NEWSLETTER No. 10/ June 2008

Dear Compendium friends and users,

In a few weeks time, the First Extraordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee to the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005) will meet in Paris, 24-27 June 2008.

During this Session, the Committee will discuss draft operational guidelines for Articles 7 and Articles 8 of the Convention on the promotion and protection of cultural expressions. Background papers were prepared on European and Latin American approaches to on cultural policies and measures adopted to promote cultural expressions.

The Compendium community has been monitoring the implementation of the UNESCO Convention since 2006. Information responding to the following questions is updated on a regular basis:

Which countries have ratified the Convention?
Who is responsible for its implementation?
Are there civil society organisations involved in the process?

A key issue on the agenda of the Intergovernmental Committee is the participation of civil society in the implementation process.

We are very interested to hear from you about your experiences and intentions to get involved.

Looking forward to hearing from you.
With best wishes from the Compendium Team.

Answering Your Questions

Contact the Compendium Editors for overall questions and comments:

Kathrin Merkle, Gesa Büttner Council of Europe

Danielle Cliche, Andreas Wiesand, ERICarts

Contact the Web Master with your technical questions:

Jörg Torkler, Medianale Group