Canada Reaffirms Its Commitment to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions

On December 13, 2016, the Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Canadian Heritage, announced a contribution of $100,000 to UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity to promote cultural projects in developing countries. This announcement reaffirms Canada’s commitment to and leadership in implementing the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

The Fund, consisting of voluntary contributions from member states, is intended to finance projects and initiatives that promote international cooperation in the cultural sector.

Minister Joly made the announcement following her participation in a UNESCO ministerial panel discussion on “Re-shaping digital policies for development,” a topic of interest, as the Government of Canada recently concluded public consultations across the country on Canadian content in a digital world. As part of the consultations, Canadians were invited to share their views on how to strengthen the creation, discovery and export of Canadian digital content. A report on the consultations is expected to be available by the end of January. 

The discussions as part of the panel reinforced the need for a global digital conversation with governments, the private sector, and creators and consumers, because the digital world knows no boundaries.

Minister Joly has working meetings in Europe planned over the coming days to discuss issues related to arts and culture with various stakeholders, including cultural organizations and Canadian artists and creators working abroad.