Australian Government funding to UNESCO to support cultural diversity

Friday 15 July 2011

The Australian Government has contributed $80,000 towards UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD). The IFCD was established under the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The fund aims to promote sustainable development and cultural diversity in developing countries by supporting the emergence of a dynamic cultural sector.

Australia’s contribution to the IFCD was announced at the third ordinary session of the Conference of Parties to the Convention on 14 June 2011. The contribution will assist UNESCO’s efforts to reduce poverty and to protect a diversity of cultural expressions in developing countries. In 2010 the IFCD provided over $1 million in funding to 31 projects from 24 developing countries. These projects include establishing a performing arts and technical training school for unemployed adults and youths in Argentina, and providing $100,000 in Kenya to conduct a research project on the contribution of the creative industries to Kenya’s economy.

The Australian Government ratified the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in 2009. In implementing the Convention, Australia will continue to strengthen and develop existing policies and programs that meet the Convention’s objectives. These objectives include recognising the value of cultural activities as carriers of meaning and identity and their role in cultural and economic development.