Public presentation of the first periodic report of Senegal on the implementation of the 2005 Convention

The workshop for Senegal’s first quadrennial periodic report was held at the Douta Seck Culture House on 29 November 2016 and was opened with a powerful sketch performed by a local theater company. This report, elaborated in accordance with Article 9 of the Convention, highlights policies and measures implemented to promote the diversity of Senegal’s cultural expressions, both at the national and international level.

The national team, appointed by the Minister of Culture on 1 February 2016 at the Grand Theater in Dakar, presented the country’s report. It analyzes policies and measures that support the creation, production, dissemination and access to cultural activities, goods and services and the diversity of cultural expressions. The report, submitted to UNESCO on 30 June 2016, was prepared with the support of Sweden as part of the "Strengthening fundamental freedoms through the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions" project.

A variety of actors from civil society and the private sector, as well as many institutional actors including the Ministry of Culture and Communication, Economy and Finance, Trade and Foreign Affairs, and regional cultural centers, took an active part in the preparation of the report. As Ibrahima Wane, a professor at the University of Dakar (UCAD), reminded, "this process of participatory writing was not only a manual task in inventory checking or an archeology of Senegal’s cultural policies, but a real work of reflection and analysis."

This marks the last stage of a process launched in February 2016. Other actions must, however, be taken to ensure the effective implementation of the 2005 Convention, in particular by raising its awareness amongst cultural actors. Several members of the national team made recommendations, inter alia, on the importance of regular monitoring of its implementation. Examples included the creation of a standing committee or the organization of annual tripartite meetings involving the Ministry of Culture and Communication, financial and technical partners and civil society. Mr. Babacar Diouf, President of the National Mutual Health Society of Senegalese cultural actors (MNSAC) also called for a regular assessment of the impact of measures and policies included in Senegal’s first periodic report.