Eight new projects approved for IFCD funding
On 11 December 2018, eight initiatives that will boost the cultural and creative industries in 13 countries around the world, were approved to receive funding from the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The projects awarded are:
- Measuring the economic contribution of the cultural industries to Antigua and Barbuda’s national development (Antigua and Barbuda)
- Measuring the cultural, economic and social impact of the Sarajevo Film Festival (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
- Strengthening urban cultures in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- Implementing a network for the development and dissemination of Caribbean art (Regional project submitted by Haiti)
- Promoting Mongolia’s cultural industries by strengthening cultural policy-making (Mongolia)
- Empowering Gaza’s youth through theatre (Palestine)
- Strengthening civil society participation in Peru’s cultural policy-making processes (Peru)
- Developing a common strategy for intellectual property rights in Rwanda’s cultural and creative industries (Rwanda)
“These projects can really make a difference on the ground because they have a strong impact on cultural policy making, and on capacity building for the creation, production, and distribution of cultural goods,” said Catherine Cullen, Coordinator of the IFCD Panel of Experts that independently reviewed all the requests and recommended the eight approved projects. “What’s more, they empower women and youth, and bolster development of the cultural and creative industries at the local and regional levels”.
For the first time, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda and Antigua and Barbuda, will benefit from IFCD funds. In addition, six Caribbean countries (Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago) will benefit from a regional project. Each project will receive up to US$100,000 in funding.
The projects were approved by the 24 members of the 2005 Convention’s Intergovernmental Committee, which met at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 11-14 December 2018. The Committee also decided that the next call for IFCD funding requests will go out in February 2019.
The IFCD is a voluntary multi-donor fund established under the 2005 Convention with the aim of supporting the emergence of dynamic cultural sectors in developing countries, particularly by strengthening the means to create, produce, distribute and have access to diverse cultural goods and services. Projects cover a wide range of areas, from the development and implementation of cultural policies, to capacity-building for cultural entrepreneurs, mapping of cultural industries and the creation of new cultural industry business models.
Since 2010, the IFCD has provided over US$ 7 million in funding to 105 projects in 57 developing countries.
To learn more about other IFCD funded projects, click here.
To consult the results of the 9th IFCD call, click here.