[Ecommerce] [Invit. to Briefing on UNESCO Cultural Diversity Conv.] and 7 reasons to attend

[Manon Ress]

From: Ghosh, Deepa R <GhoshDR@state.gov>
The U.S. National Commission for UNESCO invites you to attend a briefing
on UNESCO's draft Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of
Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions. The briefing will cover the
US position regarding this and other potential implications for civil
society of this document.
Briefers will be:
Jane Cowley, Foreign Affairs Officer, US Department of State
Dana Gioia, Chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
Robert Martin, Director, Institute of Museum and Library Services
Jane Cowley has been on the negotiating team. Dana Gioia and Robert
Martin are members of the Commission and have been heads of the
delegation negotiating the convention.
The briefing will be held at 2pm on Friday, April 15, 2005 in room M-09
in the Old Post Office Building, 1100 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington
DC 20606. Room M-09 is located on the 1st level of the Old Post Office,
on the 12th Street side of the building.
An RSVP is appreciated, but not necessary to enter the room.  Send RSVP
to GhoshDR@state.gov <mailto:GhoshDR@state.gov>.
The draft convention can be viewed at:
<http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=25926&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL
_SECTION=201.html>
***********************************************************************************
Some of the reasons to attend the briefing on Friday (get in touch with
Frannie if you're interested <fwellings@freepress.net>):

1. The new Preliminary Draft convention on the protection of the
diversity of cultural contents and artistics expressions that came out
of the February meeting in Paris is almost 40 page long with more than
100 footnotes and brackets.  Brackets indicate that member states have
not agreed on language. For example, still "controversial" are
"protection, protect, cultural expressions and contents, cultural
expressions, cultural contents, artisitc expressions, cultural goods and
services, cultural industries, state parties, reference to minorities
and indigeneous peoples, countries in transition, cultural actors".
However, the convention seems to be on the fast track and delegates are
rushing to finish soon (why the rush?).  See also Initial Comments by
the CRIS campaign at http://www.mediatrademonitor.org/

2. There is a new article 15 dealing with persons belonging to
minorities and indigenous peoples that would make redress only available
at national level (so if there's no redress nationally, nothing can be
done internationally which does not give the convention much sense?).

3. Sadly, the member states seem to agree that fighting "piracy" [their
word] and enforcing intellectual property rights is a must to protect
and promote cultural diversity (?1?).  They seem to agree that there's
no need to mention protection of public goods or the public domain to
protect and promote cultural diversity of cultural contents and artistic
expressions. Does the rational "to be consistent with what we say at
WIPO" make any sense for this international agreement?

4. There is also many questions regarding Article 19 or relationship
with other international instrument (one option would make the
convention ineffective, so why do it?).

5. Of course, there are also questions on the "establishment and
composition of the arbitration tribunal".  where does the US stand on
this?

6. More importantly general questions that should be asked by arts and
culture creators and users include how this convention fit in the "trade
approach to culture" trend and what approach re culture and trade is
really supported by our representatives at UNESCO negotiations in Paris.

7. Finally, transparency issue? if you are interested in meeting some of
the appointees on  the "US National Commission for UNESCO".  There are
60 NGOS among the 100 members: http://www.state.gov/p/io/unesco/members/
1.American Architectural Foundation 2. American Association for the
Advancement of Science  3. American Association of Community College
Trustees 4. American Association of Museums 5. American Ballet Theater
6. American Chemical Society 7. American Council on Education 8.
American Enterprise Institute 9. American Film Institute 10. American
Geological Institute  11. American Physical Society 12. Americans for
UNESCO 13. Association of Performing Arts Presenters 14.Black Alliance
for Educational Options 15. Carnegie Corporation of New York 16. Center
for the Study of the Environment 17. Council for a Community of
Democracies 18. Council on Library and Information Resources  19.
Eisenhower Foundation 20. Federalist Society 21. Forth Worth Zoo  22.
Freedom House  23. Gettysburg National Foundation 24. Getty Conservation
Institute  25. The Heritage Foundation  26. Heritage Preservation  27.
Intercollegiate Studies Institute  28. Institute for Regulatory Science
29. Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers 30. Institute of
International Education 31. Learning Disabilities Association of America
32. National Academy of Engineering 33. National Academy of Sciences 34.
National Council for the Traditional Arts  35. National Endowment for
Democracy 36. National Geographic Society 37. Manhattan Institute for
Policy Research 38. OPERA America 39. Progress and Freedom Foundation
40. Rotary International 41. Scripps Health 42. Theater Communications
Group  43. Thomas Fordham Foundation 44. U.S. Chamber of Commerce 45.
United Nations Association - USA  46. United Nations Foundation Better
World Campaign 47. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution 48. World
Monuments Fund 49.World Press Freedom Committee

Feel free to add reasons to come by on Friday afternoon!
Manon



--
Manon Anne Ress
manon.ress@cptech.org,
www.cptech.org

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