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South Africa now boasts its own chapter of a Coalition for Cultural Diversity, aimed at maximising the country's participation in UNESCO's all-important Convention for Cultural Diversity.
The local body was formed on September 7th at SAMRO House in Johannesburg, where a draft constitution was adopted and a six-member Executive Committee elected.
The Exco comprises André le Roux, Chairman - Manager of SENA (SAMRO Endowment for the National Arts), Eugene Mthethwa - Executive Board Member of AIRCO (Association for Independent Record Companies), Basil Dube - General Secretary of SASWU (South African Script Writers' Union), Joseph Gaylard - General Secretary of VANSA (Visual Arts Network of South Africa), Dudley Schroeder - Executive Director of PASA (Publishers' Association of South Africa) and Monica Seeber Director of ANFASA (Academic and Non-Fiction Authors' Association of South Africa).
The formation of the South African Coalition for Cultural Diversity (SACCD) preceded a meeting of Coalitions and Cultural Professional Organizations on September 10th, 2007, organized by the Canadian co-secretariat of the International Liaison Committee of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity in association with SAMRO and the SACCD, with financial support from the Commonwealth Foundation. This meeting brought together South African cultural professional organisations, along with delegates from other African Commonwealth countries, including Sierra Leone, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Namibia, Mauritius, Swaziland and Botswana.
Several African countries have already ratified the UNESCO Convention, amongst others, South Africa, Uganda, Mauritius, Namibia and Kenya.
A major step forward on a united approach to cultural diversity policies on the African continent occurred, when delegates to the September 10th meeting adopted the Johannesburg Declaration. The latter hailed the March 18th entry into force of the UNESCO Convention, which protects and promotes the diversity of cultural expressions. The Convention also affirms the distinctive nature of cultural goods and services and the right of states and governments to adopt and implement policies appropriate to the support of domestic cultural production.
The Declaration urged delegates to vigorously mobilise support for the international ratification campaign in their home countries and to form national coalitions for cultural diversity. The importance of this desired action was reinforced at a public seminar held in Johannesburg on September 11th, 2007.
In his keynote address, Honourable Prof. Kader Asmal, MP, South Africa and Chair of the UNESCO intergovernmental negotiations on the Convention emphasised that human rights were the foundation of cultural expression and that civil society could play a fundamental role, with government, in implementing the principles enshrined in the Convention.
“The Convention was not about culture, but cultural goods and trade aspects”, Asmal emphasized, adding its aim was to empower nations to stand a chance in negotiating with stronger trade partners. “It was”, stated Asmal, “imperative that all sectors of the cultural industries get involved – the Convention's definition of scope within each country would only come through collaboration and co-operation between government, civil society and academia”.
This was reiterated by Andrew Firmin: Programme Manager - Culture and Diversity, Commonwealth Foundation, who spoke of the Commonwealth's wide and diverse spread and the opportunities for intra-Commonwealth trade in cultural goods. Firmin also called on civil society to play a role in advancing culture on the Commonwealth's agenda adding that the Commonwealth was keen to support the implementation of the Convention. He invited civil societies to make use of support mechanisms and instruments available within the Commonwealth Foundation
Nicholas Motsatse CEO of SAMRO added his voice to calls for Commonwealth countries in Africa to work together in both advocating the ratification of the Convention in those countries that had not yet done so, as well as entrenching the principles of the Convention. “Funding mechanisms should be explored for the implementation of projects related to the Convention”, Motsatse added.
Says Le Roux, “The formation of the SACCD and the significant attendance of African Commonwealth countries at the meeting of Coalitions and Cultural Professional Organizations, means that we have made important strides in giving Africa a strong voice in the implementation of the UNESCO Convention. Our challenge now is to get the Convention ratified in other African Commonwealth countries to enable us to really come together as a continent in this very important issue and to ensure that civil societies participate in implementing the Convention.”