UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals
Supporting artistic freedom and the status of the artist around the globe
The UNESCO-Aschberg Programme operates through a three-pronged approach in the promotion of artistic freedom and the status of the artist worldwide, with a specific attention to countries in the Global South, Africa and Small Island Developing States:
- Research, advocacy and monitoring: The Programme supports research to inform policies, high-level advocacy mobilizing key partners, and monitoring of the situation of artists and cultural professionals worldwide, including in emergency situations;
- Capacity building: The Programme facilitates trainings, workshops, and the development of methodologies and tools to support artists and cultural professionals, notably in cooperation with key partners, such as the International Labour Organization;
- On-demand technical and financial assistance: The Programme provides expertise as well as financial assistance to governments and civil society organizations to protect and promote artistic freedom and the status of the artist through dedicated call for projects. To read more about the latest call for projects opened under the Programme, click here.
Protecting artists and creativity in emergency situations
Rising conflicts and other multi-faceted crises that exacerbate threats and attacks on artists worldwide are calling for a more systematic engagement of UNESCO in humanitarian responses, and for the recognition of artists as a vulnerable group in need for priority humanitarian assistance in emergency situations. Thanks to the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme, the Organization is playing a greater role in international monitoring of the situation of artists in crisis-affected countries, and helps design tailored emergency assistance mechanisms based on local contexts and needs. To do this, 91Â鶹¹ú²ú¾«Æ·×ÔÅÄ significantly strengthened its cooperation with specialized NGOs such as Artists at Risk Connection, the Finnish NGO Artists at Risk, Freemuse, PEN International, Action for Hope and Safe Havens Freedom Talks, as well as with sister UN entities such as the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights).
The Programme promotes a comprehensive strategy for the protection of creativity in emergency contexts organized around three dimensions:
- Supporting artists and cultural professionals to enable them to continue working, notably through emergency assistance and relocation opportunities facilitated in collaboration with partner host institutions worldwide;
- Safeguarding cultural spaces to allow continued access to culture and the protection of civilians’ cultural rights;
- Protection of contemporary art works from harm or destruction.
In times of pain, in times of struggle, that is exactly when we need art the most, because it helps us stay alive, process our pain, and deal with our trauma… it gives us language for it, it gives us pictures for it, it gives us melodies to it. We must protect the rights of artists, promote them and support them, and ensure that they can continue to thrive and create freely… because art is not a luxury, it is a basic human necessity.
Map of projects
Promoting equitable access to international markets and mobility
Fostering equitable access to global markets for cultural goods and services, as well as facilitating transborder mobility of artists and cultural professionals is also a critical dimension of supporting their status while also promoting balanced cultural exchanges. Yet, according to the , trade from least developed countries makes up less than 0.5% of global exchanges of cultural goods, whereas the Global North dominates 95% of total exports of cultural services. Artistic exchanges also remain unequal, with freedom of movement varying depending on the country of citizenship and on access to funding, projects and programmes that encourage mobility. The UNESCO-Aschberg Programme thus supports national policies and measures to facilitate a balanced flow of cultural goods and services and promote the mobility of artists and cultural professionals from the Global South. This work stems from Article 16 of the UNESCO 2005 Convention, which focuses on preferential treatment for developing countries and represents one of the most binding commitments in this normative instrument. Since it requires developed countries to facilitate cultural exchanges with developing countries, this obligation is key to the system of international cooperation set up under the Convention and to internationally promote the work of artists from the Global South.
Developed countries shall facilitate cultural exchanges with developing countries by granting, through the appropriate institutional and legal frameworks, preferential treatment to artists and other cultural professionals and practitioners, as well as cultural goods and services from developing countries.
Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche x Rossy de Palma
Contact
For additional information, please contact: aschberg[@]unesco.org
News
Based on the results of the fifth global consultation on the Recommendation’s implementation that was carried out between July 2022 and January 2023, this report provides an essential overview of the living and working conditions of artists and cultural professionals worldwide.
