04000 General Conference resolution 37 C/Res.42 for Major Programme IV

The General Conference,

1.     Authorizes the Director-General:

        (a) to implement during the period 2014-2017, the plan of action for Major Programme IV structured around two main lines of action, with special emphasis on Africa, gender equality, least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing States (SIDS), as well as youth and the most vulnerable segments of society, including indigenous peoples;

       (b) to resort also in the implementation of the plan of action for Major Programme IV to South-South and North-South-South cooperation, as complementary modalities for delivery of the programme, to continue to develop partnerships with civil society, the private sector, organizations of the United Nations system, and other international organizations at all stages of programme development, and to pursue advocacy for the role of culture as an enabler and driver of sustainable development with the view to integrating culture in the post-2015 development agenda, in order to:

     Strategic objective 7: Protecting, promoting and transmitting heritage

           (i) protect and conserve the heritage in all its forms, and promote the wise and sustainable management thereof, in order to underscore the central role of heritage in promoting sustainable development, reconciliation and dialogue within and among countries, including through strengthened relationships with other relevant conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Ramsar Convention, as well as intergovernmental programmes such as the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the Programme on Man and the Biosphere; specifically strengthen the implementation of the 1970 Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, and articulate international efforts needed to ensure its effective implementation and progressive development;

           (ii) pursue flagship initiatives on cultural interactions and intercultural dialogue such as the Slave Route project and the pedagogical use of UNESCO’s general and regional histories, in particular the General History of Africa;

           (iii) promote the social and educational roles of museums as vectors for intercultural dialogue, including their key role in the fight against trafficking in cultural property, as well as develop their links with all the cultural conventions; 

           (iv) provide children and youth with basic knowledge on heritage conservation and values, develop mutual understanding and networks among students and teachers and raise awareness among local communities about their heritage, including through a unified Heritage in Young Hands programme;

     Strategic objective 8: Fostering creativity and the diversity of cultural expressions

           (v) strengthen the legal, policy and institutional environments that promote living heritage and creativity and support the diversity of cultural expressions, through the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage and support for the emergence of dynamic cultural and creative industries, particularly mechanisms that foster local production of cultural goods and services, the development of local markets and access to platforms for their distribution/exchange worldwide, thereby highlighting the role of cultural and creative industries in poverty alleviation through job creation and income generation, and providing further evidence of the link between culture and sustainable development in the post-2015 development agenda. Particular attention will be given to capacity-building in priority areas, including for youth. Attention will also be given to reinvigorating the international debate to improve socio-economic conditions for artists;

        (c) to allocate for this purpose an amount of $54,121,700 for the period 2014-2015;

2.     Requests the Director-General:

        (a) to implement the various activities authorized by this resolution in such a manner that the expected results defined for the two global priorities, Africa and gender equality, pertaining to Major Programme IV are also fully achieved;

        (b) to report periodically to the governing bodies, in statutory reports, on the achievement of the following expected results:

     Main line of action 1: Protecting, conserving, promoting and transmitting culture, heritage and history for dialogue and development

           (1) Tangible heritage identified, protected, monitored and sustainably managed by Member States, in particular through the effective implementation of the 1972 Convention;

           (2) Policy dialogue promoted to combat illicit import, export and transfer of ownership of cultural property through enhanced, strengthened and more efficient international cooperation, including the implementation of the 1970 Convention and enhanced capacities of museums;

           (3) Global, strategic and forward-looking directions developed and applied through the effective implementation of the 1954 Convention and its two Protocols and multiplier effect achieved;

           (4) Global, strategic and forward-looking directions developed and applied through the effective implementation of the 2001 Convention and multiplier effect achieved;

           (5) Access to knowledge enhanced through the promotion of shared history and memory for reconciliation and dialogue; 

     Main line of action 2: Supporting and promoting the diversity of cultural expressions, the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage, and the development of cultural and creative industries

           (6) National capacities strengthened and utilized to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage, including indigenous and endangered languages, through the effective implementation of the 2003 Convention;

           (7) National capacities strengthened and utilized for the development of policies and measures to promote the diversity of cultural expressions, through the effective implementation of the 2005 Convention;

           (c) to report, in her six-monthly statutory reports on the execution of the programme adopted by the General Conference, on measures taken to optimize the use of resources in the implementation of programme activities;

           (d) to undertake, during the period 2014-2017, a review of the main lines of action and their expected results, including those of the intergovernmental and international programmes pertaining to Major Programme IV, and to propose their continuation, reorientation, including possible reinforcement, exit strategies or termination, based on clear evaluation criteria.