Tenth session of the Conference of Parties
The tenth session of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions will be held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 18 to 20 June 2025.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention, the Conference of Parties will bring together 157 States Parties and the European Union to assess progress made in its implementation and chart the future course for action. Parties will examine key reports on the activities of the Committee and the Secretariat as well as quadrennial periodic reports, assess the implementation of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity, including its third evaluation, and discuss the implementation of the recommendations from the Reflection Groups on the digital environment and preferential treatment for developing countries.
Furthermore, the Conference of Parties is expected to set the strategic orientations that will determine the future activities of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions for the 2026-2027 period. During this session, it will also elect 12 new Committee members and decide on its revised Rules of Procedure. Finally, strengthening collaboration with the civil society stakeholders of the Convention will be a key topic, with the fifth edition of the Civil Society Forum scheduled to take place on 17 June 2025 prior to the opening of the Conference of Parties.
Registration for the Tenth Session of the Conference of Parties
Working Documents
Information Documents
Participation of civil society
1. Participation of civil society organisations in the tenth session of the Conference of Parties
In accordance with Rule 2.3 of the Rules of Procedure of the Conference of Parties, intergovernmental organizations and 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 Conference of Parties, are asked to submit a written request to the Director-General of UNESCO. Only NGOs which meet the criteria outlined in 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 .
2. Civil Society Forum (17 June 2025)
In accordance with Decision of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the fifth edition of the Civil Society Forum will be held prior the tenth session of the Conference of Parties, on 17 June 2025. The Civil Society Forum provides a framework for exchange and cooperation among CSOs and strengthens their contributions to the work of the governing bodies. Its main goals are to enable representatives of CSOs to examine their current concerns and discuss issues related to the implementation of the Convention and to allow them to make proposals to the Conference of the Parties on issues or problems that they consider to be priorities and that they would like to see reflected in the work of the Convention’s governing bodies.
The fifth edition of the Civil Society Forum will be held in hybrid format on 17 June 2025, prior to the opening of the Conference of the Parties.