Mr Themba P.Wakashe, Director-General:

Department of Arts and Culture

UNESCO AND CULTURAL DIVERSITY

INDEX

• Introduction and background• UNESCO’s Strategic Framework• SA National Commission for UNESCO• DAC and UNESCO• UNESCO and Cultural Diversity• The Convention on Cultural Diversity• Implementation of the Convention• Conclusion

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INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND UNESCO is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United

Nations and contributes to the building of peace, the eradication of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through its mandate for education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.

UNESCO membership consists of 193 countries and seven associate members.

UNESCO is based in Paris and has over 50 field offices and many specialized institutes and centres throughout the world.

UNESCO has a number of priority projects within its field of expertise, which include literacy, technical and teacher training programmes; international science programmes; the promotion of independent media and freedom of the press; regional and cultural history projects; the promotion of cultural diversity; international cooperation agreements to promote and protect the world cultural and natural heritage (World Heritage Sites), and attempts to bridge the worldwide digital divide.

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UNESCO’S STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

• UNESCO’s Medium-Term Strategy for 2008 to 2013 is structured around five programme-driven, overarching objectives which are:

Attaining quality education for all and lifelong learning; Mobilizing scientific knowledge and policy for sustainable

development; Addressing emerging social and ethical challenges; Promoting cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue and a

culture of peace; Building inclusive knowledge societies through information

and communication.• UNESCO’s Medium-Term Strategy also accords global

priority to Africa and gender equality. Action in favour of Africa respects the priorities decided by Africa itself, through the African Union and its NEPAD programme.

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UNESCO’s Strategic Frameworkcont…

UNESCO is actively pursuing the Millennium Development Goals, especially those aiming to:

Halve the proportion of people living in extreme poverty in developing countries by 2015;

Achieve universal primary education in all countries by 2015;

Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education by 2005;

Help countries implement a national strategy for sustainable development by 2005; and

Reverse current trends in the loss of environmental resources by 2015.

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SA NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR UNESCO

• The South African National Commission for UNESCO (SANATCOM) was established in 1998 with the core function to effectively integrate and coordinate UNESCO activities in South Africa, through cooperation with government departments and civil society organisations.

• The SANATCOM under the leadership of the Minister of Basic Education is responsible for servicing six line departments whose areas of competency coincide with the broad mandate of UNESCO.

• The SANATCOM’s vision is to strive towards a knowledge based society characterised by the pursuance of educational, cultural, information and scientific excellence in accordance with UNESCO’s ideals and for the development of the country.

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SA NATIONAL COMMISSION FOR UNESCO• The SANATCOM’s mission is to support the

transformation of our society and strengthen our democracy by:

Facilitating the implementation of UNESCO programmes in education, natural, social and human science, culture and communication;

Facilitating cooperation on national UNESCO issues among National Departments;

Facilitating the adherence to the UNESCO’s ethical standards especially with regard to peace and human rights;

Encouraging the application of UNESCO standard-setting instruments to support the redress of social disadvantage;

Providing communication channels between South Africa, UNESCO and other National Commissions; and

Participating actively in the affairs of UNESCO.

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DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE AND UNESCO

• DAC is involved closely with UNESCO, through the implementation of the following: Heritage (World Heritage, Intangible Heritage, Underwater

Heritage) Memory of the World Cultural Diversity

• South Africa was readmitted to UNESCO on 12 December 1994, following the country’s transition to democracy.

• In 1997 the country ratified the World Heritage Convention and served as a member of the World Heritage Committee from 2000 to 2005. SA was re-elected in 2009 to serve a 2nd term from 2010 – 2013.

• During this time South Africa, through the Department of Arts and Culture, successfully hosted the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2005 and further facilitated the process that resulted in the establishment of the African World Heritage Fund in 2006.

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DEPARTMENT OF ARTS AND CULTURE AND UNESCOMemory of the World

• South Africa became involved in UNESCO’S Memory of the World (M.o.W) Programme in 2003.

• The MoW Programme promotes the preservation of the world’s documentary heritage against natural and man-made disasters.

• South Africa hosted the 8th UNESCO International Advisory Committee (I.A.C.) meeting for the Memory of the World (MoW) Programme in June 2007 to evaluate all proposals submitted to UNESCO for enlisting in the UNESCO’s Memory of the World International Register (MoWIR).

• Two South African collections were accepted for registration in the MoWIR. These two collections are the Rivonia Trial collection, housed at the National Archives of South Africa, and the Living Apartheid collection which is housed at the Doxa Productions in Cape Town.

• A call for nomination for the 2011 MoW IR listing was sent out late 2009 to heritage institutions in South Africa. Three new nominations were received. The CODESA, the Multiparty Collections aand the Medu Art Ensemble Collection at Freedom Park were submitted to UNESCO MoW Programme.

• SA is also currently chairing the Africa Regional Committee of the Memory of the World.

