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March 2002, Newsletter 17 International Network for Cultural Diversity Report on the conferences, seminars and workshops of the cultural area Feb 1 to 4 by: Rafael Segovia INCD Steering Committee The breadth of events at the World Social Forum (WSF - http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br) was as diverse as one can expect from such a major international forum, gathering some 14,000 NGOs from around the world. Each had the option of proposing or creating a workshop or seminar while conferences had to be supported or proposed by a team of at least 3 organizations. Given the great number of thematic issues, culture seemed to be poorly represented: only 4 conferences out of 27, 8 seminars out of 31, and only one special seminar among 31. Yet a recurrent statement heard in many different debates was that culture should be thought of as the locomotive of the train, and not as the missing wagon, since it exists as the vehicle for information, human rights and education, which are the primary agents of development. The more debated issue was that of cultural diversity, since, from the perspective of developing countries, their weakest point as they face globalisation is the retention of cultural identity as it is confronted by international commerce. This subject was accompanied by those of national and indigenous languages, traditional life and its cultural expression, the right of access to information and the rights of a people or "eco-cultural area" to produce and consume its own cultural goods and services. Participation of INCD members in the WSF events The INCD Steering Committee sent a delegation of three to the WSF: Lucianna Castellina, President of Italia Cinema; James Early, Director of Cultural Heritage Policy at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington; and, myself, Rafael Segovia, General Coordinator of the Civic Council for Culture and the Arts of Morelos, Mexico. It was impossible not to feel short of time yet we tried to attend as many events as possible. James Early attended primarily the seminars of the Special Afro-Brazilian Forum, while Lucianna and I attended the Seminar on Cultural Diversity and Linguistic Rights organised by ATTAC-France in an external facility for two days. Lucianna went on to participate in the World Audiovisual Forum and I remained at the Seminar on Cultural Diversity during the writing of the declarative document which resulted from the conference. There were a few other conferences and seminars we managed to be present at, but it was useful to concentrate on the seminar that gathered the most interesting participants in the cultural field and, furthermore, to be able to speak in front of such a crucial audience. Just to mention a few key figures, this audience included the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Quebec; five or six high-ranked officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, among them the director of Cultural Policies; the director of Cultural Affairs of Pakistan; the director of Le Monde Diplomatique and many of its staff as well as many important cultural agents and representatives of large networks. Here are some of the panels I attended, and descriptions of additional seminars that examined culture and cultural diversity: Feb 1:1. Special Conference Africa/Brasil introducers: Afro-Brazilian comittee of the WSF, African Social Forum of Senegal (Taoufik Ben Abdallah)facilitation: / Jacques d'Adesky Center for the Studies of the Americas, Belgium. panellists: Taoufik Bem Abdallah, Aminata Traore, Benedita da Silva, Tudley Tomson.> In general terms, the conference was centered on the difficult situation of African countries, but some other general ideas expressed there are worth a special mention. These proposals have been under discussion for some time: 1) the proposal that the external debt of the poorest countries should be cancelled (Jubilee 2000); 2) the claim for an indemnity paid by the colonialist countries to their ancient colonies, to compensate for the exploitation of their territories and for centuries of slavery. Furthermore, there should be a moral restitution of some kind, which would deal with issues of cultural and personal self-worth. 2. Conference on International Trade Introducers: Third World Network (Martin Khor), Malasia -Africa Trade Network (Dot Keet), South Africa - CES Confederation Européene de Syndicats (Jean Lapeyre), BelgiumFacilitation: Bernard Cassen (ATTAC Francia) Panelists: Lori Wallach (Public Citizen) - Paul Nicholson (Via Campesina) - Alianza Social Continental (Héctor de La Cueva), México Even though this conference dealt more broadly with general economic problems, some speakers present were very knowledgeable about issues relating to cultural diversity: Bernard Cassen , one of the organizers of the seminar on cultural diversity, Dot Keet, a trade and culture specialist from South Africa, and Héctor de la Fuente, a central figure of social movements against globalization in Mexico. Part of the conference dealt with the problem of cultural diversity, more