France and Quebec call for the implementation of the 2005 Convention in the digital environment

On March 8, 2018, Prime Ministers of Québec and France, Philippe Couillard and Edouard Philippe, issued in Paris on the occasion of the 20th Alternating Meetings, a joint statement on the Internet and the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions in the digital environment.

This statement, coming a few months after the adoption in June 2017 of the operational guidelines on the implementation of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in the digital environment, highlights the principles openness and accessibility, and recalls the principle of the neutrality of the Internet.

In particular, it calls on governments to promote measures promoting the diversity of content on digital platforms, digital skills and access to digital cultural content. It also encourages better regulation of recommendation algorithms, to ensure a greater diversity of content in the digital environment.

Finally, in accordance with the preferential treatment clauses promoted by the 2005 Convention (Article 16), the declaration calls for "more balanced exchanges of cultural goods and services from developing countries in the digital environment".

At the next session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 Convention (11-14 December 2018), the UNESCO Secretariat will present a "road map" on the implementation of the Operational Guidelines on Digital.

The new challenges posed by digital technology on the diversity of cultural expressions are at the heart of UNESCO's new 2018 Global Report, Re | Shaping Cultural Policies.