At the eighth session of the Intergovernmental Committee in December 2014, the Committee decided to submit, at the fifth session of the Conference of Parties, “the proposal to mandate the Committee, in consultation with the Parties, to prepare, at its ninth ordinary session, draft operational guidelines on digital issues and the diversity of cultural expressions that will take into account, in particular, international cooperation” (Decision 8.IGC.12).

During the 5^th ordinary session of the CP in June, the IC was tasked with drafting operational guidelines for digital issues.The IC adopted a draft framework for its operational guidelines on digital issues at its 9^th session in December 2015. They will be submitted to the IC for adoption at its next meeting in December 2016. Guidelines should be presented by the IC at the CP’s 6^th ordinary session.

The International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) was instituted under Article 18 of the Convention and promotes sustainable development and poverty reduction in developing countries. Projects selected must encourage the emergence of a thriving cultural sector, for example by implementing or developing cultural policy to promote diverse forms of cultural expressions or by strengthening the institutional structures underlying cultural industries. The IFCD does not however fund projects solely aimed at producing cultural expressions. Projects may receive up to $100,000 in funding.

IFCD beneficiaries may be Parties to the Convention or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from developing countries, as well as international organizations that meet the definition of civil society NGOs.

Eligible projects are first evaluated by a panel of international experts from the five UNESCO-defined regions. The panel’s recommendations are then sent on to the Intergovernmental Committee, which meets every year in December. The Committee is in charge of making final decisions regarding projects to fund. 

Section VII of the Convention (Final clauses), articles 26 and 27, stipulate that states can deposit instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession, in accordance with their respective constitutional procedures, to the Secretary-General of UNESCO. To find out more about the steps involved in becoming a party to the Convention, visit the 2005 Convention website, where the ratification process is described in full.

Ratifying the Convention is very important for a host of reasons, including the following:

• The Convention is the result of a lengthy negotiation process and it reaffirms, in accordance with the UN Charter, international law, and other recognized human rights legislation, the sovereign rights of states to maintain, adopt, and implement policies to develop strong cultural sectors and to contribute to a true diversity of cultural expressions, nationally and internationally. The convention also stresses the importance of being open to other cultures from around the world and creating the conditions in which different cultures can grow, thrive, and mutually enrich one another. Further, the Convention serves as an international forum for discussing challenges to the diversity of cultural expressions and policy designed to support this key sector.
• The Convention recognizes the distinctive nature of cultural activities, goods, and services as vehicles of identity, values, and meaning that transcend their commercial value. The Convention is an exemplary tool for governments facing pressure to loosen restrictions in the cultural sector, whether it comes from the World Trade Organization (WTO) or from other parties during bilateral or multilateral negotiations.
• The Convention creates an innovative cooperation platform, notably through the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), with the objective of favoring the emergence of thriving cultural sectors in developing countries. It serves as a driver of cooperation for sustainable development and a tool to combat poverty.
• The Convention reaffirms the importance of the connection between culture and development. In this sense, it supports actions carried out nationally and internationally and provides genuine recognition of this vital link. The Convention parties are encouraged to integrate culture in their policy, national development plans, and international cooperation strategies.

It is critical that the Convention be ratified by as many parties as possible, from every region of the world. Currently, Asia-Pacific and Arab states are underrepresented. As more states become parties to the Convention, it will exert greater influence in international law. Therefore, states that are party to the Convention and civil society actors must continue their work to encourage the ratification of the Convention and boost visibility by promoting it in international forums.

The Expert Facility was founded in 2011 as part of a European Union–funded project to strengthen the system of governance for culture in developing countries. At the beginning it comprised 30 high-level international experts on cultural policy, governance, and industry, drawn from 24 countries. The Facility exists to support developing countries through technical assistance missions to strengthen their human and institutional capacities as well as their cultural governance systems.

It was reformed in 2015 to enhance its ability to support capacity-building initiatives in countries implementing the Convention. A call for expressions of interest was launched and a new, more geographically diverse, gender-balanced group of 43 experts selected, representing a broader range of fields.

The Expert Facility can be sought out for various interventions, including workshops, advisory technical assistance, short- and long-term capacity building missions, monitoring, or coaching.

