Assessing the impact of cultural policies in Senegal

Senegal’s Ministry of Culture and Communication, in partnership with UNESCO, is launching a national assessment exercise on the cultural policies. In particular, the participants will examine various measures that have been implemented over the past four years in support of the cultural and creative industries.

From 12 to 16 November 2019, Senegal will begin the preparation of its second quadrennial periodic report (QPR) on the implementation of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005). The western African country, known for its dynamic cultural and creative scene, has been a Party of the UNESCO Convention since 2006.

The assessment will begin with a multi-stakeholder consultation, providing a valuable platform for artists, cultural professionals, technical and financial partners, and representatives of various ministries to come together. The meeting will facilitate open discussions on the challenges and progress of the creative sector in Senegal and, above all, to present the national team composed of government and civil society actors responsible for preparing the QPR, due in April 2020.

The consultation will be followed by a three-day national training workshop during which members of the national team will learn about monitoring tools and methods made available by UNESCO. The training will mainly focus on expanding the team’s knowledge and building on their experience gained during the preparation of their previous QPR in 2016. The reporting will be guided by the Convention’s monitoring framework, divided into eleven monitoring areas including media diversity, mobility of artists, national sustainable development policies and plans, and artistic freedom.

The last day of the week-long meeting will be dedicated to an open exchange session with civil society organisations, key stakeholders in the implementation of the 2005 Convention and the sustainable development of the creative sector. This session aims to build a culture of participation, transparency and information sharing among actors from the public and private sectors in Senegal. Contribution of civil society to the cultural and creative industries, to be captured in the QPR, will be highlighted throughout the day.

This initiative is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency as part of the second phase of the project “Reshaping Cultural Policies for the Promotion of Fundamental Freedoms and the Diversity of Cultural Expressions”, which benefits sixteen countries around the world
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