Culture in crisis – New UNESCO publication offers tips for resilient creative industries beyond COVID-19
The health crisis has had a profound impact on the culture sector and its workers. Due to the often-informal nature of their employment, cultural professionals are often excluded from conventional social or economic safety nets, making measures tailored to workers in the creative sector vital for their survival. In the new publication Culture in crisis: Policy guide for a resilient creative sector, UNESCO provides guidance to policymakers on how to effectively address culture in COVID-19 recovery plans and rebuild the creative industry stronger.
At the onset of the pandemic, UNESCO began collecting good practices and innovative responses from around the world with a view to developing a comprehensive crisis-response guide for policymakers. The resulting publication, Culture in crisis, offers practical advice and adaptable measures on how to meet the most pressing needs of the artists and cultural professionals. These measures also contribute to long-term structural changes towards more resilient creative industries of tomorrow.
The real-life examples are categorized into three types of interventions: 1) Direct support for artists and cultural professionals, 2) Support for sectors of the cultural and creative industries, and 3) Enhancing the competitiveness of cultural and creative industries. Readers will find that countries including Germany and the United Arab Emirates have commissioned and purchased works of art as a form of relief and income generation for artists. Brazil, Canada and Senegal have all accelerated payment of aid and subsidies in order to address the lack of liquidity among creators and cultural bodies.
In addition, the publication lays out actions to consider for implementation so States may follow the basic steps and adapt the suggested measure to their national context. A preferential loan for the culture sector, for instance, may be reinforced by trainings and sensitization of workers in the banking sector. The new UNESCO guide also urges policymakers to avoid potential pitfalls by considering possible implications of the measure in order to minimize risks and maximize the benefits across the cultural value chain: some recommendations include managing expectations, defining the eligibility criteria clearly, and avoiding short-term project planning as the crisis may protract.
The analysis undertaken for Culture in crisis also revealed that challenges faced by cultural professionals were amplified by the pandemic rather than created: the staggering increase in the digitization and online consumption of cultural is one such concern. In the absence of “off-line” cultural content such as concerts, performances and festivals, the internet has become the frontline for the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expression in 2020. As few powerful platforms dominate the market, they exert a great influence on what people watch and listen to, pushing other industry actors to adapt urgently to remain competitive and policymakers to implement necessary measures to safeguard the many forms of culture and creativity during the crisis and beyond.
While the health emergency has threatened the very fabric of our cultural life, not all is lost. These extraordinary times have also proven the vitality of culture for collective and individual resilience and well-being. States have shown, as detailed in the guide, ingenuity in their efforts to minimize the impact of lockdown measures on the creative sector. The crisis has the potential to trigger long-term systemic changes that will ensure that artists and cultural professionals can continue to inspire us for years to come. Culture in crisis provides policymakers withS the tools to rebuild tomorrow’s culture sector that will survive and thrive beyond crises through disaster-ready measures.