UNESCO: Technical Assistance to Implement the 2005 Convention in the Digital Environment

UNESCO: Technical Assistance to Implement the 2005 Convention in the Digital Environment

UNESCO, with funding from France, Canada, and the government of Quebec (Canada), launches a call open for governments to support initiatives aimed at protecting and promoting cultural diversity in the digital environment.

Ongoing digital transformations have profoundly altered the conditions of creation, distribution, and access to cultural expressions. To respond to the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities of digital technology, the Conference of Parties to the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005 Convention) approved ‘Operational guidelines on the implementation of the Convention in the digital environment’ in 2017. Subsequently, the ‘Open Roadmap for the implementation of the 2005 Convention in the digital environment’ was developed and approved by the Conference of Parties in 2019.

In this context, UNESCO is launching a call for projects to assist partner countries, Parties to the 2005 Convention, in designing, revising, or implementing regulatory frameworks to support cultural and creative industries in the digital environment.

Technical assistance is non-financial support provided by national and international experts to governmental institutions to reinforce their political commitment and their institutional and human capacities through the necessary participation of multiple stakeholders. Activities may include:

1. Consultations with civil society, cultural professionals, and Ministries;
2. Capacity reinforcement workshops;

Project proposals may be submitted by government institutions in developing countries, in accordance with the OECD-DAC 2024 list of ODA recipients, that are parties to the 2005 Convention. Applicants should be a national government/public institution whose mandate is relevant for the governance of culture.

An envelope up to 30,000 USD can be requested to support the logistics of the project’s implementation (e.g., logistical organization of meetings, consultations, or capacity-building activities, funding of communication activities, etc.).