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UNESCO strengthens capacities to rebalance international cultural exchanges
According to the UNESCO 2022 global report , 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.
In order to address this imbalance, the Article 16 of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions calls for the provision of privileged access for developing countries in international cultural exchanges, and is binding for developed countries that ratified the legal framework.
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.
This provision requires developed countries to offer more favourable treatment to cultural goods and services, as well as to artists and cultural professionals from developing countries, without conditions of reciprocity. However, the Article remains rarely applied and little understood.
To facilitate the implementation of preferential treatment, UNESCO organised eight online sessions between October 2023 and May 2024. The training brought together a total of more than 140 representatives from 75 countries, mainly from Ministries of Culture. Tailored to specific sub-regional contexts, each session broadened participants’ knowledge on preferential treatment and its technical specificities. The beneficiaries were able to better identify the current challenges, but also share best practices through open discussions. The need to facilitate access to information on existing practices and to build the capacity of trade negotiators emerged as a key recommendation.
Toussaint Tiendrebeogo, Secretary of the UNESCO 2005 Convention, said “Article 16 appears to be a concrete tool to rebalance the dynamics. It is however a complex legal provision, which requires in-depth understanding. Our training were an important steps to raise awareness among diverse stakeholders and sensitized them about their respective roles and responsibilities.”
Article 16 appears to be a concrete tool to rebalance the dynamics. It is however a complex legal provision, which requires in-depth understanding. Our training were an important steps to raise awareness among diverse stakeholders and sensitized them about their respective roles and responsibilities.
The dissemination of knowledge and the promotion of the principles of Article 16 were welcomed by a large majority of participants, who called for this type of initiative to be replicated. In addition, the representative of the Madagascan Ministry of Culture also stressed that "the specific examples of actions undertaken to implement preferential treatment measures in other countries were very inspiring".
The training represents the ongoing commitment of UNESCO and the governing bodies of the 2005 Convention to make preferential treatment a strategic priority. At its seventeenth session in February 2024, the Intergovernmental Committee decided to establish a reflection group on preferential treatment. This group will formulate strategic orientations to encourage the development of preferential treatment measures between the Parties to the Convention and enhance cooperation.
This series of training courses has been made possible thanks to the support of the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals, generously funded by the Kingdom of Norway.
