http://www.cooperativeresearch.org The Center for Grassroots Oversight aims to provide the public with a means to collaborate on investigations at the grassroots level. en-us http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a111005quebec1stok#a111005quebec1stok http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a111005quebec1stok#a111005quebec1stok Through a unanimous all-party vote at its National Assembly, Quebec becomes the first government worldwide to approve the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The approval comes just three weeks after the landslide vote for the international convention at the UNESCO 33rd General Conference in Paris, France. The day's favorable vote on the convention is marked as well by statements by leading officials of Quebec noting Quebec's prime role in the formation of the UNESCO instrument, as well as how the convention boosts Quebec's efforts to protect and promote its cultural industries. Deputy Premier and Minister of International Relations Monique Gagnon-Tremblay emphasizes Quebec's important contribution to the "emergence of an international instrument of fundamental importance for the cultural sector, and over and beyond this, for the socio-economic development of all our peoples at the beginning of the 21st century." Culture and Communications Minister Line Beauchamp ends her own statements by calling the adoption of the convention "a great day for Quebec culture," adding: "(T)he fundamental issue is the commitment of states to support their cultures through cultural policies that take the form of subsidies, tax credits, of regulatory policies. ... We should be aware to what degree everyday life is shaped and affected by culture and artistic creations. ... It is important to realize that the cultural policies I just described are behind the songs you hear on the radio, the television programs you watch, the books you read, your encounters with culture." For his part, Claude Béchard, minister of economic development, innovation, and exports, stresses the convention "will serve as a tool of reference for states facing pressure to liberalize their cultural sectors by helping to legitimize at the international level their cultural policies." Premier Jean Charest, meantime, highlights the close cooperation between Quebec and the federal government of Canada in building international support for the convention. Charest indicates again his government is determined to continue championing the convention internationally, and to continue supporting Canada's Coalition for Cultural Diversity and Quebec's leading cultural organizations in their work to mobilize cultural professionals around the world to support ratification. riverledger 2009-06-29T11:36:05+02:00 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a102005unescook#a102005unescook http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a102005unescook#a102005unescook The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions is adopted at the 33rd UNESCO General Conference held in Paris, France. It is the first major international convention to be adopted that reaffirms the sovereign right of states to formulate and implement cultural policies. The convention's approval is seen as a challenge to the legitimacy of the global regime of bilateral, regional and multilateral free trade agreements revolving around the World Trade Organization (WTO), in particular regarding international trade in cultural goods and services and the related cultural policies effected by governments. The approval of this international instrument is seen as a major culmination of years-long efforts led by Canada and the European Union, specifically France, to arrest liberalization commitments in various free trade agreements that tend to strengthen Hollywood's overwhelming advantage in the global film, music, publishing, advertising, and other cultural industries. The convention is overwhelmingly approved despite a strong counter-lobby by the United States. A hundred and forty-eight vote in the convention's favor, four countries (Australia, Honduras, Liberia, and Nicaragua) abstain, and only two countries--the United States and Israel--vote against its approval. riverledger 2009-06-22T14:53:52+02:00 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a031807unescoforce#a031807unescoforce http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a031807unescoforce#a031807unescoforce The UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions enters into force. In accordance with the ratification procedure, this happens three months after 30 countries deposited their instruments of ratification at UNESCO. UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura notes, "None of UNESCO's other cultural conventions has been adopted by so many states in so little time." The 30 countries are Albania, Austria, Belarus, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Guatemala, India, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Peru, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Senegal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Togo. By the time it comes into force, 22 more countries have deposited their ratification instruments at UNESCO. riverledger 2009-06-21T20:23:40+02:00 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a11222305canada1stok#a11222305canada1stok http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a11222305canada1stok#a11222305canada1stok Canada becomes the first country to ratify the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Canada's November 22 ratification comes just 33 days after the international instrument was adopted at the 33rd UNESCO General Conference in Paris, France. The prompt ratification meets a previous public commitment made by Minister of Canadian Heritage Liza Frulla, shortly after the November 22 adoption at the UNESCO Conference, that Canada would be the first to ratify the convention "ideally before Christmas [of 2005]." Frulla recalls at the signing ceremonies in Montreal on November 23, "some people gave me a very skeptical look [after I made that pronouncement], and thought I was dreaming in Technicolor." But she points out that her resolve to make good the ratification commitment was matched by that of Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin, who Frulla says "has always been a strong defender and promoter of this convention." Frulla relates further: "[A]s soon as I got back, we triggered the process so that Canada could be in a position to ratify this convention. ... And today we can say mission accomplished. Clearly, this is a great day for our artists, our culture, our cultural industries, and for our country." Frulla, Martin, Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Line Beauchamp, and Scott McIntyre and Pierre Curzi, co-chairs of Canada's Coalition for Cultural Diversity, offer congratulations to each other at the Montreal ceremonies for the convention's quick ratification in record time. riverledger 2009-06-21T20:22:52+02:00 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a110201unescodecln#a110201unescodecln http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a110201unescodecln#a110201unescodecln UNESCO's Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity is adopted at its 31st General Conference, the international agency's governing body, in Paris, France. It is the highlight of the first ministerial-level meeting held by the international body after 9/11. The landmark international instrument brings cultural diversity to the unprecedented level of being defined "the common heritage of humanity" and deemed "as necessary for humankind as biodiversity is for nature." In a statement marking the adoption, UNESCO Director General Koïchiro Matsuura says the declaration is "an opportunity for states to reaffirm their conviction that intercultural dialogue is the best guarantee of peace and to reject outright the theory of the inevitable clash of cultures and civilizations." Matsuura adds that the declaration "can be an outstanding tool for development, capable of humanizing globalization." The declaration is adopted just less than a year after "preliminary items" for a draft declaration on cultural diversity were first submitted at the second round table of culture ministers held on December 11-12, 2000 in Paris, France. The "preliminary items" were proposed alongside the presentation by a UNESCO Experts Committee of its conclusions on "strengthening UNESCO's role in promoting cultural diversity in the context of globalization." riverledger 2009-06-21T20:22:08+02:00 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a063098incpformed#a063098incpformed http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=a063098incpformed#a063098incpformed A new international alliance of culture ministers "to promote and protect cultural diversity" is formed at the conclusion of the two-day International Meeting on Culture Policy held in Ottawa, Canada. Attending culture ministers from Armenia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Ivory Coast, Mexico, Morocco, Poland, Senegal, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom--dubbed the Ottawa Group of Ministers--agree to set up the International Network on Cultural Policy (INCP). Both the ministers' meeting and the formation of the new alliance were launched at the initiative of Canada, largely through its Heritage Minister Sheila Copps. An initial "contact group" consisting of Sweden, Mexico, Greece, and Canada is formed to coordinate activities of the new network. Canada provides the first secretariat for INCP. The ministers agree to set the next meeting to be held the following year in Mexico, and the meet after that, in 2000, in Greece. Canadian Heritage Minister Sheila Copps says, in the light of the network's formation, "Canadians are delighted that we've found so many other countries that share our determination to put culture front and centre on the global stage and to promote cultural diversity for everyone in the world." riverledger 2009-06-21T20:20:19+02:00 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=IMFLoanHaiti#IMFLoanHaiti http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=IMFLoanHaiti#IMFLoanHaiti The IMF grants Haiti a $24.6 million loan under its Structural Adjustment Facility (SAF). As a condition, Haiti is expected to cut public spending, close "inefficient public enterprises", and liberalize its trade policy. AJB 2008-01-22T16:36:34+01:00 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=HaitiRice#HaitiRice http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=HaitiRice#HaitiRice One of the conditions for Haiti obtaining the IMF loan it previously received was a lowering of tariffs on rice and an end to support for domestic rice farmers. This has the effect of putting much of Haiti's rice farmers out of business. AJB 2008-01-22T16:36:22+01:00 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=Oaxaca1#Oaxaca1 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=Oaxaca1#Oaxaca1 Members of the Local 22 of the National Education Workers Union (SNTE) delivers a list of economic grievances to Ulises Ruiz Ortiz, the governor of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. After receiving no official response, hundreds of teachers start to encamp themselves in the state's historical center with the support of numerous anti-neoliberal organizations. The movement manages to block five access ways to the Oaxaca international airport on June 1 and attract a "mega-march" of around 80,000 people the next day. AJB 2008-01-22T16:36:10+01:00 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=Oaxaca2#Oaxaca2 http://www.cooperativeresearch.org/context.jsp?item=Oaxaca2#Oaxaca2 About 2,000 state police attempt to evict the striking teachers from the Oaxacan city square "wielding clubs and firing tear gas." They fail as the protestors quickly resume their positions but manage to injure at least 66 people. The teachers accuse the police forces of killing four; the Mexican national human rights commission will allege that they also "beat sleeping teachers with truncheons." AJB 2008-01-22T16:35:59+01:00