UNESCO launches 2nd round of consultations

PESHAWAR: The UNESCO-Pakistan has launched the second round of countrywide consultations to stress the need for public policies that support creative sector and to raise awareness about the importance of UNESCO’s 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

Countrywide consultations were held in July in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad, with the support of Centre for Culture and Development (CKU) and funded by the Government of Denmark, said a press release.

The workshop goes a step further by engaging a range of stakeholders, including government representatives from both provincial and federal levels, professionals of public institutions, academics, as well as representatives of civil society organisations from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

UNESCO’s efforts to address the lack of cultural policy in Pakistan were highlighted by Vibeke Jensen, UNESCO Representative to Pakistan, at the workshop’s inaugural session on Thursday.

She stressed that the UNESCO 2005 Convention affirms the sovereign right of states to adopt policies and measures that nurture creativity, provide access for creative minds to participate in domestic and international marketplaces where their artistic works/expressions can be recognised and compensated and ensure these expressions are accessible to the public at large.