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Re|Shaping Cultural Policies in South Sudan
UNESCO and the European Union are supporting the Ministry of Culture, Museums and Natural Heritage in South Sudan with the development of the cultural and creative industries sector through two new activities, which were launched in a three-day workshop in Juba with national stakeholders from 26 to 28 August 2020 and organized by the UNESCO Office in Juba. The complementary projects are bringing together key actors in the cultural and creative industries (CCIs) in South Sudan as a national team to participate in the national review of policies and measures to support the CCIs as well as in the development of a national copyright policy to support the CCIs.
Mr. Kuac Wek, Undersecretary at the South Sudan Ministry of Culture, Museums and National Heritage opened the workshop and advocated for the development of a strong framework to strengthen the CCIs by ensuring direct benefits to artists. Mr. Edward Sigei, an international expert from African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (), participated in the three-day workshop through video-conference to advise the national team on the design of the copyright policy governing the country’s cultural and creative industries.
As a signatory to the UNESCO 2005 , South Sudan is required to submit to UNESCO every four years a report on its national implementation of the Convention. The report highlights policies and measures taken to support the CCIs, challenges, opportunities and best practices carried out by both government and non-state actors. The reporting process is a useful means to promote dialogue between government and actors in the CCIs and to establish a roadmap for priority interventions over the next four years. The results of South Sudan’s report will be included in “Re|Shaping Cultural Policies”, which provides an overview on the status of the four goals of the 2005 Convention (1: Sustainable systems of governance; 2: Balanced flow of goods and Services; 3: Integrating Culture into Sustainable Development Frameworks; and 4: Promoting Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) along with findings and recommendations. South Sudan’s national team will therefore work together to prepare a report that highlights accomplishments, challenges and opportunities for the CCIs in South Sudan that can also offer a road map for the National Culture Policy.
South Sudan is one of dozen countries benefitting from a new EU/UNESCO capacity building programme entitled “.” The programme aims to support developing countries with: the development of regulatory frameworks (laws, strategies, policies and measures) for the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCIs), including intellectual property rights related to CCIs; strengthen skills and capacities to support long-term cultural policy development and implementation that support the CCIs; and create peer-to-peer mechanisms to strengthen institutional capacities for the CCIs through South-South cooperation activities. The EU/UNESCO in South Sudan is supporting the development of a national copyright policy for the CCIs. The project will also support nation building efforts as well as capacity building of its national authorities through ensuring that the copyright policy is created in a participatory manner.
For more information on the UNESCO 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, please see:
