Presentation by

Garry Neil, Coordinator

International Network for Cultural Diversity

When we started discussing the potential for an International Network for Cultural Diversity, the tasks ahead were straightforward, if daunting:

how can we promote cultural diversity in the face of powerful economic, political and social forces that are leading us toward cultural homogenization?
how can we ensure that artistic activity and creative expression can flourish in every corner of the globe?
how do we achieve more balanced exchanges between cultures, to replace the domination of many by a few?
how do we ensure the preservation of threatened languages and cultures?

Our analysis of the contemporary challenges for cultural diversity began with an understanding that diversity is being affected significantly by many forces, including:

technology
economic integration
development policies
trade agreements
human conflict.

These forces and the interaction between them are complex and, while all do threaten diversity, some can also be tools that promote and encourage diversity.

The roots of the INCD are found in an agreement by many artists, cultural producers and activists that NGOs around the world must begin to work together to:

monitor developments related to these forces
advocate for policies and programs that favour cultural diversity
oppose those forces that act against diversity
ensure that those that can be influenced are used to promote diversity, rather than cultural homogenization.

At conferences in 1998 in Stockholm and Ottawa, the founding partners of the INCD – the Swedish Joint Committee of Literary and Artistic Professionals and the Canadian Conference of the Arts, were given a mandate to form the network. The INCD was created in 1999 and launched at the Founding Conference on the Greek Island of Santorini in 2000.

From the beginning we have been clear – when the INCD uses the term “cultural diversity,” we mean it to denote inclusion, respect, tolerance and celebration of cultural differences. This is fundamental to our work.

The INCD is a democratic membership organization of NGOs, artists, producers, heritage institutions, cultural activists and academics united around a set of principles agreed at the Founding Conference. We are guided by decisions of the members made at the Annual Meetings and by an elected Steering Committee of 14 members from 13 countries. The secretariat maintains offices in Ottawa and Cape Town and we have part-time staff in Toronto, Mumbai and Zagreb. We have previously had a presence as well in Zurich and Stockholm. Membership dues, foundations, sympathetic governments and development agencies provide our funding. Like most not-for-profit organizations in our sector, our financial existence is precarious, we have no guarantees beyond the existing grants.

This is the Fourth Annual meeting of the INCD. But, it is the first time that we will have an opportunity to review all of contemporary challenges that can affect cultural diversity.

Over the next few days, delegates will look at technology, at economic integration, at development policies, at trade agreements and at issues of war and peace. Not as an academic exercise, but as a strategic and tactical matter. As you examine these issues in workshops and plenary sessions remember this – our purpose here is to discuss what the INCD can and should be doing about these issues.

what policies and programs can we advocate to ensure that technology is a tool of cultural diversity?
what messages should we take to development agencies to ensure that their programs respect local cultures and encourage diverse artistic expressions?

Only in the area of the trade agreements is our strategy well defined. From our founding meeting, INCD members agreed that developments in the bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations represented a significant and immediate threat to cultural diversity. This is not surprising since the basic theory of free trade is contrary to diversity principles. Comparative advantage says you need fewer suppliers to achieve economies of scale. Cultural diversity on the other hand is about having many artists and many cultural “suppliers”. Thus, we resolved that it is necessary to work to establish a Convention on Cultural Diversity, a new international treaty that would:

provide a permanent legal foundation for government measures that promote cultural diversity
ensure that disputes about the trade in “cultural goods and services” are adjudicated under its terms, rather than the trade agreements
promote more balanced exchanges between cultures
encourage the development of cultural capacity.

On this front, there has been significant progress over the past three years, and we will have time over the next few days to take stock of developments at UNESCO, in the network of culture ministers organized in the International Network on Cultural Policy and at the World Trade Organization and other trade fora.

When we discuss the Convention, we need to analyze:

the potential content of the new Convention so that it will achieve the objectives
how we can lobby to ensure the Convention meets the objectives of cultural diversity in the North and South, in developing and least developed countries and in the countries in transition
how we can ensure that UNESCO is pushed to achieve the outcome we need, on a timetable that is appropriate
we also need to discuss a back-up plan, in case UNESCO falls off track in its work on the Convention.

We also have an opportunity over the next few days to discuss our place in the broader social movements.

do we fit in the anti-globalization, or as its now also known – the alter-globalization - movement and if so where?
how can we inject the issue of cultural politics into the World Social Forum and other gatherings of civil society?
how can we make common cause with people concerned about maintaining the world’s biodiversity? This is particularly true for indigenous peoples, for whom cultural and biodiversity are intertwined.

We will examine our relationship with colleague organizations that are also working for cultural diversity.

how do we co-operate with cultural industries associations?
how do we respond if others refuse to work with us?

Finally, we will discuss the mechanisms the INCD will use to accomplish its goals. How do we organize ourselves? How do we build the INCD? How should we relate to governments and intergovernmental agencies? Remember, these are very practical issues about deciding on the most effective ways to achieve our objectives. Included in this part of our meeting will be the formal Annual General Meeting of the INCD to:

review the past year
approve the plans for the next year
approve a proposed new governance structure recommended by the Steering Committee.

I expect our days will be filled with lively debates about provocative issues. But, we will also have time in the evenings to explore a little of the rich culture of our host country. Because this is what we are all about in the final analysis – promoting the rich diversity of the world’s artists and creators.