Call for International Individual Expert

Responsible Unit: Culture
Coverage: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan
Project: “Strengthening Film Industries in Central Asia”
Activity: Regional Assessment of the State of Affairs of the Film Industries and Related Legislations in four Central Asian Countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan)
Implementation period: 23 November – 23 January 2021
Closing Date of Applications: 1 November 2020

Terms of reference

Within the framework of the extra-budgetary project “Strengthening FilmIndustries in Central Asia” supported by the UNESCO Korean Funds-in-Trust (KFIT) for the Development of Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI), under the overall authority of the Director of the UNESCO Almaty Cluster Office, and the direct supervision of the Culture Programme Officer of the UNESCO Office in Almaty, the Contractor shall conduct a Regional Assessment of the State of Affairs of the Film Industries and Related Legislations in four Central Asian Countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan and Uzbekistan). The contractor shall develop an analytical report comprising extensive mapping and overall regional assessment of the film industries on the basis of three national assessments prepared in Russian and conducted in summer 2020 for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, national assessment prepared in Russian and conducted in 2017-2019 for Uzbekistan, as well as the report on the project entitled “Creative Industries Development for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions – Strengthening the Sustainability of Creative Industry in Lao PDR, Uzbekistan and Rwanda” (chapters concerning Uzbekistan only) prepared in English and conducted in 2017-2019.

In particular, the contractor shall:

1. Establish regular working relations with UNESCO Almaty and seek clarification as deemed necessary throughout the different stages of implementation.
2. Based on the above-mentioned assessments and reports, develop an analytical report on the state-of-affairs of the film industry in the region of Central Asia, which will assess and summarize these reports and other available sources not mentioned in them, and provide a regional perspective. In particular, the analysis shall include:
2.1. Brief historical background on the film industry and its development in Central Asia;
2.2. Existing national legislation concerning the cinema industry, their comparison to the international best practices as regards legislations that create an enabling environment for the development of the film industry;
2.3. Institutional capacities, including the existing educational and training institutions and opportunities; companies of production, distribution and promotion;
2.4. Gender aspects, according to the available data;
2.5. Main challenges, issues and significant gaps hindering the development of cultural industries, as well as the potential for further development of the film industry in Central Asia;
2.6. Impact of the pandemic of COVID-19 on the cinema industry in the Central Asian region; and
2.7. Recommendations for further development of the film industry of Central Asia, including prospects for cooperation at the regional level as well as internationally. These recommendations will be presented to the key stakeholders, including representatives of the national governments, professional associations, experts and practitioners, during a sub-regional workshop to be held at the end of 2020.
3. The analysis shall also include the summary of mapping of the following components of the film industry from four above-mentioned assessments and reports:
3.1. Main stakeholders: national governments, professional associations, private sector, both directly involved in the film industry (i.e. practitioners, agents, owners of venues where cultural activities take place), as well as in support sectors (finance institutions, technicians, equipment providers). The mapping should identify the fields of responsibility of each stakeholder (i.e. what they should be doing and what they do) as well as existing partnerships (active or inactive, national and international);
3.2. Institutional and technical capacities of local stakeholders in the field of cinematography;
3.3. Training and education opportunities (programmes, curriculum, diplomas, and schools) linked to the film industry sector, including in supporting sectors such as business management, finance, etc. Present successful examples/cases studies from other countries in the world; and
3.4. Data on those aspects, which drive the growth and diversification of national film industries, generate income, employment, broaden cultural participation opportunities and enjoyment of locally-produced films.
4. Submit the analytical report (min. 50 pages, including annexes) in the English or Russian language to the UNESCO Office in Almaty for comments and approval.
5. It is understood that any materials, such as illustrations, pictures, tables, charts or other essential materials of the work, are considered as an integral part of the work and that all rights granted by the authors to UNESCO here apply to the use of such materials.
6. The Contractor grants to UNESCO at no charge the right to post any documents produced within the present contract on its websites and pages in social networks for not-for-profit purposes.
7. Participate in email exchanges, conference calls and meetings, as deemed necessary, for the smooth implementation of the study.
8. The Contractor will be working from the contractor’s usual workplace.
9. Take into account that UNESCO liability for the bank charge is limited to the charge levied by its bank only and does not extend to the bank correspondence charges payable at the payee’s end.
10. Note that taxes levied by national authorities on money paid to consultants by UNESCO are not reimbursable by the Organization.
11. The amount expressed US Dollars and payable by bank transfer to the name of the contractor.
12. The work should be completed by 23 January 2021.

Deliverables

1. Draft assessment report for comments – 16 January 2021;
2. Final assessment report – 23 January 2021.

Required Qualifications

Education:

• Completed higher education.

Work experience:

• Minimum 5 years of relevant proven analytical research experience in the field of cinematography (preferably in Central Asia or Eastern Europe);
• Contractual experience with UNESCO and/or other international organizations;
• Knowledge and experience in working on Cultural Creative Industries (including film industries).

Skills/competencies:

• Ability to provide quality and timely services;
• Experience in conducting needs assessments in the field of culture and in creative cultural industries is essential;
• Excellent analytical skills and knowledge of methods and procedures, providing planning and recommendations;
• Excellent writing skills and professional language competence in English or Russian;
• Excellent interpersonal skills and demonstrated negotiation and inter-cultural communication skills;
• Good ICT skills with proficiency in the use of MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint etc.);
• Ability to work in a multicultural environment.

Expression of interest and selection criteria:

• Expressions of interest, containing the curriculum vitae(s) and written description of motivation (maximum 2 pages) in the English language;
• Expressions of interest will be evaluated and selected based on the quality of the technical proposal and the qualifications of the experts concerned;
• The list of previous research works and publications, as well as the financial proposal should be sent as separate documents;
• Short-listed candidates will be notified no later than one week after the closing date.

For additional information, if required, and sending expressions of interests please contact Mr. Majer Massanov, Project Assistant (e-mail: m.massanov@unesco.org).
Expressions of interest should be submitted by e-mail, clearly indicating “Regional Assessment of the State of Affairs of the Film Industries and Related Legislations in Central Asia”.