policy processes, notably by providing advice, developing training tools and building the capacities of policy-makers, programmers and leading actors with responsibilities in the area of culture and innovative cultural policy formulation, especially in Africa and in Latin America. United Nations priorities and international commitments regarding indigenous peoples (United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples), gender equality, education for sustainable development or HIV and AIDS will be taken into account and promoted through intersectoral and inter-agency collaboration.

04024 - The second priority concern will be to consolidate the promotion of intercultural dialogue, in particular by expanding knowledge on the process of cultural interaction and building capacities to devise intercultural skills through existing practices and in targeted contexts. As requested by the United Nations General Assembly in resolution 63/22 of 13 November 2008, UNESCO will play a leading role in the preparations for the celebrations of the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures, designed to strengthen mutual understanding and appreciation. The Organization will also consolidate its cooperation with the Alliance of Civilizations through implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2008. Significant flagship projects and initiatives such as the Slave Route project; the wide dissemination and pedagogical use of the General Histories; the cultural mapping with indigenous peoples and the Arabia Plan will be pursued with a view to developing materials to combat and prejudices that are nourishing tension and conflict. Moreover, contributions will be made to the UNESCO History Project, launched in conjunction with the preparations of the Organization’s 60th anniversary in 2005, which has set about a reflection on UNESCO’s past orientations, activities and accomplishments. Finally, UNESCO will promote interreligious dialogue as an essential component of intercultural dialogue with special attention being paid to action to combat stereotyping. Among others, focus will be on the multiplicity of stakeholders involved in interreligious dialogue efforts, as well as on the creation of new spaces for dialogue, notably youth and women, in order to enhance competencies to deal with religious issues. Action in this context will also reinforce the intersectoral platform on contributing to the dialogue among civilizations and cultures and a culture of peace, for which the Sector has the lead.

Back to global Strategy 2010-2011