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

Recommendations The experience with the EPA suggests that having a trade agreement and the associated market access in place is not sufficient to improve trade, especially in an asymmetrical trade arrangement, such as the EPA, and in a domain as sensitive as culture. This begs the question of whether a more proactive approach is required to buildmarket opportunities and facilitate trading relationships, through a combination of actions on the demand and supply side. Such actions may need to be taken along a continuous timeline, which can ultimately ensure the sustainable development of the creative sector in the Caribbean and increased CARIFORUM-EU cultural exchanges. More broadly, it is recommended that the cultural sector be given greater priority as part of EPA implementation and in CARIFORUM‑EU relations. The forthcoming Second Five-Year Review (due in 2020) provides an excellent opportunity to look at the past reporting period and set clear objectives for the next years that can lead to effective EPA implementation in the cultural domain and contribute to the attainment of the 2005 Convention’s goals and the SDGs. The Second Five‑Year Review can also be a timely opportunity to establish a knowledge infrastructure for data capture and to build a cultural observatory for ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the EPA. There are also some specific areas for priority action that can be undertaken. The following recommendations are suggested against the backdrop of this study’s findings:

72 Culture in the CARIFORUM-EU EPA