Towards a new law made by and for artists and cultural professionals in Seychelles

The project’s activities are guided by an inclusive and multi-stakeholder approach for the development of a new law, in line with UNESCO’s adoption of participatory, transparent, and evidence-based methodologies to monitor and design policies for creativity at the national and global level.

To gather relevant views, experiences and insights on current challenges and needs from the different artists and cultural professionals across the country, a series of consultative meetings were conducted in the three main islands, respectively Mahe (13 June), Praslin (14 June) and La Digue (15 June).

Over 100 artists, including visual artists, musicians, crafters, and designers, among others, as well as representatives of artists’ associations joined the three consultations and engaged in interactive discussions in Creole, English and French languages. The consultations provided an opportunity for UNESCO and Island Legal Solutions (ILS) to gather an assessment of the current cultural ecosystem in Seychelles and identify gaps in current legal frameworks to be filled, under the guidance of South African expert Ms Avril Joffe.

• Agree on the very definition of “artist”, to establish specific and clearer criteria to be reflected in the new law and for integration in existing legal instruments.
• Address the limited social protection coverage available to artists, as the majority of them cannot benefit from the current social security system because of their self-employed or free-lance status, are not renumerated fairly, and have limited or no access to finance.  This includes enhancing the protection of the most vulnerable, including women artists and artists with disabilities.
• Encourage collective bargaining through the creation of artists’ associations, federations, unions, and other representative bodies, to ensure artists’ voices are heard.
• Strengthen communication about available training and professional opportunities for artists, as well as information on existing tools, materials, and procedures to register creative work to ensure IP rights are fully protected under international copyright law.

Overall, it was noted how the new law should aim at addressing the challenges posed by the predominantly informal nature of the culture sector, which is a reality across the African continent. 

These important results constitute the basis to produce a baseline study including a gap analysis and recommendations to design the status of the artist in Seychelles. The new draft law will be developed based on the study and shared with all artists and cultural professionals in November 2023, to gather their views on whether the proposed law addresses prevailing needs, as to ensure it is made by and for them as direct beneficiaries.

Through the UNESCO-Aschberg programme, funded by the generous contribution of the Kingdom of Norway and guided by the 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist, and the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, UNESCO strives to protect and promote artistic freedom, safeguard the economic and social rights of artists and cultural professionals, and to facilitate a balanced flow of cultural goods and services. It does so by providing technical assistance to government institutions and civil society organizations to revise or design regulatory and policy frameworks and build capacities to foster the emergence of environments conducive to creativity and a thriving creative economy, especially in the Global South.

This mission also contributed to preparing the grounds for Seychelles’ upcoming first Quadrennial Periodic Report (QPR) regarding the implementation of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, specifically through the organization of an introductory workshop run by UNESCO’s international expert Ms Avril Joffe, which gathered different governmental actors and members of the national reporting committee.