Republic of Korea

Photo: Owned by Nexen Tire, Created by d’strict

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BUILDING SKILLS: CREATING AN ENABLING ENVIRONMENT FOR CULTURAL ENTREPRENEURS

With annual global revenues of US$ 2, 2250 billion, the cultural and creative sectors provide nearly 30 million jobs worldwide and employ more people aged 15-29 than any other sector. These sectors are now major drivers of sustainable development, particularly in developing countries. Ensuring that artists and cultural professionals have the skills required to succeed in the creative economy is essential.

UNESCO-KFIT has recognized this potential and is actively investing in projects that support, through sectoral mapping and assessments, strengthened human and institutional capacities. In Uganda and Uzbekistan, cultural professionals have gained practical skills in creation, design and marketing as well as in business and management. As a result, cultural entrepreneurs have greater access to markets, distribution networks and international cooperation mechanisms.

CREATING NETWORKS: NETWORKING IS KEY TO SUCCESSFUL ADVOCACY AND AWARENESS RAISING

Transparent and informed cultural policies call for the collaborative participation of a variety of actors, including governments and civil society. By bringing the concerns of different cultural actors to the attention of public authorities, civil society organizations (CSOs) contribute to greater transparency and accountability. Recognizing this fundamental role, UNESCO and KFIT encourage the active participation of CSOs in all levels of cultural policymaking.

Through its projects in Lao PDR, Thailand and the Asia-Pacific region, UNESCO-KFIT is strengthening policy advocacy by creating networking opportunities, where cultural actors can collaborate and form partnerships. Such opportunities support information sharing, knowledge transfer and foster innovation. This also includes expanding and diversifying UNESCO’s Expert Facility, which provides advisory technical assistance to countries across the globe.

SUPPORTING POLICY DESIGN: MONITORING IS INDISPENSABLE TO ENSURING POLICIES MEET THE CULTURE SECTOR’S NEEDS

By monitoring the implementation of cultural policies, countries can assess the state of their creative sectors, evaluate goals and identify priority areas for future action. As signatories to the 2005 Convention, governments have committed to gathering and reporting on policies and measures that protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions. Periodic reporting has become particularly important in countries that lack mechanisms and monitoring frameworks to evaluate their cultural policies.

Cooperation between stakeholders is essential to ensuring the accuracy of the data collected. It is also key in determining whether policies and measures are supporting the intended cultural actors and sectors. UNESCO- KFIT is working to ensure that these monitoring processes and other assessments are carried out in a participatory manner with all concerned cultural actors. Recognizing that policies to support the culture sector involve multiple government agencies, UNESCO-KFIT supports inter-ministerial cooperation to ensure the sustainability of its actions.