International
Network for Cultural Diversity
Newsletter – May
2003
Contents:
www.incd.net/events/2003conference.html
Registration Deadline:
September 10, 2003
For more information: incd-opatija@irmo.hr ; incd@ccarts.ca
August 30-September 2,
2003
New Delhi, India
www.incd.net/events/meetings.html
For more information: incdasia@vsnl.net
INCD Coordinator Garry
Neil was recently in Europe for a series of meetings. Here are his reflections:
This is a brief report on my recent European travels. While in Croatia, I toured Opatija, the site of the INCD Conference this October. The town is nestled on the shores of the Adriatic and the facilities are good, with a range of first-rate hotels, from clean and comfortable to superior quality, and fine restaurants. From Croatia, I traveled via Trieste to Geneva. Even with the new highway between Zagreb and Opatija to be opened this summer, it is more convenient to travel to Opatija from Trieste, Italy. Given that European discount carrier Ryanair offers inexpensive flights to Trieste, delegates able to travel in the region without a visa are well advised to consider this route.
In Geneva, I met with officials of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
The last time I was at the WTO Geneva headquarters in 2001, there was little awareness of the cultural diversity issues among WTO bureaucrats, aside from understanding that the French were concerned about audiovisual services. When I raised the concept of the potential for a Convention on Cultural Diversity, I was met with blank stares. The situation was far different this time. I met with senior officials in several WTO Departments, including external relations, services and intellectual property and with someone assigned to the investment issues. All of them were keen to discuss the Convention and several posed challenging questions that indicate they have considered the issue. For example, the GATS official asked how would the Convention affect the commitment on broadcasting made by New Zealand under the GATS? (In the short term, the answer is that it would not and could not).
The day prior to my meetings, the heads of all UN agencies and the WTO had returned from a regular inter-agency meeting. UNESCO’s Director General advised his colleagues of the Executive Board’s decision to recommend that UNESCO take on the task of elaborating the terms of a legally binding Treaty.
Despite the failure to meet the deadlines for agreement on TRIPS, health emergencies and prescription drugs and on the modalities for the talks on agricultural services, WTO officials remain optimistic about the chances for progress at the Ministerial Meeting in Cancun. They believe that a breakthrough is near, although they admit there are serious challenges ahead. The GATS official is pleased with the willingness of governments to engage the negotiations. “The fact that 20 states have tabled offers is a good beginning and many others will follow suit in the next few months.” Then again, as WTO staff, it would be difficult for them to make comments that would indicate potential failure for the process. In the investment area, governments and WTO officials are proceeding to elaborate the potential text of an agreement, although they recognize that Ministers could well decide not to proceed when they get together in September.
As was the case at the last two Ministerial meetings, the WTO will provide an NGO Centre for use by registered delegates. The INCD has requested a room at the Centre to organize a workshop on the culture and trade issues.
The first indication that WIPO had of the potential of a Convention on Cultural Diversity was the meeting of the heads of UN agencies, so the timing of my meeting was propitious. I was able to bring concrete information and to advise them of the potential implications of the Convention for intellectual property rights.
There is growing awareness of cultural diversity issues at UNCTAD and there may well be opportunities for cooperation. UNCTAD is launching a new project that is exploring ways to develop the creative industries in selected Least Developed Countries. They are also considering how to position UNCTAD as the appropriate agency to undertake a review of the implications of liberalization of services trade as directed by the GATS. While this is a specific requirement of the existing GATS, no formal process has been developed.
I also met in Geneva with Michael Wagner, head of the legal department at the European Broadcasting Union. We discussed plans for an electronic media component of the December 2003 World Summit on the Information Society, which the EBU is helping to organize. The EBU, an INCD member, is proposing INCD participation in a workshop on Cultural Diversity as part of that event.
Finally, I traveled to London for meetings with INCD members and others from the arts and cultural community, including the National Campaign for the Arts and the British Screen Advisory Committee. Hopefully, this will translate into new members and increased involvement.
The key conclusions I draw from these meetings are:
the profile of the INCD in Europe is strong;
there is a growing and high level of awareness of the campaign to develop a Convention on Cultural Diversity.
Garry Neil
Coordinator
The Danish Centre
for Culture and Development’s report from their November 2002 Conference on
Cultural Diversity is now available through their web site www.dccd.dk . INCD Coordinator Garry Neil was a
panelist at the conference and Steering Committee member Mike van Graan was
conference rapporteur.
The Executive Board of
UNESCO, during its 166th Session, decided to the put the Convention
on Cultural Diversity on the agenda of the General Conference in October 2003.
The Convention on Cultural Diversity is a legal instrument that will protect
the rights of governments to enact domestic policies and measures to support
the full range of cultural expression.
The majority of
countries voted to include the Convention in UNESCO’s work. The usual suspects
voiced opposition to the recommendation, notably India, the United States, the
United Kingdom and Japan while France urged the Board to move on this “timely
and urgent” proposal.
In the report of the
Commission studying the Convention on Cultural Diversity, some countries felt
that the question of a legally-binding instrument for the protection of
cultural diversity represented “deep waters for UNESCO” while others invited
members to “take the plunge.” Most understood that the international community
must go beyond UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity if artistic
and cultural expression are to be fully protected from the infringements of
globalization. Iceland’s representative asked, “if we can have a quota for
fish, then why not for culture?”
The INCD welcomes this
development but is aware that the real work begins now. In October, the
proposal will go before the 188 countries that make up the General Conference
of UNESCO. There is a worrisome possibility that the Convention on Cultural
Diversity will be too easily be dismissed if there is not significant support
from both developed and developing countries. Time is of the essence as the
global cultural community is racing to establish the Convention before the
World Trade Organization is scheduled to complete its negotiations in 2005.
The INCD will continue
to pressure governments around the world to support the Convention on Cultural
Diversity.
The full text of the
recommendation can be found on UNESCO’s site http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0012/001299/129991e.pdf
The Executive Board
decisions are available in all UNESCO languages
English: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001302/130244e.pdf
French: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001302/130244f.pdf
Spanish: http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0013/001302/130244s.pdf
(also: Russian, Arabic
and Chinese)
The Free Trade Area of
the Americas (FTAA) is moving quickly towards the next summit in Miami, Florida
November 20-21, 2003. The FTAA has made an open call to civil society for
written contributions on the draft text which can be found in English, French,
Spanish and Portuguese at http://www.ftaa-alca.org/
. The guidelines and procedures for making a submission to the negotiating
committees of the FTAA are at : http://www.ftaa-alca.org/spcomm/derdoc/dcs15e.asp
Web site of the
month:
Quebec Department of
Culture and Communications
http://www.mcc.gouv.qc.ca/international/diversite-culturelle/eng/index.htm
The site now has a
monthly article by Professor Ivan Bernier. This month’s update is a comparative
analysis of the US-Chile and US-Singapore Free Trade Agreements.
Image Making and Image
Makers in Relation to Civil Society in Asia
Asia Dialogues with
the World 2
Conference of Asian
Foundations and Organizations / Danish Centre for Culture and Development
June 19-23,
2003
Hong Kong
The Unifying Aspects
of Culture
The Research Institute
for Austrian and International Literature and Cultural Studies
November 6-10, 2003
Vienna, Austria