Five Canadians are members of the Facility, including Véronique Guèvremont, a professor at Université Laval’s Faculty of Law, holder of the UNESCO Chair on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and co-founder of the International Network of Lawyers for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and Charles Vallerand, former executive director of the Canadian Coalition for Cultural Diversity (to June 2016).

Conference of Parties

The Conference of Parties is made up of all Parties to the Convention. It is the plenary and supreme body of the Convention and meets in ordinary session every two years. Its functions include the following:

• Electing the members of the Intergovernmental Committee
• Receiving and examining reports from Parties to the Convention disseminated by the Intergovernmental Committee
• Approving the operational guidelines prepared at its request by the Intergovernmental Committee
• Taking any other measure it may deem necessary to further the objectives of the Convention

Intergovernmental Committee

The Intergovernmental Committee is made up of 24 Parties to the Convention elected for a term of four years. The Committee operates under the authority of the Conference of Parties and is accountable to it. It meets each year in December. The Committee’s main duties are the following:

• Promote the objectives of the Convention and encourage and monitor its implementation
• Prepare and submit for approval to the Conference of Parties, upon its request, operational guidelines for the implementation and application of Convention provisions
• Submit reports from Parties to the Convention, together with its observations and a summary of their content, to the Conference of Parties
• Make suitable recommendations for situations brought to the attention of the Parties to the Convention
• Establish procedures and other consultation tools to promote Convention objectives and principles in other international forums
• Perform any other task it may be assigned by the Conference of Parties

Convention Secretariat

The Secretariat assists the Convention bodies. It prepares the documentation of the Conference of Parties and the Intergovernmental Committee, as well as draft agendas of their meetings and helps with and reports on the implementation of their decisions.

Cooperation is one of the founding principles of the 2005 Convention. Many articles make reference to cooperation and provide specific courses of action:

• Emergency assistance
  Article 8 of the 2005 Convention makes references to measures to protect cultural expressions that are at risk of extinction, under serious threat, or otherwise in need of urgent safeguarding.
• International and regional cooperation
  Article 12 states that the Parties must endeavor to strengthen their bilateral, regional, and international cooperation for the creation of conditions conducive to the promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. According to Article 10, such cooperation is achieved through educational and greater public awareness programs. In order for the Convention to be implemented effectively, the Parties must endeavor to provide financial contributions on a regular basis, as mentioned in articles 14 and 18.
• Development assistance
  Specific cooperation objectives are included in the 2005 Convention for collaboration in developing countries. The International Fund for Cultural Diversity (provided for in Article 14) aims to support cooperation for sustainable development and poverty reduction, especially in relation to the specific needs of developing countries, in order to foster the emergence of a dynamic cultural sector, including by strengthening capacities through the exchange of information, experience, and expertise as well as the training of human resources in developing countries; and by transferring technology and know-how through the introduction of appropriate incentive measures through financial support. Article 15 also promotes cooperation with developing countries in the enhancement of their capacities in the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. In this spirit, developed countries must facilitate cultural exchanges with developing countries by granting, through the appropriate institutional and legal frameworks, preferential treatment to artists and other cultural professionals (according to Article 16).
• Exchange of information
  The challenge in many countries is documenting the cultural sector. One of the cooperation objectives set forth in the 2005 Convention is exchanging statistical information and expertise on the diversity of cultural expressions (according to Article 19).

An operational guideline is a tool available to the State Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions to clarify, explain, supplement, and facilitate the understanding of an article or a provision of the Convention, especially when the text of the Convention is vague or not explicitly defined.

Operational guidelines help guide the Parties in implementing articles or provisions of the Convention by defining the terms in a concrete manner. For example, the operational guideline on Article 9 provides a framework for the quadrennial periodic reports that Parties must submit to the UNESCO Secretariat four years after having deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, and every four years thereafter.

The Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity was adopted by UNESCO on November 2, 2001, following the events of September 11, 2001. This statement was an opportunity

In December 2002, the UN General Assembly declared May 21 World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development. The purpose of this day is to deepen understanding of the values of cultural diversity to learn how to better “live together.” Every year UNESCO invites Member States and civil society to celebrate this day.