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CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND UNESCO

• UNESCO defines and sees Cultural Diversity as a driving force of development, not only in respect of economic growth, but also as a means of leading a more fulfilling intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual life. This is captured in all seven culture conventions at UNESCO, which provides a basis for the promotion of cultural diversity.

• According to the UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001), acceptance and recognition of cultural diversity is conducive to dialogue among civilizations and cultures, respect and mutual understanding. The promotion of cultural diversity is central to UNESCO’s mandate.

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CULTURAL DIVERSITY AND UNESCO• UNESCO published a World Report on Investing in

Cultural Diversity and Intercultural Dialogue in 2009.• The report states that Cultural Diversity is more than

just the protection of heritage in danger. It is also the development of intercultural skills, the road towards new forms of governance, the lever of the effective exercise of universally recognized human rights and a means to reduce imbalances in the trade of cultural goods and services.

• The Report especially suggests creating a ‘World Observatory on Cultural Diversity, to monitor the impacts of globalization’, setting up a "national mechanism for monitoring public policies as they relate to cultural diversity," and implementing "national language policies with a view to both safeguarding linguistic diversity and promoting multilingual competencies."

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UNESCO CONVENTION ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY

• The Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions stands out among the heritage-related conventions in that it focuses primarily on the diversity of cultural expressions, as circulated and shared through cultural activities, goods and services, the most contemporary transmitters of culture.

• The Convention responds to an existing need to actively protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions in the face of the accelerated pace of globalization.

• In 2001 UNESCO adopted the Universal declaration on Cultural Diversity.

• In 2003, INCP Ministers of Culture made a submission to UNESCO to create a legal binding instrument that will address issues relating to Cultural Diversity.

• In 2003 Member States requested UNESCO to pursue normative action to defend human creativity.

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UNESCO CONVENTION ON CULTURAL

DIVERSITY

• After 2 years of intense negotiations at UNESCO between independent and government experts, the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions was adopted by majority vote at the 33rd session of the UNESCO General Conference in 2005.

• The Convention is the 1st normative international instrument that deals with the protection and promotion of cultural diversity on a global scale.

• South Africa fully supports the Convention and ratified the Convention in December 2006.

• The Convention came into force in March 2007 and SA chaired the 1st Conference of Parties on the Convention in June 2006.

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UNESCO CONVENTION ON CULTURAL DIVERSITY cont..

• The Convention has been heralded as the Magna Charta of International Cultural Policy, reaffirming the rights of governments to adopt and implement cultural policy measures necessary to protect and promote cultural expressions.

The main objectives of the Convention are to: Recognize that cultural goods and services convey identity,

values and meaning and therefore can not be treated as mere commodities or consumer goods;

Encourage governments to introduce cultural policies and measures that address al links in the value chain from creation, production, distribution, access and enjoyment of cultural expressions; and

Promote international cooperation.

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IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CONVENTION

The following activities should be pursued by all to ensure the effective implementation of the Convention:

Develop a complete set of operational guidelines for the Convention;

Encourage additional ratifications from all regions of the world and raise visibility of the Convention;

Test and manage the International Fund on Cultural Diversity (IFCD);

Implement mechanisms that can provide preferential treatment for artists and cultural practitioners from developing countries and provide access for their goods and services in developed countries.

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IMPLEMENTATION cont….

• South Africa has been elected to serve on the Intergovernmental Committee (IGC) of the Convention for 4 years.

• One of the main tasks of the IGC is to prepare the operational guidelines on the application and implementation of the Convention.

• The purpose of the operational guidelines is to provide governments with a general framework on how they may implement and apply provisions of the Convention in their own countries.

• Operational guidelines for article 7, 8, 11, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 has been developed and are in the implementation phase.

• Work on developing operational guidelines for articles 9, 10 and 19 are currently underway and will be discussed during the 4th Ordinary Session of the IGC, which is due to take place in Paris from 29 November – 3 December 2010.

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IMPLEMENTATION cont….

• The Convention also recognises the establishment of financial support mechanisms for the developing world, through an international fund for cultural diversity.

• The purpose of the Fund is to promote cooperation for sustainable development and poverty reduction in order to foster the emergence of a dynamic cultural sector in developing countries and to promote South-South-North cooperation.

• To ensure the sustainability and smooth operation of the Fund, State Parties should be encouraged to play an active part in financing the Fund through voluntary and regular contributions to the Fund.

• SA has made a voluntary contribution of R87 000 to the fund which equals to 1% of our annual contributions to UNESCO.

• The first call for applications to be funded through the International Fund for Cultural Diversity was made in March 2010 and SA submitted 13 proposals in response to the call for proposals.

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CONCLUSION

• The number of countries having ratified the Convention together with SA, has reached 113.

• Efforts are still on the way to encourage increased ratifications and to raise awareness/visibility of the Convention, especially in under-represented regions.

• DAC will be conducting consultative workshops throughout the country with provinces, associated institutions and civil society representatives in the arts, culture and heritage sector to promote the implementation of the approved operational guidelines of the Convention.

• 21 May as been declared by UNESCO as “World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development”

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ThankThankYouYou