FOUNDING DECLARATION: Founding congress of the International Federation of the Coalitions for cultural diversity

Seville, Spain, September 18-19, 2007

Coalitions for Cultural Diversity from 37 countries of all continents and representing organizations from the cultural and the arts sectors who gathered in Seville, Spain from September 18-19, 2007, declare the official creation of the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD). The Federation recognized the 42 existing coalitions as its founding members.

The founding members mandated the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity to:

Protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions around the world by stimulating dialogue and an efficient international cooperation in the cultural sectors as well as a better balance in the exchanges of cultural goods and services;

Support the development and implementation of national, regional and international cultural policies;

Support the ratification process in respect of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (hereafter referred to as "the Convention") which establishes an international legal foundation for the right of States and Governments to determine their own cultural policies;

Call for the active participation of the Federation in the implementation of the Convention, in particular by engaging in the proceedings and work of its implementation mechanisms, and by supporting action that strengthens its application at the national, regional and international levels;

Reinforce civil society participation at the national, regional and international level so that it can concretely take part in all the steps of the implementation of the Convention;

Pressure States and Governments to abstain from taking liberalization commitments affecting cultural goods and services in all sectors which may be contemplated in bilateral, regional or international trade negotiations;
Seville, September 19, 2007

37 Delegates from Coalitions for Cultural Diversity: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Benin, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Canada, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Germany, Hongary, Italy, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mexico, Niger, New-Zeland, Paraguay, Portugal, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Switzerland, Togo, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela

In presence of 10 delegates from observer countries: China, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ghana, India, Madagascar, Panama, Poland, Vietnam