Impact Study: UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals

During the consultation, CARIFORUM States insisted that the CARIFORUM Directorate should conduct further work on identifying areas of concern for trade in services between CARIFORUM and the EU and encouraged the CARIFORUM Directorate to propose solutions to guide individual States on their policy positions for the upcoming Second Five-Year Review. The consultation reviewed challenges faced by service providers, particularly cultural service providers, in obtaining temporary entry due to a lack of certified cultural providers in the region. CARIFORUM States reaffirmed their commitment to finalizing the mutual recognition of services between CARIFORUM and the EU and to identifying solutions to the challenges posed in relation to market access restrictions within the EU. The value of the partnership has yet to be maximised, due to an implementation deficit. Chief among the reasons is the 2008 global financial and economic crisis which dried the ink during the signing process, while simultaneously blowing away the fledgling possibilities the Caribbean had up to then developed to make its presence felt in the European region. That economic crisis also further imbalanced the capacity of Caribbean States, resulting in the absence of already scarce resources to support implementation. This is particularly the case for the specially crafted Protocol on Cultural Cooperation, which provides for bilateral cooperation in a variety of cultural activities, as well as a framework for the temporary movement and training of cultural practitioners. In preparation for this, Barbados became a policy leader indeveloping the cultural industries through specific legislationand the creation of a directory of artists and cultural workers. Over the last ten years there has been somemovement towards positioning the creative sector as a lead economic driver to maximise the EPA, however there still remains a lot of work to do. Andrea King Director of Cultural Industry Development Authority, Barbados The EPA provides an important opportunity for both geographic blocs to establish a trading environment. Significantly, for the Caribbean, this means a much bigger market space in which to do business, particularly in the cultural sector. For the Caribbean, the EPA also represents a chance to have an even greater presence in the international community, and critically, to strengthen the ongoing process of regional integration.

33 Culture in the CARIFORUM-EU EPA