Introduction
1. Document DCE/21/14.IGC/14 presents to the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (hereinafter “the Committee”) a concept note for the establishment of an assistance programme for the implementation of the Convention in the digital environment.
2. This programme proposal was requested by the Committee at its thirteenth session (February 2020) in order to implement the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (hereinafter “the Convention”) in the digital environment through peer learning, information-sharing and advocacy initiatives, in particular among policymakers in developing countries, if voluntary contributions were identified (Decision 13.IGC 7).
II. Background
3. The Parties initiated a process for dialogue, reflection and defining common priorities for the implementation of the Convention in the digital environment in 2013 (DCE/13/7.IGC/13). This process led to the adoption of the Operational Guidelines on the Implementation of the Convention in the Digital Environment in June 2017 (hereinafter “the Operational Guidelines”) (Resolution 6.CP 11). At its eleventh session, the Committee stressed that Parties needed more specific guidance in order to implement these Operational Guidelines. It therefore invited the Secretariat to develop an open roadmap in this regard, including examples of good practices (Decision 11.IGC 5).
4. This open roadmap, which proposes five outputs and twenty benchmark activities, was examined by the Committee at the twelfth session in December 2018 (DCE/18/12.IGC/9) and approved by the Conference of Parties in June 2019 (Resolution 7.CP 13).
5. On that occasion the Conference of Parties invited Parties to draw on the open roadmap in developing national roadmaps according to their needs and resources (Resolution 7.CP 13). The main objective of the national roadmaps is to provide state actors with a framework in which to design and implement regulatory or legislative measures for the effective promotion and protection of the diversity of cultural expressions in the digital environment.
6. The outputs proposed in the Open Roadmap to guide Parties in drawing up their national roadmaps are as follows:
• regulatory frameworks, cultural policies and measures are designed or revised to meet the challenges of the digital environment in an informed and participatory manner;
• policies and measures support digital creativity, enterprises and markets to ensure a diverse digital ecosystem;
• international agreements promote the balanced flow of cultural goods and services and promote equality between countries in the digital environment;
• digital literacy, skills, and competences are reinforced;
• human rights and fundamental freedoms are promoted in the digital environment.
7. A four-step process is proposed for developing the national roadmaps:
• conduct a mapping, an audit and/or an analysis to identify the needs and challenges faced by the cultural and creative industries in the digital environment;
• set up a multipartite, multisectoral team and hold consultations at the national and/or other levels (state, regional, local, etc.);
• strengthen human and institutional capacity among professionals working in the digital environment as a cross-cutting exercise;
• develop and revise legislation, measures and strategies for the implementation of the Convention in the digital environment.
8. In order to develop and implement their national roadmaps in a transparent, participatory and inclusive manner, Parties were invited to cooperate with various stakeholders at each step of the process, including professionals working in cultural and creative industries and other civil society actors such as culture professionals and artists.
9. At its thirteenth session, the Committee took note of an initial status report on the national roadmaps following a consultation carried out by the Secretariat in autumn 2019 which received eighteen responses. The low rate of participation in the consultation suggested that few Parties had begun to develop their national roadmaps. Faced with this finding, the Committee requested the Secretariat to establish an assistance programme dedicated to the implementation of the Convention in the digital environment (Decision 13.IGC 7).
10. A concept note for the establishment of this programme is presented in the Annex to this document. Its roll-out is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions. Depending, on the Committee’s decisions and on the resolutions of the Conference of Parties regarding any potential update or revision to the Guidelines on the use of the resources of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity, voluntary contributions relating to this programme could in future be paid into the Fund, under Article 18.5 of the Convention.
