*please forward widely and translate*


UNESCO is currently drafting a new international agreement on cultural
diversity: the Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural
Contents and Artistic Expressions.

This Convention was originally designed to ensure that culture, in the
age of globalized culture industries, is not reduced to a commodity. Its
aim is to allow each country to implement cultural, media, and
communications policies that foster cultural diversity.

However, some governments have proposed dangerous revisions that would
transform the draft Convention into an instrument that expands corporate
ownership of culture.

The campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society (CRIS)
is calling on civil society organizations to join us in taking the
following stand on the Convention:

     * First, the Convention must not be made subordinate to existing or
future trade agreements. To do so would defeat its purpose.

     * Second, it should be designed to not only protect diversity of
national and regional cultural industries, but to protect the cultural
diversity and the communication rights of all peoples.

     * Third, it must balance any references to the protection of
intellectual property rights with reference to protection of the
cultural commons. Otherwise, references to intellectual property rights
should be removed altogether.

Based on these points, on November 15th the CRIS campaign will submit
concrete suggestions to UNESCO for changes to the draft Convention.

Please take the time to read the CRIS comments and add your organization
to the list of signatories.

The CRIS comments, and a form for adding your signature, can be found
here: http://www.mediatrademonitor.org/cris-unesco.php


Thank you,

Sasha Costanza-Chock
for the campaign for Communication Rights in the Information Society


contact:
global AT freepress.net,
(US) 1.510.655.7971