LIVE|ARTS|LABS GLOSSARY
SOME HISTORICAL BACKGROUND & IMPORTANT TERMS
Over the last 50 years, global and national governments have sought to address social and cultural inequities through a number of policy initiatives aimed at leveraging the power of culture to address social and economic issues. While these efforts have had varying degrees of success, together this work—a hodgepodge collection of concepts, aspirations, declaration, and initiatives—forms a useful legal and practical library of ideas. As arts workers, business people, and policy makers who are committed to forging a fairer cultural sector, it is important that we are familiar with this work, if only so we are not doomed to “reinventing wheels.” Toward this end we have prepared this admittedly subjective and debatable primer.
CULTURAL DIVERSITY & CULTURAL EXPRESSIONS
The UNESCO, 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions defines these terms thus: “The multiple ways in which the different cultures of groups and societies find expression. These cultural expressions are passed on within and among groups and societies, and from generation to generation. Cultural diversity, however, is evident not only in the varied ways in which cultural heritage is expressed, augmented and transmitted but also in the different modes of artistic creation, production, dissemination, distribution and enjoyment, whatever the means and technologies that are used.” See: https://www.unesco.org/en/query-list/c/cultural-diversity
CULTURAL EXCEPTION
This is arguably a protectionist provision that countries sometimes seek to limit in their trade treaties with other countries. In the interest of protecting a nation’s own cultural identity, a “cultural exception” is a “carve out” from a trade agreement by which cultural goods and services will be treated differently from other commercial products. While the term was first used by France in its 1993 negotiations around the GATT treaty, the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions linked the idea to promoting international cultural diversity by emphasizing the right of UNESCO member states (especially “developing” ones) to negotiate cultural policies that protect their domestic culture from international trade agreements.
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, GLOBAL SOUTH, GLOBAL MAJORITY, and MAJORITY WORLD
UNESCO (and many UN agencies) continues to refer to “Developing & Developed Countries, based on economic classifications established by the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)¹ However, some international organisations dropped this terminology altogether a decade ago². The framework “Global North” and “Global South”, frequently used interchangeably with the system of more- and less-developed countries, has become increasingly popular in the last two decades, but presents its own set of well documented challenges³.
The “Majority World” a term coined in the early 90’s by writer and photographer from Bangladesh Shahidul Alam, offers a possibly more nuanced term. It should be noted that this term differs from “Global Majority” which refers to people who are "black, Asian, brown, dual-heritage, indigenous to the global south, and or have been racialised as 'ethnic minorities'" and "represent approximately 80% of the world's population", according to educator and activist Rosemary Campbell-Stephens, who coined the term.
DUE DILIGENCE
The term “due diligence” is used as a term of art in trade discussion to describe standards of ethical business practices applicable specifically to multinational institutions. Such standards are continuously evolving, in light of changes in law and practices related to human rights, labour rights and the environment. Due diligence is an essential element of international responsible business conduct and is a key theme of the internationally endorsed OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises (2023) and the United Nations Guiding Principles (UNGPs). Due diligence is also known as supply chain responsibility.
EQUITABLE ACCESS
In the context of discourse related to the Fair Culture Charter, the principle of equitable access has two aspects: access to a rich and diversified range of cultural expressions, and access for all cultures to appropriate means of expression and dissemination.⁴
EQUITY / FAIRNESS
Grantmakers in the Arts (USA) defines equity as “the fair treatment, access, opportunity, and advancement for all people, while at the same time striving to identify and eliminate barriers that have prevented the full participation of some groups. Improving equity involves increasing justice and fairness within the procedures and processes of institutions or systems, as well as in their distribution of resources. Tackling equity issues requires an understanding of the root causes of outcome disparities within our society.”⁵
FAIR CULTURE
Many of the ideas that helped us form our conversation today were first articulated in the work of Prof. Dr. Véronique Guèvremont and Maxime Mariage, in their 2021 publication Fair Culture: A Key to Sustainable Development, commissioned by the German Commission for UNESCO. A consortium facilitated by the same German Commission for UNESCO took these ideas and developed them into their 2024 publication, The Fair Culture Charter. In many ways, these two documents gather together many of the good ideas of the last 50 years, and use them to envision a fairer cultural sector—within the realities of a post-colonial capitalist global culture industry.
PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT
Articles 14 and 16 of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions were groundbreaking policies that encouraged “developed” countries to adopt “appropriate institutional and legal frameworks” to grant “preferential treatment” to “developing” countries. Together these articles prescribed a kind of “affirmative action”—a thumb on the scale, if you will—to benefit historically disadvantaged countries. Specifically, they recommended that “developed” countries should promote cultural exchanges with “developing” countries by “facilitating access to their territory for the cultural activities, goods and services of developing countries,” including simplifying procedures for visa issuance and artist and cultural professional mobility.
PREMIUM
In the terminology of the Fair Trade Movement, the “premium” is “an extra sum of money, paid on top of the selling price, that farmers or workers invest in projects of their choice. They decide together how to spend the [premium] to reach their goals, such as improving their farming, businesses, or health and education in their community.”⁶ This is a relevant concept in the discussions around the Fair Culture Charter, and in the work upon which it draws heavily, the “Fair Culture - A Key to Sustainable Development.”⁷ For example in certain cultural sectors, Canada requires public broadcasters to pay a fee, the proceeds of which are reinvested in funds to support the creation of new Canadian content.
RESPECTFUL ENGAGEMENT
Respectful engagement is the practice of interacting with others in a manner that affirms their worth, values their diverse perspectives, and fosters physical and psychological safety. It involves active listening, empathy, and open-mindedness, creating an inclusive, trusting, and collaborative environment, whether in professional, community, or cultural contexts.
STATUS OF THE ARTIST
A early landmark initiative to support the global cultural sector occurred in 1980 with the ratification of the UNESCO 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist. This recommendation aimed to improve the professional, social, and economic status of artists by encouraging member states to implement policies related to training, social security, employment, and freedom of expression. It recognized the importance of artists' contributions to cultural development and acknowledged the specific challenges they face within their profession. It was here that artistic freedom first appeared as a distinct right, and the recommendation underscored "the essential role of art in the life and development of the individual and of society” and the duty of States to protect and defend artistic freedom.
Footnotes
See the World Economic Forum (2016).
See Encyclopaedia Britannica, “most organisations typically include in the Global North the United States, Canada, the countries of Europe, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Australia, New Zealand, and Israel. The Global South usually includes the countries of Latin America, Africa, Asia and Oceania excluding the aforementioned countries. That said, by some measures there are other countries in the Global South that are more similar to those in the Global North and vice versa. The classification system is generally thought to separate historically poorer and wealthier countries. Its binary notably does not conform to the hemispheric north-south division. The framework is generally seen as an improvement on the previous ones listed above but has faced criticism for vagueness due to its lumping together of diverse and varied countries.”
This duality is further described in Section IV. “Rights and Obligations of Parties”, in Article 6 on the right to access to means of production, Article 7 on measures to promote cultural expressions and Article 14 focus on international cooperation and access to markets. See 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions Section I. Objectives & Guiding Principles, Article 2 - Guiding Principles, §7.
Grantmakers in the Arts, Racial Equity in Arts Funding, (Bronx, NY: Grantmakers in the Arts, Revised April 11, 2019) https://www.giarts.org/racial-equity-arts-funding-statement-purpose.
by V. Guevremont and commissioned by the German Commission for UNESCO.