Coalitions and Professional Cultural Organizations of the Francophonie Meet in Québec, Canada, on the Eve of OIF Summit

On the eve of the XIIth Francophonie Summit, cultural stakeholders gathered in Québec, Canada, from October 11 to 13 for the Third Meeting of Coalitions and Professional Cultural Organizations from Francophonie Member Countries. Nearly 25 delegates from 16 different countries reaffirmed their commitment to the ratification campaign and to taking concrete action to implement the UNESCO Convention on the diversity of cultural expressions within their respective countries.

“On to action” was the theme of this two-day meeting, which focussed on discussions and debates on cultural policies and international cooperation. On to action, yes, but in a rational and realistic manner. The Co-chair of the Canadian Coalition, Solange Drouin, opened the event by stressing the importance of setting clear priorities and meeting specific targets, identifying the need to conduct a cultural stock-taking exercise in each of the countries as the most immediately pressing.

The participants therefore pledged to carry out an assessment of the state of cultural creation within their respective countries and produce an inventory of existing cultural policies by March 2009. The purpose of this exercise will be to highlight the economic importance of culture and to pinpoint those sectors in difficulty where government support is needed to ensure their full development.

As for the Convention’s Cultural Diversity Fund, Frédéric Bouilleux, Director of French Language and Cultural and Linguistic Diversity for the International Organisation of the Francophonie (OIF), noted in his address that financing through this fund should not be used for cultural production, but rather for research and surveys that can provide useful guidance to all concerned.

Another key issue discussed by participants during the two days of meetings was the role of cultural professionals in bringing about effective cultural policies within their countries. It was unanimously agreed that cultural professionals have an instrumental part to play in this process, as Bernard Boucher, Cultural Consultant and former Executive Director of the Policy, Communications and International Relations branch of SODEC, and Rasmané Ouedraogo, head of the Burkina Faso Coalition and President of the IFCCD, were able to demonstrate in their respective presentations on the evolution of cultural policies in both Quebec and Burkina Faso. In each of these cases, the sector’s high level of structuring by cultural professionals, the multiplication of private-sector initiatives and the establishment of a cultural network have all been widely credited with convincing government to take notice of the sector and respond to the demands of its professionals. In Quebec, as in Burkina Faso, cultural policies have been set according to the requirements of professionals working in the sector and to ground-level realities. “The professional milieu must be made an intrinsic part of the cultural policy development and application process,” affirmed Mr. Bouchard.

With the organization of the cultural milieu and market still in its infancy in many developing countries, one of the major challenges will be to ensure the sector’s economic and social positioning in these areas.

International cooperation among professionals could play an important role in this regard. Beat Santschi, Chair of the Swiss Coalition and Vice President of the International Federation of Musicians (FIM), gave the example of some of the actions taken by the FIM, most notably the twinning of musicians’ unions from countries in the Northern and Southern hemispheres to promote the sharing of information and know-how. Cooperation among regions could prove equally successful. Cheick Ngaido Bâ, Chair of the Senegalese Coalition, echoed this position by highlighting the importance of cultural solidarity and cooperation among African nations.

The final issue addressed was the risk of culture becoming centralized in major cities and capitals. Many participants expressed the concern that a lack of funds and political will could result in the disappearance of cultural activities in the regions. Adama Traoré, Chair of the Malian Coalition, stressed that governments as well as professionals need to be made aware of this risk.

There is still massive work to be done but, as the old saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” On the journey to implementing the UNESCO Convention, that first step involves identifying the best practices and cultural policies in place, accurately assessing the economic role culture plays and ensuring cultural professionals take charge of organizing the sector in each country.

At the conclusion of the two days of meetings, the participants adopted a Declaration (in French only) that will be presented to the OIF Secretary General, His Excellency Abdou Diouf, at a meeting to be held in Paris a few days before the next Intergovernmental Committee meeting. In this Declaration, participants call upon the OIF to pursue its efforts to have Francophonie member States that have not yet ratified the Convention do so before March 2009 in order that they may take part in the next session of the Conference of Parties to the Convention. The participants also appeal to the OIF to pursue its actions to mobilize States on the implementation of the Convention by providing them with technical and financial support for the development of national cultural policies and the organization of professional cultural sectors.

This Third Meeting was organized by the Canadian Coalition for Cultural Diversity, in collaboration with the French Coalition and the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD), with the financial support of the International Organization of La Francophonie and the governments of France, Canada, Quebec, Ontario and New Brunswick.