CONVENTION ON THE PROTECTION OF THE DIVERSITY OF CULTURAL CONTENTS AND ARTISTIC EXPRESSIONS

Report on the process of preparing a preliminary draft

"The first session of the intergovernmental experts meeting took place from 20 to 24 September 2004. This session saw a general exchange of ideas and a constructive discussion of the content of the preliminary draft Convention which had been submitted to Member States for their consideration in July 2004. The nature and objectives of the meeting were primarily designed to enable the government experts to exchange opinions on the future convention without embarking on a formal exercise of redrafting or amending the preliminary draft of the convention. A drafting Committee was set up by this first intergovernmental meeting. Following the constructive discussions of the first session of the intergovernmental meeting, Member States engaged in an intense process of consultations in order to prepare their written contributions, which were to be submitted by mid-November 2004 at the latest. Despite the very short time available, the deadline was met, and a great number of contributions was received by the Secretariat.....

"The Drafting Committee set up by the intergovernmental meeting during its first session met for the first time from 14 to 17 December 2004 at UNESCO Headquarters.....The second session of the intergovernmental experts meeting took place at UNESCO Headquarters from 31 January to 11 February 2005. This session was attended by nearly 540 participants representing 135 Member States, 2 permanent observers, 9 intergovernmental organizations and 23 non-governmental organizations."

At the second session, a recommendation was adopted asking the Chairman “to prepare a consolidated text consisting of the draft provisions recommended by the Drafting Committee together with proposals by the Chairman himself based on the specific directives of the Plenary for the remainder of the draft text, using, wherever necessary, options or footnotes to take into account different approaches that might require further consideration”.

For more information, refer to UNESCO Culture Website, Cultural Diversity .