UNESCO will launch its 2018 Global Report, Re| Shaping Cultural Policies, in Paris on 14 December during the meeting of the Intergovernmental Committee of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, which will also feature two round table debates and a film screening.
The Report, which will be presented by the Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay and Karin Strandås, Sweden’s Secretary of State to the Minister for Culture and Democracy (3pm, Room II), highlights the growth and imbalances in cultural trade and analyses the inequalities women face in accessing decision-making positions in the cultural sector, the threats to artistic freedom, as well as the challenges that prevent societies from fully benefitting from the sector’s potential contribution to sustainable development.
In her preface to the Report, the Director-General of UNESCO argues that “innovative cultural policies implemented at regional and local levels have a positive impact on the whole of cultural governance.” She adds that “by providing yet unpublished statistics and data in these areas, this Report is essential for developing and implementing public policies that are adapted to the evolving needs of the culture sector.”
The Report monitors progress in the implementation of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression and links these developments to the Sustainable Development Agenda adopted by the United Nations for 2030 (cf Sustainable Development Goals). It analyses trends and issues concerning a sector which presently generates revenues of US$2,250 billion worldwide and over US$250 billion in international trade and is expected to account for 10% of the global economy in the coming years.
But policy measures are required to support the emergence of dynamic cultural industries which could be jeopardized by the concentration of internet-based distribution platforms, according to the Report which examines the impact of the digital environment on the trade in cultural products and the fair remuneration of artists.
The Report examines a range of other concerns affecting the cultural industries, notably gender issues: While women are estimated to account for 45% of people engaged in cultural occupations worldwide, they are more likely to work part time, resulting in greater job and economic insecurity. Women are also largely absent from decision-making positions: only 34% of Ministers for Culture are women (compared to 24% in 2005) and only 31% of national arts programme directors are women. Overall, women tend to work in specific cultural fields such as arts education and training (60%); book publishing and press (54%), audiovisual and interactive media (26%), as well as design and creative services (33%).
Freedom of artistic expression is another source of concern as attacks on artists and artistic freedom rose from 340 cases reported around the world in 2015 to 430 in 2016. Mobility, which is central to artistic freedom, is also an issue as artists from the Global South can only travel to 75 countries without a visa, while artists from the Global North can enter twice as many countries without a special permit.
The Report welcomes recent initiatives in a number of countries, notably in Africa, to support the social and economic rights of artists. But it notes that Official Development Assistance (ODA) for culture has registered a staggering drop of 45% in just one decade, from US$465.9 million in 2005 to US$257 million in 2015.
The share of global exports of cultural goods from developing countries, excluding China and India, increased from 15% in 2005 to 26.5% in 2014, but the share of exports from Least Developed Countries stagnated at around 0.5% of cultural exports.
Between 2005 and 2015 the average number of new films produced and screened in developed countries rose by 19%, while it remained relatively stable in developing countries.
Other notable events during the two-day Intergovernmental Committee meeting include the announcement, on 13 December, of projects that will receive financial support from the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), a debate on how development agencies can contribute to the implementation of the Convention and the internationally agreed Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 (12 December, 3 to 5 pm), and a screening of Dede, with Georgian Director Mariam Khatchvani, recipient of the 2017 Asia Pacific Screen Award for Cultural Diversity (12 December, 6.30 pm).
The launch event of the Global Report on 14 December will also feature a panel discussion on policy support for independent cinema, moderated by the Director of the French Cinémathèque,Frédéric Bonnaud, with Algerian film director Karim Moussaoui, the Director-General of the European distribution network Europa Cinemas, Claude-Eric Poiroux, and representatives from different branches of the film industry in the Republic of Korea and Austria.
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Media wishing to attend any of these events mentioned should apply to Laetitia Kaci for accreditation, UNESCO Media Service: l.kaci@unesco.org
More on the Global Report, including link to live streaming
Programme of the Intergovernmental Committee meeting