Diversity of Cultural Expressions
On March 18th 2007 the UNESCO Convention on the protection and the promotion of the diversity of cultural
expressions entered into force. This represents an unprecedented milestone in the history of international cooperation
in the field of culture: Never before has the sovereign right of states to formulate and implement cultural policies to
protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions been acknowledged by an international treaty.
In the context of internationalisation and globalisation, which constitute at the same time a chance as well as
a threat for the diversity of cultural expressions, the convention gains particular significance: The liberalisation
policy of the World Trade Organisation (GATT/ GATS) does not differentiate between cultural and other goods and
services. Consequently also cultural goods and services are subjected to the build-in commitment to further
liberalisation in the trade negotiation rounds. In practiced this could lead to a situation, where public cultural
policies and funding schemes have to be deleted without replacement or have to be made accessible for applicants from
all WTO member states.
With the UNESCO Convention the dual nature of cultural expressions is recognized for the first time. Cultural
goods and services convey commercial value as well as values, meaning and identity and may therefore not be treated as
every other commercial good. At the same time the states party to the convention have reaffirmed their commitment to
pursue an active policy to protect and promote the diversity of cultural expression as an essential pillar of
sustainable development.
A further novelty of the Convention is Article 11 which acknowledges the fundamental role of civil society and
calls for an active participation of civil society to achieve the objectives of the Convention. Therefore the Austrian
Commission for UNESCO has set up a Working Group on Cultural Diversity to support the process of implementation in
Austria.
Austria actively supported the negotiations on the Convention right from the beginning. With the deposition of
the ratification document on December 18th 2009 the Convention gained – since its entry-into-force – also legal
recognition in Austria. At present about 100 States and the European Community are party to the Convention.
Text of the Convention Information folder by the Austrian Commission for UNESCO (in German only):
Folder
„Culture for Sale“
Folder „Kulturelle
Vielfalt. Um keinen/jeden/welchen Preis?“ Further Information:
UNESCO Homepage
„Diversity
of Cultural Expressions“
Austrian Commission for
UNESCO | 
