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

Foreword The provision on preferential treatment for developing countries (Article 16) is known to be one the most binding and powerful of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005), now ratified by 145 countries around the world and the European Union. Preferential treatment policies andmeasures are understood as those that either promote the mobility of artists and other cultural professionals and practitioners, or improvemarket access for cultural goods and services from developing countries. The potential of Article 16 can be key to realizing the 2005 Convention’s objectives and can be developed in different directions that would address individuals, industries and institutions 1 . The goal of preferential treatmentmeasures is to facilitate the mobility and exchange of artists and cultural professionals from the global South, through, for example, simplified procedures for visas or lower visa costs. Aimed at the cultural and creative industries, preferential treatment measures are to improve market access for cultural goods and services from developing countries through capacity building for cultural entrepreneurs and organizations that promote the economic and trade dimension of the sector and through specific support schemes to open market access, such as co-distribution agreements. Finally, preferential treatment measures are to be addressed beyond the culture sector, in other international institutions or forums, as well as through other policies and instruments such as bilateral, regional, multilateral trade agreements. While the potential of Article 16 in contributing to dynamic cultural exchanges with long-lasting effects in both developed and developing countries is evident, its actual implementation and impact on the ground remain underdeveloped and underexplored.

5 Culture in the CARIFORUM-EU EPA

1. See“Culture in Treaties and Agreements. Implementing the 2005 Convention in Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements”, Véronique Guèvremont and Ivana Otašević, UNESCO, 2017.