Culture is one of the 5 areas of priority of cooperation between the EU and the 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries to support sustainable development, under the Cotonou Agreement.
55 of the 79 ACP countries are parties to the 2005 Convention:
Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Republic of Guinea, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Senegal, Seychelles, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda and Zimbabwe
The intra-ACP dimension allows the strengthening of ties and exchanges between operators from different countries, pooling means and resources, expanding audiences and enhancing cultural diversity
The overall objective of the ACP Cultures + programme (2012-17) is to increase the contribution of cultural activity sectors in the fight against poverty and the socio-economic and sustainable development of the partner countries, through targeted structuring of sectors and a better circulation of works and dissemination of culture in ACP countries, also preserving cultural diversity.
Specific objectives are to: strengthen the creation and production of cultural goods and services of the ACP States in an integrated approach with distribution circuits; support better strengthened access to local, regional, intra-ACP, European and international markets for cultural goods and services of the ACP States; strengthen the capacity of stakeholders, operators and cultural entrepreneurs in ACP countries; contribute to the improvement of the regulatory environment for cultural sectors within ACP countries.