Paris, 16 December 2015 Original: English INTERGOVERNMENTAL COMMITTEE FOR THE PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS Eighth Ordinary Session Paris, UNESCO Headquarters 9 - 11 December 2014 This document contains the detailed summary record of the eighth ordinary session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (Paris, UNESCO Headquarters, 9 - 11 December 2014). OPENING OF THE SESSION 1. The eighth ordinary session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (hereinafter referred to as “the Committee”) was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 9 to 11 December 2014. 2. It was attended by 294 participants, including 56 participants from the 23 States Members of the Committee, 181 participants from 74 Parties non-members of the Committee (73 States Parties and the European Union (EU)), 31 participants from 13 States not Parties to the Convention, 1 participant from 1 Permanent Observer Mission to UNESCO, 2 participants from 2 intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) and 23 participants from 9 non- governmental organizations (NGOs) with observer status. 3. In opening the session, H.E. Mr Jean-Marie Adoua, Chairperson of the 8IGC welcomed all participants. The Chairperson then gave the floor to the Director-General of UNESCO, Ms Irina Bokova, for her opening speech. 4. The Director-General began her speech by expressing her gratitude towards the Swedish International Development Agency (Sida) for the cooperation agreement which was just concluded with UNESCO, worth more than 50 million USD, including a component on the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions with funding of 2.5 million USD. She thanked Sweden for its reaffirmed commitment towards the ideals of the 2005 Convention, 15 years after the Intergovernmental Conference on cultural policies for development held in Stockholm. She also thanked the Government of Spain for its action and support which aimed at raising the visibility of the Convention and the European Union which enabled the launching of the first technical assistance programme for the implementation of the Convention at the country level. She informed that UNESCO would organize a major event in Brussels in 2015 to share the lessons learnt from the programme. She affirmed that the Convention which has been ratified by 134 Parties throughout the world, creates a structure for public debates and international cooperation, bringing about tangible changes as illustrated through the periodic reports submitted by Parties – changes such as the reinforcement of cultural regulations and policies; recognition of the position of culture in sustainable development strategies; and the development of new models of governance for culture. Notwithstanding such positive changes, she pointed out that government leaders too often do not refer sufficiently to these matters and urged Parties to reinforce capacities in this field through more South-South cooperation. The Director-General expressed that the 10th anniversary of the Convention represents a strategic opportunity to celebrate the achievement made and called on Parties, organizations and civil society to organize symposia, concerts, and other events. She expressed that this anniversary should be forward-looking, including a focus on emerging issues such as new technologies. In this regard, she paid tribute to the initiative by France and Canada to include the digital challenges in the Committee’s agenda. Referring to the Declaration adopted at the third World Forum on culture and creative industries held in Florence in October 2014, organised in cooperation with the Italian Government, she emphasized the importance of culture for sustainable development and further noted that this anniversary must be a springboard to accelerate advocacy efforts to support the integration of culture in the post-2015 agenda on sustainable development. She urged the Committee to continue emphasizing throughout the upcoming year the role of creativity for development. The 10th anniversary of the Convention, coinciding with the 70th anniversary of UNESCO, provides a perfect example of the power of the Organization to structure the global debates and offer concrete means and tools for action, and in order to substantiate UNESCO’s plea for action, it is essential to present tangible projects and the operational implementation of the Convention on the ground. Referring to such countries as Burkina 2 Faso, Peru, Brazil and Lithuania that have recently adopted national cultural policies which refer to the objectives of the Convention, she emphasized that the 2005 Convention is designed to nurture and support the emergence of dynamic cultural sectors especially in developing countries, and that the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) is increasingly recognized as an effective international cooperation tool by all stakeholders, attracting a growing number of eligible funding requests every year, covering such critical issues as sustainable capacity development, cultural and creative industry development, governance and public policy. However, only seven requests for a total of 624,000 $US are recommended to the Committee due to the limited financial availability. She stressed that should Parties provide additional contributions, more projects could be funded, because the fact remains that too many countries continue to lack technical, human or financial resources, as well as relevant data, indicators and available statistics needed to fully implement the Convention. Referring to the recommendation of the External Auditor on the working methods of the Culture Conventions, she expressed her hope that the members of the Committee would agree to give UNESCO the means it needs to sustain and implement this Convention and wished the Committee fruitful discussions. 5. The Chairperson then invited H.E. Ms Koumealo ANATE, Minister of the Communication, Culture, Arts and Civil Training of Togo. 6. The Minister of the Communication, Culture, Arts and Civil Training of Togo thanked the Committee for the privilege to address it and congratulated the Secretariat and the Committee for the excellent quality of work carried out since 2005. She stated that Togo has been committed to the protection and promotion of cultural diversity as illustrated by the fact that it was the ninth country and the third African country to have ratified it. She informed that as a means to implement this new legal instrument, a cultural policy of Togo has been elaborated and adopted in March 2011. Through UNESCO’s financial support and technical expertise in 2010 via the UNESCO office in Accra and in 2011 from the International Fund for Cultural Diversity, Togo has elaborated a 10-year national strategic plan of the cultural policy. The Ministry in charge of culture ensures that the diversity of cultural expressions is taken into account by other national development partners. In order to encourage and support creative work by cultural and artistic professionals, the Government of Togo through the Ministry of Culture has put in place a framework to accompany these actors and to mobilize technical and financial support that they need. With regard to the financing of culture, a fund dedicated to culture has been set up by the Government in 2013, providing subsidies to the creative sector for the promotion and the distribution of culture. With the initial seed money of 400 million CFR franc (equivalent of 800,000 USD), the fund contributes not only to strengthening the capacities of the national cultural actors to foster the emergence of dynamic cultural sector reaching regional and international cultural markets, but also to creating jobs and reducing poverty through the cultural industries. As illustrated in the periodic report Togo submitted to UNESCO in May 2013, she informed that civil society actively participates in the implementation of the Convention through raising awareness actions, such as seminars, conferences, publications, national and international professional gatherings, media communication and through enhancing the capacities of cultural actors. For example, the Togolese Coalition for Cultural Diversity spearheaded the organization of the third international encounter of professional organizations of culture on the challenges of ratification of the Convention. In 2010, thanks to the funding of the IFCD, the Togolese Coalition for Cultural Diversity implemented a project to reinforce the capacity of Togolese cultural professionals. In 2011, an international congress of an African network of cultural promoters and entrepreneurs was organized, reflecting on culture as a motor of social and economic development. In 2012, an association Filbleu and the Togolese Coalition for Cultural Diversity jointly organized a competition for youth called Tasso. Also in 2012, the Ministry of Culture and Arts through the funding from the IFCD elaborated a strategic plan to implement a cultural policy in Togo, which enabled a national mapping of cultural wealth par region. She 3 announced that this 10-year plan of the Togolese cultural policy is now a part of the global collection of good practices, and a documentary film is planned to be produced on the project to encourage other countries to follow the practice of Togo. She concluded by commending the formidable work carried out by the IFCD and noting its intention to scale up its contribution to the