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UNESCO’s current main priorities in communication, information and culture

Distripress Council Meeting Paris, March 12, 2007 Abdul Waheed KhanAssistant Director-General for Communication and InformationUNESCO

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Content

• Global Context

• Communication and Information in UNESCO

• UNESCO, Cultural Diversity and the Cultural Industries

• UNESCO and the Florence Agreement

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Knowledge Societies

Opportunities• Information and communication efficiency creates sustainable

economic growth, higher standard of living

• More democratic participation, freedom of expression, transparency

• Better participation in more diverse knowledge, education and culture

Threats• Growing dependency on ICT infrastructure

• Loss of cultural diversity, indigenous knowledge

• Data protection, privacy, censorship

• Ecology: computer waste, energy consumption

• Digital/knowledge divide: broadening inequalities

– might create global, civil conflicts

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Knowledge Societies

Human Needs and Rights

Knowledge Societies

Pluralism

Human Needs and RightsHuman Needs and Rights

Knowledge SocietiesKnowledge Societies

PluralismPluralism

Knowledge

Creation Dissemination UtilizationPreservation

Knowledge Knowledge Knowledge

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The Digital/Knowledge Divide

• Digital divide– lacking access to digital technologies deprives of

their opportunities for development, deepens inequalities

– Northern/Southern hemisphere, urban/rural, rich/poor, men/women, young/old, disabled

• Knowledge divide– developing countries also lack education, scientific

information, free media– reduction of Information Revolution to technology

and commerce, commoditization of knowledge, strong IPR protection by developed countries further disadvantage developing countries

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The Digital / Knowledge Divide

Lack of knowledge Poverty

MarginalizationExclusion

KnowledgeProsperityGlobalizationInclusion Knowledge Divide or Digital Divide

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UNESCO’s mandate and function

UNESCO’s mandate related to CI:Promote the free flow of ideas by word and image

Maintain, increase and diffuse knowledge

Laboratory of ideas

Standard-setter

Clearinghouse

Catalyst for international cooperation

Capacity builder

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UNESCO Priorities 2006-2007

• Empowering people through access to information and knowledge with special emphasis on freedom of expression

• Promoting communication development and ICTs for education, science and culture

*Programme and Budget 2006-2007 33 C/5http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001449/144964e.pdf

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Freedom of expression

• World Press Freedom Day and UNESCO/Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize – Raising awareness of freedom of expression

• Assisting media in open and post conflict situations

• Capacity building of media professionals

• Creation of structural stability

• Media laws

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• Communication media (print media pluralism, community media, Public Service Broadcasting, News agencies and services, ICT convergence and enhancing investigative capacity of media)

• Local content and linguistic diversity (production, dissemination and policy)

• Digital preservation of media heritage

• Capacity building (training, development of training modules, empowerment, media literacy)

• Community Access (development of access models, piloting and scaling up CMC, research and experience sharing, advocacy for enabling environment)

Communication Development

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Information Society

• Empower– Training of information specialists– Empowerment of youth, people with disabilities and gender mainstreaming– Information literacy– ICT-enabled learning

• Access– Public domain information– Information literacy– Multilingualism– Information management tools

• Share– Digital libraries– Open content– Open-access and collaborative networks

• Preserve– Archives– Libraries– Memory of the World

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Cultural Diversity

UNESCO Constitution• UNESCO’s specific institutional mandate within the

United Nations system: “…with a view to preserving and promoting the fruitful diversity of cultures”

UNESCO Medium Term Strategy for 2002-2007 • Strategic Objective 8: “Safeguarding cultural diversity

and encouraging dialogue among cultures and civilizations”

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Cultural Diversity

UNESCO actions on cultural diversity

At the Executive Board’s 166th session (spring 2003), the Member States deemed it advisable to elaborate a binding normative instrument on cultural diversity. Four options were proposed:

(a) a new comprehensive instrument on cultural rights (b) an instrument on the status of the artist, (c) a new Protocol to the Florence Agreement, (d) a new instrument on the protection of the diversity of cultural contents and artistic expressions.

This last option was adopted upon recommendation of the Executive Board.

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Main normative instruments in favour of cultural diversity

Conventions and Agreements • 2005 - Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions • 2003 - Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage • 2001 - Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage • 1972 - Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage • 1970 - Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and

Transfer of Cultural Property • 1954 - Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict • 1952 - Universal Copyright Convention • 1950 - Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials

("Florence Agreement") and its Nairobi Protocol of 1976

Recommendations• 2003 - Recommendation concerning the Promotion and Use of Multilingualism and

Universal Access to Cyberspace  • 1989 - Recommendation on the Safeguarding of Traditional Culture and Folklore • 1980 - Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist

Declarations• 2001 - UNESCO Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity • 1978 - Declaration on Race and Racial Prejudice • 1966 - Declaration of the Principles of International Cultural Co-operation

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Cultural Goods

World imports of cultural goods (in millions of dollars), 1980-1998

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Florence Agreement

Current context

– 3 countries have ratified Florence Agreement in last two years (99 total)

– Continued relevance for member states that have ratified the agreement but are not members of WTO

– Lack of implementation

– Violations from signatory states

– Reduction of customs duties on cultural goods is far from being achieved

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Recent Ratifications

Countries that have ratified the Florence Agreement in the last 2 years

• Kyrgyzstan 19/07/2005 Acceptance (97)

• Liberia 16/09/2005 Acceptance (98)

• Montenegro 23/10/2006 Notification of succession (99)

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Challenges to Florence Agreement

Challenges

– Balanced and relatively equitable exchange

– From Consumer to Citizen

– Application of Florence Agreement faces challenges in a context of progressive reduction of tariff barriers where most international trade of cultural products (such as magazines and newspapers) does not go through customs

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Florence Agreement

UNESCO Actions to Promote Florence Agreement

• Production and distribution of Arabic version of guide to the operation of Florence Agreement and its Protocol

• Cooperated with Regional Center for the Development of Books in Latin America and the Caribbean (CERLALC) to disseminate Florence Agreement and to analyze its implementation in the region

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Way Forward

Way Forward• We must continue to promote the spirit of de-taxation

of cultural goods, as a means of promoting both knowledge societies and cultural diversity

• UNESCO will continue to fulfill its mandate to promote the free flow of ideas and cultural diversity

• UNESCO welcomes and supports campaigns to strengthen the Florence Agreement and its Protocol

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Abdul Waheed KhanAssistant Director-General for

Communication and InformationUNESCO

aw.khan@unesco.org www.unesco.org/webworld