Information Session in Cote d'Ivoire for 28 National Comissions

On 9 June 2012, a hands-on practical training session for African National Commissions on the 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions took place in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. The session was organized as part of UNESCO’s Pilot Capacity-Building Programme in Africa.  

The training session was attended by 35 participants from 28 African National Commissions for UNESCO as well as 30 government officials from different Cote d’Ivoire ministries. The objective was to provide an opportunity for National Commissions to exchange with the Secretariat of the 2005 Convention on their information and training needs and to learn how they can benefit from the tools and services being developed to facilitate the Convention’s implementation at the national level.

The training session was divided into three parts. The first,  chaired by H. E. Bandaman, Minister of Culture of Cote d’Ivoire,  focused on familiarizing the National Commissions with the Convention’s scope and the vision for its implementation in Africa as well as globally.  Group activities addressing the main principles of the Convention were accompanied by a presentation by the Secretariat situating the Convention within related themes, such as cultural diversity,   and other UNESCO culture conventions.

The second part addressed the Periodic Reports on the implementation of the convention. It looked in particular at the objectives and process for submitting reports. The step-by-step session helped to demystify the process through clear explanations on the processes involved.  After the workshop a number of Secretary Generals committed to follow-up actions with their respective ministries.

The final part of the session was devoted to the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD). Beginning with a general overview of the IFCD’s objectives and functions, this part of the session concluded with practical group exercises to give guidance to National Commissions on how to evaluate IFCD applications. The recently developed Annotated Guide for the IFCD, prepared for interested applicants, was also presented.  The session clarified the application and submission process and the role of National Commissions in the selection and evaluation phases.

The combination of information-sharing and capacity-building components of this one-day session proved to be an effective means of increasing interest in the Convention amongst African states not yet Party to the Convention with several countries expressing interest in considering future ratification. 

This activity was supported by the UNESCO Emergency Fund.