specifically with the problem of intellectual property of traditional source and of the piracy exerted by corporations in this field. Another interesting point was the discussion of the intellectual rights of the audience and of the cultural producers. Feb 2 - 3 A. Seminar: International Cultural and Linguistic Diversity (Attac - France) This seminar was organized in six different rounds, facilitated by different people, among whom I will mention:Marc Le Glattin (Attac) and Ben Berardi (Director of Casa de la Cultura Mario Quintana), who were the operational agents of the seminar; Bernard Cassen, (Director of Le Monde Diplomatique), Luciana Castellina, from the INCD, Bruno Delaye, from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France, and José Vidal Beneto (Spain), a former official of the European Council. The objectives of the seminar were coherent with the general concerns of the INCD, so I decided to follow from within the development of the panels, and participate in the writing of the declaratory document that would convey the consensus on the debates. 1. The first session was dedicated to linguistic diversity. The discussions turned around the issues of major linguistic regions and the panel proposed to establish a variety of poles of influence through the promotion of a few alternate languages, thus creating a barrier against English hegemony. Some of us stated there is a danger in adopting such a position: to forget the issue of indigenous and regional languages, which would then be once more in the position of colonized languages. 2. The second part of the seminar dealt with the field of audiovisual production and the "cultural exception". Nowadays, the pressure exerted on the production and distribution of audiovisual goods by commercial organizations such as the WTO is leading to an open fight for control of the most important market of cultural goods and services (140,000 M$) which is effectively in the hands of American producers (80,000 M$). Another alarming statistic is that Hollywood controls 80% to 95% of the screen time of most countries. The team from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed the idea that there should be a legal binding "cultural exception" in all commercial treaties. This has been France's strategy to this point. The INCD, however, is supporting the creation of a treaty to protect cultural diversity - this would protect culture from the infringements of trade agreements altogether. Nevertheless, some participants remarked that other aspects of cultural diversity shouldn't be left out of these protective measures. After a good deal of discussion, we came to the point of imagining two platforms of protective measures, definitions and principles: one dealing with traditional life and linguistics, another one dealing with the production of cultural goods and services. Two key points exist in the European strategy put forth by "Television sans Frontières": to establish TV and cinema quotas and to stabilize the European control of book pricing. 3. The third session was centered on the importance of networks and civic organizations in the cultural field, and as a result, there was a proposal to create an international network of cultural agents. In particular, two sets of speakers provided very useful information about their networks and the organizational needs for successful development and interaction within diverse communities: Sabine Schebrak (Austria) y Xavier Pérez (Spain) presented the cultural network Trans Europ Halles, which was born out of squatters' initiatives to develop cultural centers in threatened buildings and facilities, like Brussels' central market. Debora Martin, from the Union of actors and technicians of the entertainment industry of Sao Paulo (SATED) talked about the success the union has had in rallying workers from the different unions of Brazil through cultural and artistic activities. I spoke here as a representative of the Council for Culture and the Arts of Morelos (CCCAM), and explained the initiatives being carried on in Mexico by NGOs dedicated to the preservation of cultural heritage and the fostering of new civic spaces for culture and creativity. 4. The fourth session was dedicated to the writing of a document which would be read the following evening during a special session at the WSF headquarters in the Catholic University of Porto Alegre. Four commissions were created to work on the specific topics in the document. I collaborated by providing the commissions with some of the INCD's key documents, such as the "Road Map" and "Questions and Answers" as well as a description of the INCP and its members. Feb 4: B. Seminar: Culture and Globalization. The fourth morning and fifth session of the seminar was dedicated to a general discussion on the possibility of a new international instrument for the protection of cultural diversity. During the brainstorming session, among other subjects, these were the most relevant:· The abuse of intellectual property rights, where existing laws make it possible for individuals or corporations to "steal" another individual's copyright. · The