14IGCs

Fourteenth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee

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The fourteenth session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions was held online from 1 to 5 February 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on cultural and creative industries. Around the world, lockdown measures have significantly affected the livelihoods of artists and cultural professionals, while reducing cultural production and access to a diverse range of cultural expressions. In this context, and in that of the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, which was declared by the United Nations General Assembly, the Committee considered major issues related to the Convention that have been brought to the forefront by the COVID-19 pandemic: the status of artists and cultural professionals, the protection of the diversity of cultural expressions in the digital environment and preferential treatment for cultural goods and services. The Committee also approved six projects for financing by the International Fund for Cultural Diversity in the framework of its 11th call for applications, and reflected on the current and future functioning of this fundamental mechanism to implement the Convention. The fourteenth session of the Committee also examined a preliminary analysis of the conclusions of the ResiliArt movement, launched by UNESCO on 15 April 2020 to sound the alarm on the impact of the global health crisis on the cultural and creative sector, and now embraced by more than 100 countries from all regions of the world

Working and Information Documents

List of participants

List of participants
DCE/21/14.IGC/INF.2REV

English/ç

Decisions

Participation of civil society

In accordance with Rule 7.4 of the  and its , nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) having interests and activities in the field covered by the Convention who wish to participate as observers to a session or all sessions of the Committee, are asked to submit a written request to the Director-General of UNESCO. Only NGOs which meet the criteria provided by the  to the operational guidelines of Article 11 (Role and participation of civil society) are eligible. The request must be accompanied by the documents mentioned in paragraph 2 of the .

At its ninth session, the Committee requested the Secretariat to organize a working session between civil society representatives and the Bureau prior to the opening of the meetings of the governing bodies in order to address, inter alia, specific issues of importance to civil society (Decision 9.IGC 9). This year, the meeting between civil society representatives and the Bureau was held online, on 29 January 2021, from 12.30 to 2.30pm. 

List of participants (EN/FR)

Practical information concerning the online meeting

A. Registration

All participants, delegates, observers and those wishing to attend the fourteenth session of the Committee are strongly advised to register no later than 28 January 2021. This is to allow enough time to process all the relevant information and to ensure that all online arrangements are in place before the opening of the session. Please complete the online registration form at the following address: 

Participants without an active connection to the meeting allowing them to take the floor (see "Active Participants" below for more information) will be able to follow the session via an online webcast. 

 

B. Modalities of the online meeting

The fourteenth session of the Committee will take place online on the Zoom platform and will be webcast via a link that will be available on the Convention’s website (Fourteenth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee | Diversity of Cultural Expressions (unesco.org)

Technical setup and troubleshooting 

It is suggested that participants check their technical setup in advance in order to ensure an optimal meeting experience. In this regard, participants should:

  • Join the meeting on a laptop of desktop computer (not a phone or a tablet).
  • Favour a wired connection to the Internet.
  • Use a headset with a microphone, if possible.
  • Download Zoom (free) in advance of the meeting through the Zoom Download Centre at: .
  • Login 60 minutes in advance on the first day of the meeting. 

When you first join the meeting, you should click on “Test Speaker and Microphone” and follow the instructions. Once you have joined the meeting, you will be in the “Waiting Room/Lobby” until you are let into the meeting by the host. Please note this may take some time on the first day of the meeting due to the number of participants.

You need to accept “Access the Microphone” and “Access the Camera.” The microphone and video, which can be found in the bottom left corner are ‘on’ when there is no red line over them. Participants’ microphones should be kept on mute at all times except when invited by the Chairperson to take the floor.

If you encounter technical difficulties during the meeting, it is suggested that you first try exiting and re-entering the meeting or try connecting from a different browser. 

You may also contact the help desk: 

 

Active participants 

The Zoom platform can accommodate up to 500 active participants. Active participants may take the floor during the debate and intervene using camera/audio. All other participants may follow the online webcast via a link available on the event webpage. Each State Party is guaranteed two active connection, with Committee Members receiving three. Intergovernmental and civil society organizations invited to participate in the session will receive one active connection per organization and each Category 2 Centre and UNESCO Chair will receive one active connection. Additional connections may be provided upon request and depending on availability.

 

Naming of speakers 

All participants are required by the system to name themselves when they enter the meeting. It is suggested that participants use the format below for their names so that they can be easily be identified by the Chairperson: 

  • If you represent a Committee member:
    CM-Country (Last name of the representative)
  • If you represent a State Party that is not a member of the Committee:
    P-Country (Last name of the representative)
  • If you represent a State not Party to the Convention:
    NP-Country (Last name of the representative)
  • If you represent an intergovernmental organisation:
    IGO-Name of the organisation (Last name of the representative)
  • If you represent an NGO:
    NGO-Name of the organisation (Last name of the representative)
  • If you represent a Category 2 Centre:
    C2C-Centre name (Last name of the representative)
  • If you represent a UNESCO Chair:
    UNESCO Chair - Name of the Chair (Last name of the representative)

 

Taking the floor 

Participants who have an active connection are able to request to take the floor by pressing the “raise hand” button, which will display a blue hand beside the participant’s name. This button can be found at the bottom of the list of participants.

Once the blue hand is raised, it will signal to the Chairperson that the participant would like to take the floor and they will be added to the list of speakers. When the Chairperson calls on a participant to take the floor, they should unmute their microphone using the microphone button in the bottom right corner. Ideally, as long as the internet connection allows, participants should also use their video. After the participant has finished their intervention, they should put their microphone on mute again to avoid background noise.

 

Chat box

The chat box is located in the bottom right hand corner of your screen. It can be used to signal a technical problem to the Secretariat. It can also be used by participants wishing to raise a point of order. In this case, the participant should raise their hand to indicate that they wish to speak and type "Point of order" in the chat box. The discussion window should not be used to submit amendments. Amendments should be sent by Committee Members via e-mail to convention2005@unesco.org