Address by the Minister of Education of South Africa, Naledi Pandor MP, at Francophone Africa ambassadors dinner on the UNESCO Cultural Convention, Paris, 17 October 2007

Your Excellencies and distinguished guests

Together with the rest of the developing world, South Africa applauded the coming into force of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions on 20 March 2007.

Professor Kader Asmal - who chaired the three intergovernmental Committee meetings of experts that lead to the adoption of the draft Convention - called the draft Convention a “cultural peace treaty”.

In his view - and it is mine as well - the Convention will result in a growth of dignity and self-confidence for both individuals and communities, a genuine co-operation between states, and open new horizons for millions of people.

We hope that the forthcoming Intergovernmental Committee meeting in Canada will shape these new and bright horizons.

The UNESCO convention is a historic achievement. It recognizes, for the first time, the distinctive nature of cultural goods and services. It affirms, for the first time, a government’s right to apply policies to ensure their citizens have access to locally created culture.

That is its most important provision. Not global culture, but culture created by local communities for themselves.

We also hope that all countries will ratify the convention “with all speed”.

The larger the number of parties to the Convention, the more easily the Convention will settle into international law.

One of the strongest outcomes of the Convention is its promotion of culture as central to sustainable development.

The approval of this important international convention, which seeks to protect and promote cultural diversity, is a milestone in the long-running fight to preserve the world’s cultural richness.

UNESCO notes that 5 in 10 of the world’s languages are in danger of extinction and that 9 in 10 are not on the Internet.

In addition, five countries monopolize the world cultural industries. In the field of cinema, for instance, 88 countries have never had their own film productions.

Besides promoting diversity in those areas, the Convention seeks to reaffirm the links between culture and development and to create a platform for international cooperation.

It does this by creating an International Fund for Cultural Diversity.

This is an important reason for African countries to ratify the Convention. The fund is intended to support initiatives by developing countries to nurture the emergence of domestic book, film, television, live performance, visual arts and new media sectors.

As you are aware, the Intergovernmental Committee meeting on the Convention in Canada in December 2007 will determine the operational guidelines of the Fund.

It is imperative that international cooperation between state parties be strengthened and maximized at all levels.

The International Fund for Cultural Diversity will address issues of disparity within the cultural environment globally.

The Fund should be responsive and be utilized to enhance South- South, North-South, as well as regional cooperation.

It should focus on:

• funding projects that contribute to long term capacity building and institutional infrastructure for cultural policies.

• projects and programmes that promote and protect the diversity of cultural expressions, especially threatened and vulnerable cultural expressions.

The Fund should be accessible to all its intended beneficiaries.

In addition, its provisions should also call for periodic reports on actual results and achievements.

The process for administering the International Fund for Cultural Diversity should remain simple, effective, and low-cost to ensure that maximum resources are directed to the projects submitted.

The Intergovernmental Committee should also have a plan of action consistent with tangible deliverables to be achieved within the cycle of their tenure.

When the Intergovernmental Committee reports back to the Conference of Parties, it must do so by clearly indicating the progress it has made in its work, and also indicate where there have been challenges and obstacles to its work.

The success of the Intergovernmental Committee is dependent on total commitment, dedication, and the hard work of the members. We are confident that the elected members will rise to the occasion.

In concluding, I would again to encourage African to ratify the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.