Cultural Diversity
Fair Culture
With its "Fair Culture" initiative, the German Commission for UNESCO promotes fair and sustainable exchange and trade relations in the cultural sector worldwide.
Fairtrade principles address poor labour standards and global inequalities. While they have been widely implemented in several economic sectors over the last decades, culture and creative sectors have not been part of the discussion so far.
This needs to change. Inequalities are a key challenge for the cultural sector and creative industries, particularly between countries of the Global South and the Global North. Therefore, the German Commission for UNESCO has launched the "Fair Culture" initiative.
Fair Culture – A Key to Sustainable Development
Artists and cultural workers worldwide are facing major structural inequalities. Artists from the Global South often have no access to international markets, suffer from precarious labour practises, cannot make a living from their work, and are less visible on the global art and culture market, as highlighted in the UNESCO Global Reports 2018 and 2022.
Cultural goods and services are increasingly disseminated in digital networks, transforming value chains. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic had a dramatic impact on artists and the entire cultural value chain, exacerbating inequalities and making the conversation about "Fair Culture" even more urgent.
The "Fair Culture" approach should become an integral part of reforms of the cultural sector ("building back better") and of a future UN framework for sustainable development.
of international artist residencies are based in Europe and North-America.
of trade in cultural services is still dominated by the industrialised countries.
The study "Fair Culture - A Key to Sustainable Development" was published in 2021 on behalf of the German Commission for UNESCO. The baseline study was written by Prof. Dr. Véronique Guèvremont, who holds the UNESCO Chair "Diversity of Cultural Expressions" at the University of Laval in Québec, Canada, and financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Inspired by the Fairtrade movement, the "Fair Culture" study is the first to present a comprehensive concept for establishing and promoting fair exchange and trade relations in the cultural sector worldwide. Fair Culture aims to promote the mobility of artists and cultural professionals and to improve international cooperation and solidarity based on a multistakeholder approach. It offers solutions to create new jobs and strengthen the local and regional markets of cultural and creative industries, especially in the Global South.
What does Fair Culture mean?
Experienced and young experts explain what "Fair Culture" means to them.
Dr. Keith Nurse, World Trade Organization Chair, Institute University of the West Indies, on Fairtrade in the cultural sector
"This debate [about Fair Culture] is an opportunity to talk about a new dynamic that could be injected into cultural cooperation drawing inspiration from a movement that had a really positive effect in other areas of international exchange: the Fairtrade-Movement."
Véronique Guèvremont, author of the study "Fair Culture – A Key to Sustainable Development"
What happened so far
Launch Event of the Fair Culture Charter
The Fair Culture Charter was presented to the global public in a digital event on 10 September 2024. The Charter is the globally participatory policy document of the Fair Culture Initiative. It sets out eight principles for the fair development of the cultural sector.
Find out more about the Fair Culture Charter on its official website www.fair-culture.org
Public Consultation on the "Fair Culture Charter"
The first public consultation on the "Fair Culture Charter" took place on 6 June 2023 in Paris and online. Inspired by the Fairtrade Charter, the "Fair Culture Charter" is intended to become a reference document for a fairer and more sustainable cultural and creative sector worldwide.
9th World Summit on Arts and Culture
As part of this year's World Summit on Arts and Culture, which took place in Stockholm, Sweden, from 3 to 5 May, the German Commission for UNESCO invited interested parties to learn more about the Fair Culture initiative. The conference was organised by the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA).
Fair Culture at the Sixteenth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee
On 9 February 2023, with the support of UNESCO, an exchange session on Fair Culture took place at the 16th session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 Convention at UNESCO in Paris. States Parties to the Convention, National Commissions, Contact Points and representatives of civil society discussed the role of the 2005 Convention on Fair Culture in making international cultural cooperation, cultural partnerships and trade in cultural goods and services more equitable and sustainable.
Side Event “Fair Culture” at the UNESCO World Conference Mondiacult 2022
The German Commission for UNESCO and its cooperation partners have assembled a global group of experts for “Fair Culture” on September 27 at the UNESCO World Conference MONDIACULT 2022 in Mexico City and online and developed recommendations for a new global cultural policy.
Fair Culture at the World Music Expo (WOMEX) 2019
Together with the Finnish Ministry of Culture and Education, the German Commission for UNESCO hosted another networking event in October as part of the Worldwide Music Expo (WOMEX) titled “60 Minutes for Fair Culture - How can supply chains in the music industry be made fair and sustainable?”.
The Frankfurt Book Fair
In partnership with the Frankfurter Buchmesse GmbH, the German Commission for UNESCO organized an interactive workshop titled “60 Minutes for Fair Culture - How can supply chains in the book industry be made fair and sustainable?” in October of 2019. International experts discussed how the concept of Fairtrade can be transferred to the book market, taking into account the specific conditions of the literature sector. (click here for the summary of the results of the workshop)
Talent Footprints
In collaboration with Berlinale Talents, a talent development program of the Berlin International Film Festival and the German Federal Foreign Office, the German Commission for UNESCO organized the workshop Talents Footprints in February 2019, as part of the Berlinale Talents Program. Dr. Keith Nurse presented the concept of Fairtrade for Culture. With the participants he discussed the possibilities and opportunities for shaping a fair and sustainable culture and film industry.
Experts discussions in Mannheim and Paris
In 2018, the German Commission for UNESCO invited representatives from politics, civil society and the scientific community to the UNESCO Creative City of Music Mannheim for an expert discussion of the initiative “Fairtrade for Culture”. The results of the discussion were presented at the 12th session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 UNESCO Convention in Paris and discussed by representatives of UNESCO Member States. Here, a particular focus was placed on the connection between the 2005 Convention and the Fairtrade concept.
