Photo © Cyril Bailleul/Unesco

From June 6 to 8, the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD) took part in the Conference of the Parties at UNESCO. The IFCCD put forward its priorities, including the need to improve mechanisms for civil society participation in the work of the 2005 Convention, to increase implementation of Article 16 on preferential treatment, as well as funding for the IFCD and the urgent need for action in the digital environment. The IFCCD was represented by a large delegation of seven members:

• Guillaume Prieur of the French Coalition for Cultural Diversity
• Mahamadou Adamou of the Niger Coalition for Cultural Diversity
• Alejandra Diaz of the Paraguayan Coalition for Cultural Diversity
• Holly Aylett of the UK Coalition for Cultural Diversity (UKCCD)
• Beat Santschi, Swiss Coalition for Cultural Diversity
• Kodjo Cyriaque Noussouglo, Togolese Coalition for Cultural Diversity
• Bill Skolnik, Coalition for the Diversity of Cultural Expressions

Read all IFCCD speeches.

“The IFCCD represents a wide variety of cultural players: creators, artists, producers, broadcasters and institutions from all regions of the world. We are a forum for dialogue, bringing together multiple voices and encouraging the participation of a wide range of players in the work of the Convention”, said IFCCD President Guillaume Prieur, inviting the Parties to ensure that collaboration with civil society is enhanced by strengthening existing mechanisms, rather than by dispersing the initiatives and resources of the Secretariat and the National Commissions.

The IFCCD also welcomes the announcement of the creation of a committee of international experts whose mission will be to conduct an in-depth reflection on the implementation of the Convention in the digital environment, with the first meeting to be held in Quebec City, Canada, in the spring of 2024.

The themes identified as priorities for this group of experts include:

• promoting the linguistic diversity of cultural content;
• the discoverability of national and local cultural content;
• the importance of increased and meaningful transparency of digital platforms around cultural issues (notably artistic freedom); and
• the impact of artificial intelligence on the diversity of cultural expression.

Based in Quebec, the IFCCD will ensure that civil society can contribute to this event and these reflections.

Finally, the IFCCD congratulates the Parties who have just been elected to the Intergovernmental Committee of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions for a four-year term, and intends to remain active during this period.