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

The Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and CARIFORUM has granted tariff-free and quota-free access for CARIFORUM’s goods to the EU market and has liberalized several services sectors, including cultural and entertainment services. Contractual service providers and independent professionals can access the EUmarket for up to12months. This important step facilitates theentryof artistsandentertainment practitioners fromthe Caribbean region. For example, there are several reggae festivals taking place every year in Europe, with many artists from the region. This agreement also creates an optimal framework to develop and explore other creative sectors from the CARIFORUM region via technical assistance or available cooperation funds. For example, the EU is currently providing training in Intellectual Property Rights. With EU support, some cultural entrepreneurs have also been participating in the Road Show organized every year since 2015 by the European Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic in Europe, which resulted in networking and business opportunities. The 4 th CARIFORUM-EU Business Forum, to take place in Frankfurt (Germany) on 26-28 September 2019, will also be an opportunity to develop and build international partnerships. The new EU-ACP cultural programme 2019-2024 should open new cultural exchanges and economic opportunities for sectors defined by CARIFORUM as key priorities and a potential driver of economic development. DG TRADE recognises the importance of creative industries and services inCARIFORUM‑EU trade relations and the economic potential it has for the region. Cécile Billaux Head of Unit, Trade Relations with Africa, Caribbean and Pacific DG Trade, EuropeanUnion

The ACP Cultures+ programme is intended to contribute to fighting poverty by consolidating resilient cultural industries in ACP countries, enhancing their contribution to social and economic development and preserving cultural diversity. From an available budget of 30 million EUR for the 2012- 2017 period, 22.27million EUR were used to finance 55 projects. Thirty-three projects relate to the film and audiovisual sectors and 22 to other cultural industries. These projects were implemented by more than 200 cultural operators working in partnerships. Eighteen projects were related to the distribution, circulation and promotion of cultural goods and services, in particular through festivals and online digital platforms; 18 were within the training sector; 18 dealt with the production of cinematographic and audiovisual works and one project aimed to strengthen regulations in the cultural sector 25 .

43 Culture in the CARIFORUM-EU EPA

25. ACP Secretariat (2015), Presentation of projects supported by the ACP Cultures+ Programme. http://acpculturesplus.eu/sites/default/files/catalogue_fiches_uk_lr.pdf