From 10 to 14 February 2025, Paris hosted the 18th session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, bringing together all the States Parties.
In parallel with this event, the International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD) organised an event on 12 February devoted to the recommendations of the UNESCO expert group on the diversity of cultural expressions in the digital environment, entitled ‘Promoting our cultures in the digital age’.
The event, organised by the IFCCD and attended by UNESCO Deputy Director-General Ernesto Ottone, was an opportunity to review the expert group’s main recommendation: the development of an additional protocol to the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, incorporating specific provisions for the digital environment and AI.
On 13 February, the States Parties attended the presentation of these recommendations. Although the additional protocol has not been adopted at this stage, several States have recognised the need for action to protect creators and authors in the face of digital transformations and the risks posed by generative AI. This issue will be revisited at the next Conference of the Parties (COP) in June 2025, where a detailed action plan will be proposed for the implementation of the ten recommendations, with a stronger involvement of civil society.
To go further, the IFCCD has drawn up a report on its participation in this Committee.