Open letter to Obama regarding Convention on Cultural Diversity
by Chantal Gras
Henri Benkoski – a Belgian government expert on cultural diversity – has addressed a judicious open letter to Barack Obama. Published in Belgian daily Le Soir, the letter calls on the US president to subscribe to the Convention and create a Ministry of Cultural Affairs, in order to reduce the divisions between North and South, between Anglo-Saxon and other cultures.
This year will indeed be crucial for the concrete implementation of the UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity, which will enable signatory states to manage specific policies to defend their culture and set up the new specific regime for cultural goods in the global commercial system.
In June, the Conference of Parties (general meeting of the signatory states) should set out the main, concrete guidelines. Otherwise, it will be postponed until 2011, and not without problems. For in the interim period, the policies for cultural grants will continue to be analysed critically by the OMC as part of a five-year “exemption” framework for the European audiovisual industry, which expires in 2010.
One of the fundamental objectives remains “preferential treatment” (Article 16) for less developed countries. This could conflict with OMC regulations that reject preferential commercial treatment. Consequently, numerous countries are currently signing increasing numbers of bilateral agreements that are sometimes contrary to the spirit of the Convention (in particular the US, who refused to adopt it).
There is still some uncertainty about the fund intended for southern countries, which is financed on a voluntary basis by signatory states. Southern countries have recommended that the fund be used for the promotion and distribution of works rather than their already prolific production.
Concurrently to this detailed statutory work, the ratification of the Convention continues at a slow senatorial pace: 95 countries out of 148 have ratified it (including barely 15 last year). Arab countries, English-speaking Africa and Asia are still under-represented. On the European side, the Czech Republic has yet to sign, as have Holland and Belgium (the Flemish Community). Some are starting to wonder whether this may be a sign of reticence from Dutch-speakers.
The US – fiercely opposed because the entertainment sector is the flagship of its commercial business – remains a significant opponent of both the OMC and UNESCO. But this could change. The US economy is undergoing an unprecedented crisis and even their audiovisual industry is feeling the effects. Piracy and the screenwriters strike are part of a growing number of worrying signs for major studios.
(Translated from French)
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