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

This study conducted by Mira Burri and Keith Nurse, which examines the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) concluded in October 2008 between the European Union (EU) and CARIFORUM States, seeks to fill this gap. This agreement was one of the first North/South regional trade agreements compatible with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules seeking to effectively improve market access opportunities and ensure wider andmore balanced exchanges. It was also the first to implement many of the 2005 Convention objectives through a dedicated Protocol on Cultural Cooperation (PCC). A detailed analysis of the first five years of EPA implementation (2008-2013) can be found in the external study conducted for the EU in 2013-2014 2 . A second evaluation of the implementation and impact of the agreement (2008-2018) will be conducted in 2020. However, culture was never included within the scope of analysis. A joint system for monitoring the PCC is now being contemplated by both EPA partners. This study is a modest attempt to gather new information and data, analyse advances and challenges, collect testimonies from key policy and industry stakeholders, and offer some recommendations for policy action. This review, funded under the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for artists and cultural professionals, concerns the 146 Parties to the 2005 Convention, who have committed to address issues of culture and sustainable development in their trade agreements. The objective is to produce a better understanding of the degree to which the 2005 Convention can be used within a trade framework in order to provide developing countries with insight that can be used in their negotiating spaces. It is also designed to inform policy action for the attainment of the UN 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development, in relation to SDG Goals 8 3 and 10 4 for inclusive and sustainable economic growth and reduced inequalities among countries.

2. Monitoring the implementation and results of the CARIFORUM-EU EPA, http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2014/october/tradoc_152825.pdf

3. Target 8.A: Increase Aid for Trade support for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, including through the Enhanced Integrated Framework for Trade- Related Technical Assistance to Least Developed Countries. 4. Target 10.A: Implement the principle of special and differential treatment for developing countries, in particular least developed countries, in accordance with World Trade Organization agreements.

6 Culture in the CARIFORUM-EU EPA