The cultural and creative industries (CCI) have become a driver and enabler of sustainable development, generating annual global revenues of US$ 2,250 billion and exports of over US$ 250 billion. It is estimated that these sectors provide nearly 30 million jobs worldwide and employ more people aged 15-29 than any other sector.

The CCIs operate in a complex environment requiring laws, strategies, policies and measures that are to be based on goals and principles defined in the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005). This means that frameworks regulating the CCIs should contribute to an enabling environment for the culture sector, where artistic freedom, creativity and innovation, the diversity of cultural contents and expressions, the mobility of artists and cultural professionals and market access are ensured. Such frameworks also need to address the significant and rapid changes posed by digital technologies and the challenges that artists and cultural professionals face in order to ensure that their works can be protected and promoted in a digital environment.

This programme aims to support developing countries within a timeframe of 18-24 months to:

1. Design, adapt and/or implement regulatory frameworks (laws, strategies, policies and measures) for the CCIs, including intellectual property rights related to CCIs.
2. Strengthen skills and capacities to support long-term cultural policy development and implementation that support the CCIs.
3. Create peer-to-peer mechanisms to strengthen institutional capacities for the CCIs through South-South cooperation activities