possibility in extreme cases of expropriating the cultural industries, as a radical measure against oligopolies; ie. for a government to intervene in the market in the case of convergence of cultural industries in order to ensure pluralism and diversity. · Freedom of access to cyberspace; the problem of diverse languages on the Internet; the draft document for an international convention on the use of others languages than English, not only in the contents of the internet, but in the codifying languages and other tools passed by the European Union was strongly opposed by the American lobbies in the name of free circulation of information. The delicate task and inherent problems of defining "culture". · The languages of the world are considered humanity's heritage; the necessity to ensure the equality of all languages. · The inclusion of previous treaties and their own definitions in the proposed new instrument. C. Seminar's Special session: "Culture and Globalization" As a conclusion to the seminar's debate, a declaratory document on cultural and linguistic diversity was read to the general audience. When the network which resulted from this work group starts operating, the declaration will be widely distributed and will also be available on the WSF Web site http://www.forumsocialmundial.org.br/.3. World Audiovisual Forum Introducers: Congresso Brasileiro do CinemaFacilitation: Suzana Amaral (CBC) Panelists: Gillo Pontecorvo (Italy) - Fernando Solanas (Argentina), Robert Guediguian (France), Jorge Sánchez (Mexico), Citto Maselli (Italy), Nelson Pereira dos Santos, Samuel Guimaraes, Arnaldo Carrillo, Gabriel Priolli, Roberto Farias (Brazil), Omar Gonzalez (Cuba), Franco Giraldi, Pasquale Scimeca, Francesca Comencini (Italy), Cheik Oumar Sissoko (Mali), Anémone, Jean Druon (France), etc. First session: Audiovisual and Society Second session: Audiovisual - cultural diversity and hegemony Even though I could only attend a part of the second session of this Forum, I think it is worth mentioning, since the audiovisual sector is one of the most urgent issues on the agenda of cultural diversity. Lucianna Castellina attended the forum, and will have further information for those who to know more about it - for more information, please contact incd@ccarts.ca. General conclusions: It was very important, from my point of view, that the INCD had a chance to participate in the WSF, even if just as an observer. I believe this is an adequate forum to disseminate our objectives and our work, and we should therefore participate more fully in the WSF III, building seminars and workshops and taking part in the major conferences on culture and diversity. As for the more particular objective of building a Latin American Network for Cultural Diversity, my presence at the WSF was really enriching, since I met people from key organizations from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia and Cuba, who could be invaluable resources for building the network. Culture and Trade - Recent Developments 1. WTO Council Discusses Audiovisual Services The work of the GATS Council to renegotiate the agreement on trade in services is now underway. At meetings in July and October 2001, there was discussion about the audiovisual sector and analysis of government proposals tabled to date. Notes of the discussions were forwarded to the INCD by a Canadian researcher Ellen Gould and are reproduced in full in English on the INCD website. A summary of the notes follows. The WTO staff memo describes Canada and the European Community's stated objective of maintaining "their capacity to develop and implement their cultural policies" as a "euphemism to indicate that they intend to stick to their policy of no commitments." A cultural diversity safeguard has been suggested and staff says the "the main question appears to be whether such a debate should take place in the WTO or in another forum." The memo highlights the fact that a developing country - Brazil - has identified positive interests in the negotiations on audiovisual services, which very much suits the purposes of the US. Until that proposal was put forward, the US and Japan were alone in seeking inclusion of the sector. The memo states the US is encouraging other developing countries to make demands in the audiovisual sector: "The US clearly aims at encouraging them to participate more fully in these negotiations. This may be seen as part of a strategy to give a 'new dimension' to the audiovisual negotiations, i.e. to pull it out of the 'transatlantic' dimension which has characterized it so far." Discussions at the WTO about "classifications" can have a considerable impact on regulations governing trade, for example by moving consideration from one WTO agreement to another. The staff memo describes the US position on the classification of audiovisual services as "unclear." But this lack of clarity may be deliberate. A footnote reveals "It may be interesting to point out that a representative of the Motion Picture Association (MPA) recently told me that the US would be interested in engaging in a classification exercise but was afraid that coming