At the meeting between cultural networks and organisations and the Cultural Committee representatives of the European Parliament 24 of June, ECA president Jorge Bosso contributed with a short speech on cultural diversity and artists.
The European Council of Artists is participating as a member in the discussions of the international Network for Cultural Diversity and we have also been present in meetings of the coalition for Cultural Diversity.
Now, the International Network on Cultural Policy, -INCP-, an informal global network of culture ministers, is backing the idea of a global Convention for Cultural Diversity under the frame of UNESCO.
To quote from an INCP working document: “The concept of cultural diversity includes a complex and broad range of interconnected elements shaped by economic and social priorities. As suggested by Network experts, cultural diversity is directly linked to issues of human values and human security, social cohesion, democracy, access, creativity, language, expression, cultural resources and capital. It is also a means of overcoming social exclusion and promoting sustainable cultural and economic development.” So cultural diversity is linked to public policy on issues related to prosperity, security and the participation of citizens in their societies. We therefore stress that the cultural exemption in trade negotiations is a priority for cultural diversity. But cultural diversity extends to issues of quality of life and human development.
The concept must not be mistaken for a non-committal phrase. To give a recent example: Many of us welcome the commitment to Cultural Diversity in the draft for a European Constitution (Article III-176). At the same time, Article 24 of this constitution transfers all rights to negotiate commercial aspects of intellectual property, etc. to the Council and the Commission. This negates the participation of the citizens (in our case the artists) and disregards the possibility of a Convention on Cultural Diversity.
In a recent hearing on cultural industries in Brussels, the representative of the European Commission Mr. Büscher spoke about productivity, competitiveness, efficiency and the growing importance of the cultural sector in world trade and deplored the diverse book production in Scandinavia and public subsidies for art and culture still common in Europe. He saw no difference between culture and trade.
In the recent Cannes Film Festival, European Culture Ministers produced a declaration stating that to defend Cultural Diversity is equivalent to defending Europe. Yet most of these very same ministers impose free trade policies in their own countries that condemn national cultural development and, even worse, change social policies that affect not only artists but all citizens.
We run the risk of decision makers giving lip service to the importance of Culture Diversity, while economic globalisation destroys national film production, regional book markets, many subsidised theatres and other artistic manifestations that do not fit within the narrow frame of trends and conformity.
For us it will mean that many artists will no longer be able to earn a living. We are standing at the crossroads: Cultural Diversity is still a meaningful concept, but there is the great danger of misusing the term as an air bubble, while irreversible decisions are made.