The 2005 Convention is a powerful tool to facilitate access, participation and artistic freedom for women - Angélique Kidjo

A new global report tracking the progress and challenges in implementing the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, now ratified by 141 Parties, will be released on 16 December, 2015, at 10 AM. The launch event will take place during the 9th Intergovernmental Committee of the Convention at UNESCO HQ in Paris, 14-16 December, in the presence of Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director-General, and high level guests, including Karima Bennoune, UN Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Per Olsson Fridh, State Secretary to the Minister of Culture and Democracy of Sweden, and Pascal Lamy, former Director-General of the World Trade Organization.

This special message was sent by Angélique Kidjo, renowned singer and vice-president of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), in support of the 2005 Convention and the new Report entitled: “Re | Shaping Cultural Policies: A Decade Promoting the Diversity of Cultural expressions for Development”.

‘’As a woman born in Benin, I feel strongly African, and as an artist who has performed all around the globe, I also very much feel like a citizen of the world. That does not make me less of a Beninese or African. These are my roots.

Inspired by the great Miriam Makeba, my contribution to global culture has been to take the heritage from my country and my continent and make it travel around the world. I am proud of this achievement. Culture, in all its forms, knows no boundaries, and music is certainly the most commonly spoken language in the world.

As an African woman, as a creator and as an ambassador for UNICEF, I measure every day the gender gap. We represent more than half of the population, yet far too often our voices are muted and our contributions disregarded. A lot can be done to improve the situation, and culture is one of the ways we can help move this in a positive way.

The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions can help achieve this objective. In recognizing and supporting women as creators and producers of cultural expressions. It is a powerful tool that can be used by governments to facilitate access, participation and artistic freedom for women.

Listen to what women have to say, give them tools to emancipate, help them reach new frontiers, give them confidence, encourage them to create, treat them with respect. These are simple attitudes that will change the way women will feel on a daily basis. This empowerment will vastly improve their vision of the world, and – I hope -- inspire young women anywhere to do as I did, to find their voice, to be proud of their heritage, to contribute to renewal of their cultures and share them with the world. This would benefit humanity as a whole and make the world a far better place. ‘’

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Photo Credit: UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe