[Imc-london-audio] Fwd: URGENT: support CRIS comments on UNESCO cultural diversity convention

[clay pigeon]

i will write a short bit on this for show, but fyi...

k


--- Sasha Costanza-Chock <schock at riseup.net> wrote:

> Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2004 00:41:52 -0800
> From: Sasha Costanza-Chock <schock at riseup.net>
> Subject: URGENT: support CRIS comments on UNESCO cultural diversity
> convention
> To: OURMEDIA-L at lists.ou.edu
> 
> *please forward widely and translate*
> 
> 
> UNESCO is currently drafting a new international agreement on
> cultural
> diversity: the Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of
> Cultural
> Contents and Artistic Expressions.
> 
> This Convention was originally designed to ensure that culture, in
> the
> age of globalized culture industries, is not reduced to a commodity.
> Its
> aim is to allow each country to implement cultural, media, and
> communications policies that foster cultural diversity.
> 
> However, some governments have proposed dangerous revisions that
> would
> transform the draft Convention into an instrument that expands
> corporate
> ownership of culture.
> 
> The campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society
> (CRIS)
> is calling on civil society organizations to join us in taking the
> following stand on the Convention:
> 
>      * First, the Convention must not be made subordinate to existing
> or
> future trade agreements. To do so would defeat its purpose.
> 
>      * Second, it should be designed to not only protect diversity of
> national and regional cultural industries, but to protect the
> cultural
> diversity and the communication rights of all peoples.
> 
>      * Third, it must balance any references to the protection of
> intellectual property rights with reference to protection of the
> cultural commons. Otherwise, references to intellectual property
> rights
> should be removed altogether.
> 
> Based on these points, on November 15th the CRIS campaign will submit
> concrete suggestions to UNESCO for changes to the draft Convention.
> 
> Please take the time to read the CRIS comments and add your
> organization
> to the list of signatories.
> 
> The CRIS comments, and a form for adding your signature, can be found
> here: http://www.mediatrademonitor.org/cris-unesco.php
> 
> 
> Thank you,
> 
> Sasha Costanza-Chock
> for the campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society
> 
> 
> contact:
> global AT freepress.net,
> (US) 1.510.655.7971
> 


=====
Kate Coyer
Department of Media & Communications
Goldsmiths College
University of London

k.coyer at gold.ac.uk