Brochures

The 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist was adopted by the UNESCO General Conference at its twenty-first session in 1980. This brochure provides a brief overview of the main topics covered by the 1980 Recommendation.

Culture and creativity are the heartbeat of our societies, and we need to help them thrive, now more than ever. By investing in the creative economy now, especially in the Global South, we support sustainable and inclusive development so that everyone can reap the benefits.

2020 marked the 10th anniversary of the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD).The IFCD is the Fund established by the 2005 Convention and its goal is to invest in projects that lead to structural changes, demonstrating the value and opportunities that culture brings to sustainable development processes, in particular to economic growth and the promotion of a decent quality of life.

The 2005 Convention calls for innovative approaches to international cooperation by promoting equitable access, openness and balance in the flow of cultural goods and services, and greater mobility for artists and other cultural professionals from developing countries.

The 2005 Convention Monitoring Framework is a dynamic tool that informs policy making on creativity for development. It determines a set of expected results, indicators and means of verification to assess progress and challenges over time.

Artistic freedom is the freedom to imagine, create and distribute diverse cultural expressions free of governmental censorship, political interference or the pressures of non-state actors. It includes the right of all citizens to have access to these works and is essential for the wellbeing of societies.

Civil society organizations (CSOs) play a pivotal role in the 2005 Convention’s implementation. The Convention requires Parties to involve civil society in its ratification, implementation and monitoring.

The creative economy is becoming increasingly digitized. Today, cultural and creative industries are a key driver of the digital economy, contributing to over US$200 billion in global digital sales.

Gender Equality is achieved when women and men enjoy the same rights and opportunities across all sectors of society, including in the cultural and creative industries.

Since 2014, UNESCO has been running a capacity development programme on policy monitoring, providing technical assistance for the elaboration of quadrennial periodic reports (QPR) and identifying policy priorities related to emerging areas such as media diversity, artistic freedom and gender equality.

Through the Korea Funds-In-Trust (K-Fit) for the Development of Creative Industries, many developing countries have been supported in their efforts to invest in new contemporary creative areas, such as film and visual arts.

The International Fund for Cultural Diversity, IFCD, supports the implementation of the UNESCO 2005 Convention and the emergence of dynamic cultural sectors in developing countries by strengthening the means to create, produce, distribute and access cultural goods and services.

Today, the cultural and creative industries generate annual global revenues of US$2,250 billion and exports of over US$250 billion. These sectors, which currently provide nearly 30 million jobs worldwide and employ more people aged 15−29 than any other sector, can even make up to 10% of GDP in some countries.