Cultural Diversity
Topic
"The Governments of the States Parties to this Constitution on behalf of their peoples declare: (…) That the wide diffusion of culture, and the education of humanity for justice and liberty and peace are indispensable to the dignity of man and constitute a sacred duty which all the nations must fulfil in a spirit of mutual assistance and concern." (preamble of the UNESCO Constitution)
The Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, adopted in October 2005 and ratified by the Federal Republic of Germany in 2006 as well as joined by the European Union, is considered the Magna Charta of international cultural and educational policy. This convention stipulates - for the first time in a legally binding way according to international law - the sovereign right of member states to "to formulate and implement their cultural policies and to adopt measures to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions and to strengthen international co-operation“ (article 5). The right of member states to pursue an independent cultural policy appears to be particularly relevant in the context of ongoing deregulation negotiations of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the fields of cultural, audio-visual and educational services. In preparation of the convention concerns and fears had been raised that existing means of public spending, such like those for running theaters, concert halls, opera houses, libraries, film funding and broadcast stations, for instance, would not or just at limited scale have been possible.
Furthermore, the convention standardizes a number of provisions aiming at extending international co-operations. This applies to enhancing planning and management capacities cultural institutions in the public sphere, fostering partnerships between civil society, non-state organizations and the private sector as well as implementing new technologies or concluding agreements of co-productions and corporate distribution.
Another crucial objective is to intensify co-operations between signatory states and developing countries including the cultural exchange between the global North and the global South. There is indeed room for hope in the provision that developed countries are to facilitate cultural exchange with developing countries, "by granting, through the appropriate institutional and legal frameworks, preferential treatment to artists and other cultural professionals and practitioners, as well as cultural goods and services from developing countries" (article 16).
Research
The mandate of the UNESCO Chair according to the Agreement concerning the Establishment of a UNESCO Chair in International Relations at the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany (25 March 2009) is directed to “expand research on the implementation of UNESCO conventions and normative instruments, in particular in the field (…) of diversity of cultural expressions (…), including dispute settlement” (article 2, 1st bullet point).
In order to facilitate the universal ratification of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (CCD) and its prospective implementation by the contracting parties, the UNESCO Chair in International Relations in co-operation with Prof. Dr. Peter-Tobias Stoll (Göttingen) has published a legal commentary on this convention in English. This publication is result of a collaborate effort made by experts from all over the world who are most experienced for years in the fields of diversity of cultural expression, international trade law (WTO) and development co-operation. The Explanatory Notes on the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions were launched in 2012, both in print and as e-book available from Springer Publishing Berlin / Heidelberg in co-operation with Springer Science+Business Media LLC New York and Springer Japan KK.
Projects
01/2007–07/2013: Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Publications
Heidrun Groß: Article 32. Depository Functions, in: The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Explanatory Notes, 2012, S. 701-712
Heidrun Groß: Article 31. Denunciation, in: The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Explanatory Notes, 2012, S. 691-701
Sylvia Maus: Article 22. Conference of Parties, in: The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Explanatory Notes, 2012, S. 555-570
Sabine von Schorlemer: Kunst und Freihandel der UNESCO-Streit um kulturelle Vielfalt, in: Blätter für deutsche und internationale Politik 5/2005, S. 619-626
Sabine von Schorlemer: Kulturpolitik im Völkerrecht verankert. Das neuen UNESCO-Übereinkommen zum Schutz der kulturellen Vielfalt, in: Zeitschrift Vereinte Nationen 6/2005, S. 217-223
Sabine von Schorlemer: Promoting International North-South Cooperation in the Framework of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. First Steps 2007-2010, in: Deutsche UNESCO-Kommission, Kulturelle Vielfalt – Unser gemeinsamer Reichtum. Cultural Diversity – Our Common Wealth, 2007, S. 163-172
Sabine von Schorlemer: UNESCO Dispute Settlement, in: Abdulqawi A. Yusuf (Hrsg.), Standard-Setting in UNESCO, Vol. 1, Normative Action in Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO Publishing, Martinus Nijhoff), S. 73-103
Sabine von Schorlemer: UNESCO, Le règlement pacifique des differends, in: Abdulqawi A. Yusuf (Hsrg.), L'action normative à l'UNESCO: L'Elaboration de Règles Internationale sur l'Education, la Science et la Culture, S. 73-103 (UNESCO Publishing, Martinus Nijhoff), 2007
Sabine von Schorlemer; Peter-Tobias Stoll (Hrsg.): The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Explanatory Notes, S. 778. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag, 2012
Sabine von Schorlemer: Introduction, in: The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Explanatory Notes, 2012, S. 1-19
Sabine von Schorlemer: Article 3. Scope of Application, in: The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Explanatory Notes (2012), S. 117-130
Sabine von Schorlemer (Hrsg.): Kulturelle Vielfalt und Urheberrecht: Urheberrecht als Instrument im Rahmen des UNESCO-Übereinkommens zum Schutz und zur Förderung der Vielfalt kultureller Ausdrucksformen. Dresdner Schriften zu Recht und Politik der Vereinten Nationen 18, Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang, 2013