from Washington such a proposal would be rejected outright by some Members." The US strategy appears to be to try to get any commitment - regardless of how significant - so as to establish a precedent that audiovisual services are to be bargained away in the GATS negotiations: "The US objective in this sector seems to be less the quality of commitments than fact that some commitments are made, in order to put an end to the line of arguments of some Members for whom the audiovisual sector was presented, according to the US, as an 'all-or-nothing' game." Proposals from the US, Switzerland and Brazil all recognize the need for governments to support the production and distribution of cultural products and propose to examine the possibility of negotiating an understanding in this regard. The key question and likely bone of contention will be the scope of "permitted" subsidies. The need to pay special attention to the concerns of developing countries in the AV negotiations is one of the main themes of the Brazilian proposal. The Swiss proposal raises a range of regulatory issues to be discussed. In addition to subsidies, Switzerland suggests to examine: a cultural diversity safeguard1, the role of the public sector, protection against illicit content, competition issues, transparency requirements and regulatory aspects of market access and national treatment restrictions. Brazil focuses on "trade defense mechanisms" to be able to take action against unfair practices. Thus, the possible scope for emergency safeguard measures, antidumping disciplines and competition disciplines should be discussed. "1. See in that regard the statement by Canada in S/CSS/W/46: 'Canada will also not make any commitment that restricts our ability to achieve our cultural policy objectives until a new international instrument, designed specifically to safeguard the right of countries to promote and preserve their cultural diversity, can be established.'"2. Motion Picture Association's Jack Valenti Urges End to Screen Quotas While it may not have been the same "representative of the MPA" quoted above, the Chair and CEO of the powerful Motion Picture Association (of America) delivered a strong message to a meeting of independent film and television producers in Canada. Speaking in Ottawa on 7 February 2002, Jack Valenti expressed his firm opposition to "tariffs, duties, quotas and other artificial trade barriers which interfere with market competition." At the same time, he supported Canadian subsidy measures, delivered to Canadian and foreign producers through a tax credit system and discussed the MPA's campaign to obtain tax credits in the United States.3. US Applies Pressure in Bi-lateral Negotiations It should then come as no surprise that the US is attempting to achieve Valenti's objective through the Bilateral Investment Treaty negotiations it has launched with a number of countries. Reports from Australia, Korea and Chile all suggest that the United States is demanding an end to cinema and television quotas that preserve space for domestic productions on the movie and television screens in those countries. According to The Korea Herald, "The US Deputy Trade Representative, Jon Huntsman, for example, made it clear during his visit to Korea earlier this week (25 February - 1 March), that the two countries can only begin working-level talks on the bi-lateral investment treaty (BIT) if Korea finalizes its stance on the quotas." The response in all of these countries has been swift. The Coalition for Diversity in Moving Images brought together 250 members of the local film community to demand that the Korean government maintain the current quota system in order to protect the local film industry from being overwhelmed by Hollywood productions. In Chile, the newly formed Coalition for Cultural Diversity has written to its government to demand that culture be exempted from the terms of any treaty negotiated between Chile and the US. In Australia, INCD Steering Committee member Richard Letts, reports that, under public pressure, the Australian government has been forced to state that it will not negotiate cultural issues in any bilateral talks with the US, although this resolve may be weak.Announcements · The INCD has released its first draft of the Convention on Cultural Diversity. We are soliciting comments from our members on the draft. Please send them by April 15 to incd@ccarts.ca . · The INCD's Third Annual Conference will take place Oct 11-13 2002 at the Centre for the Book in Cape Town, South Africa. This year's theme is Fostering Cultural Diversity and Development: Local, National and Global Strategies. Registration material will be available online in a few weeks - for more information, please contact incd@ccarts.ca . · Mexico, through the coordination of the Civic Council for Culture and the Arts of Morelos and the INCD, will hold the first Mexican Forum for Cultural Diversity. Topics:The Convention on Cultural Diversity Culture and Globalization: Local and regional concerns Cuernavaca, Morelos July 5-7, 2002 For information, please contact: incd@ccarts.ca or rsegovia1@yahoo.com.mx · A couple of exchange projects between Brazil and Mexico, even though not directly related to the Cultural Diversity objectives, will nevertheless enrich and broaden the possibilities of the Latin American Network. The project consists of a cultural exchange festival, held in Cuernavaca and Sao Paulo twice a year. For more information, please contact: Tel. (+52-739) 385 2759 / E-mail: consejoculturamor@yahoo.com.mx Events/Conferences University of Maryland College ParkGlobalizations: Culture, Economic, Democratic April 11 - 18 e-mail: Globalizations: Cultural, Economic, Democratic University of Maryland College Park April 11-18 2002 The conference will be interdisciplinary and the organizers hope to have as many different perspectives presented as possible. This includes persons on both the academic and activist fronts. Emphasis is on the interactions between different kinds of globalization: cultural, economic and democratic. For more information, please contact: Richard Brown at rbrown@socy.um.edu or go to www.bsos.umd.edu/socy/conference Korean National Commission for UNESCO A Dialogue among Civilizations: Democracy and East Asian Traditions Seoul, South Korea 11-13 June 2002. The conference is intended to enrich the idea of democracy through both an inter-cultural dialogue and a debate between liberal and communitarian theories of democracy. For further details, contact the secretary-general of the Commission, Yersu Kim, by email: hmlim@unesco.or.kr or fax: 82-2-7557477. The Center for Multicultural Education at the University of Washington Diversity and Citizenship in Multicultural Nation States The Rockefeller Foundation's Study and Conference Center Bellagio, Italy 17-21 June 2002. The conference will include social scientists and educational researchers from 11 countries, to explore how different countries deal with issues of unity and diversity in their citizenship education. For more information, contact the conference organizer, Prof. James Banks, Director, Center for Multicultural Education, University of Washington, at jbanks@u.washington.edu, or visit the Center's website at: http://depts.washington.edu/centerme/home.htm Europaforum Housing Cultures: Convergence and Diversity July 1 - 5 Vienna, Austria e-mail: enhr2002@europaforum.or.at The International Cultural Research Network (ICRN) Brasilia 2002: Exploring Cultural Perspectives Brasilia Catholic University July 2-6, 2002. The aim is to identify from diverse cultural and inter-disciplinary perspectives the unifying effects of the following themes; education, globalization, children and youth, history and science and media and technology. For more information, email: icrn@telusplanet.net, or contact the International Cultural Research Network, 551 Education South, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G2G5, Canada. Or visit the ICRN website at: http://www.telusplanet.net/public/icrn/brazil.html Trading Culture An international conference on the themes of the 'indigenous' and the 'exportable' in film and television culture. Sheffield, UK July 18-20 Call for papers International trade in film began in the early part of the twentieth century. By the start of the twenty -first century this was extended to include an increasingly global trade in television programmes and a re-working of the concept of export in the era of satellites and the Internet. This conference will focus on the cultural dimension of these economic developments. For more information, please contact: Sharon Stone, AHRB Centre Administrator, Sheffield Hallam University, School of Cultural Studies, Psalter Lane, Sheffield S11 8UZ UK ahrb@shu.ac.uk 2002 IAMRC conference Intercultural Communication July 21 - 26 Barcelona, Spain Information: International Association for Media and Communication Research e-mail: gwhannel@britishlibrary.net The seventh annual Metropolis conference Togetherness in Difference: Citizenship and Belonging Sept. 9-12 2002 Oslo Norway Sub-themes include "Globalization and the Politics of Migration", "Empowerment and the Effectiveness of Citizenship", "Urban Textures", and "Gender in Migration". For more information, check the conference website at: http://international.metropolis.net/frameset_e.html Or contact the conference organizers by email at: oslo2002@metropolis.net The 12th Nordic Migration Conference Cultural Diversity and Integration Helsinki, Finland 10-12 October 2002 Further information can be found on the conference website at: http://sockom.helsinki.fi/ceren/eng/konferen.html The Maastricht Center for Transatlantic Studies Citizens, Nations, and Cultures: Transatlantic Perspectives Maastricht, the Netherlands 16-19 October 2002 Keynote speakers include Sabine Broek, Jose Casanova, and John Keane. This conference will explore what the 'transatlantic' means for the people of Africa, the Americas, and Europe. For more information, including how to submit a paper proposal, go to the conference website at: http://www.cmsu.edu/mcts/ Or contact Neil Wynn, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Glamorgan, at: nawynn@glam.ac.uk
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