Ecuador’s Creative Professionals Ready for 7th Funding Call

Ecuador has a vibrant arts, music and audiovisual scene, which is growing from strength to strength and creative professionals have now turned their focus to building on these industries so that they and their communities can better profit.

With many people in the creative industries unable to sustain their passion without proper financial support or infrastructure, there is a need for additional assistance.

UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) gives projects in countries that financial boost by supporting projects which aim to make economic and social changes in the environments where creative professionals live and work.

In bringing together key Government officials, NGOs and creative professionals from Ecuador with some representation from Colombia, on one platform in the city of Quito on 8-9 March – participants learned more about the IFCD. In particular, the group of 49 people were shown how to ensure that their creative projects match the submission criteria for the annual funding call.

“I found the mechanics of the Fund very interesting because we analyzed it through examples. It is clear that many projects should be improved in order to be submitted for funding [to the Fund], but this workshop allowed us to understand what the areas for improvement are,” Renato Zamora, a music producer.

Following on from the Vietnam and Laos sessions in February, the Quito workshop was part of a wider capacity-building process, which ultimately aims to foster the introduction and/or elaboration of cultural policies that protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions. These workshops also aim to strengthen cultural industries in line with the sustainable development agenda 2030.

The training in Quito outlined the types of projects which can benefit from the IFCD and how to best promote a creative project in the annual funding call, which closes on 15 April 2016.

“Participating in this workshop has been a rewarding and productive experience. It gave the National Commission tools to address the issues at all stages of the call for funding," said María Fernanda Forero Ramirez, of the Colombian National Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO.

“The participants had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the procedures of the Fund. For example; What is the aim of the Fund and how to submit a project ? etc. This allowed us to better understand the criteria required to propose a successful project,” explained Leonor Bravo, Mantra in Quito Foundation, Ecuador.

The IFCD was established under the umbrella of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and its goal is to invest in projects that lead to structural changes in societies and contribute towards  sustainable development. Since 2010, the IFCD has invested some US$ 5.8 million in  84 projects in 49 developing countries. 

More information on IFCD activities:  http://en.unesco.org/creativity/ifcd/

More information on Ecuador cultural policies: http://en.unesco.org/creativity/monitoring-report/quadrennial-reports/available-reports/periodic-report-ecuador

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