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International Forum on the UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions
Post date:
2019/04/22
- Reviewing the status of implementation of the 2005 Convention
- Suggesting directions for domestic cultural diversity policy
On April 18, the Korean National Commission for UNESCO held an International Forum on the UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, in cooperation with the Arts Council Korea and the Ministry of Culture, Sports. The venue was the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul.
The forum was designed to increase local understanding of the concept of cultural diversity and to raise awareness of current international discussions regarding issues associated with the interpretation of cultural diversity, so that local organizations can implement cultural diversity projects with greater knowledge and awareness. Approximately 200 people attended the conference, including academics, civil society activists, and interested members of the general public.
The forum focused on progress and challenges in the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (the 2005 Convention), and offered an overview of the Global Report on the implementation of the 2005 Convention, which was published by UNESCO last year.
Two experts who participated in the drafting of the Global Report gave presentations at the forum. Andrew Firmin, Editor-in-Chief of CIVICUS’ State of Civil Society Report, presented on sustainable cultural governance and civil society participation, and Sara Whyatt, former Deputy Director of PEN International, gave a presentation entitled "the freedom to imagine and create."
Lectures and discussions were also held on cultural diversity issues specifically within the Korean context. Professor Han Kyung-Koo from the College of Liberal Studies at Seoul National University, was among several professors, from the Republic of Korea and other countries, who discussed the Convention on Cultural Diversity in the Korean context, and the interpretation and practice of cultural diversity in Korean society.
Mr. Kwang ho Kim, the Secretary-General of the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, said, "I plan to provide more opportunities for discussion on the subject of cultural diversity in the future, to foster a richer, more nuanced discourse on this subject than currently exists within Korean society.”
The 2005 Convention is an international convention adopted in 2005 for the purpose of the conservation, protection and promotion of diversity of cultural expressions. A total of 146 countries are currently party to the convention. The Republic of Korea became the 110th country to ratify the convention, in 2010, and is now a member of the intergovernmental committee for the convention, representing the Asia-Pacific region together with China and Indonesia.
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