The Secretariat of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States

C O M M U N I Q U E

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Santo Domingo, capital of ACP culture in 2006

For the first time in its history, the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States is organizing a Cultural Festival, which will showcase the cultural creativity and productivity of its 79 Member States. The 1^st ACP Festival will be held in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) from 14 to 21 October 2006 and will be preceded by the 2^nd Meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture, scheduled for 13 October 2006. It is an opportunity for the ACP Group to invite the world to discover its cultural diversity.

1^ST ACP FESTIVAL

The 1^st ACP Festival is presented as the "Festival of ACP Festivals". During the course of one week, visitors, cultural operators, artists and culture professionals will have the opportunity to discover the rich cultural diversity and the artistic and cultural creativity of the 6 regions of the ACP Group. As an ideal medium for the promotion of cultural actors and operators, the 1^st ACP Festival will provide an opportunity to appreciate the importance of cultural industries of ACP States, and its contribution to sustainable development. The proliferation of cultural Festivals and operators, the increased involvement of Governments in cultural activities, and the interest of professional networks and international markets in ACP artists and cultural products, are all indicative of an evolving sector.   

Scope of the 1^st ACP Festival 

The 1^st ACP Festival will incorporate the following activities:

-        Presentation of the richness and diversity of creativity of ACP States: Live performances, visual arts, crafts, publishing, fashion and design, etc.

-        Development and promotion of trade fairs and the various important artistic and cultural Festivals of the 6 ACP regions: Pacific Arts Festival, Biennale of Dakar, Carifesta, etc.

-        Organization of the 1^st ACP Cultural Industries Market: Music, arts and crafts, design, fashion, publishing, visual arts, etc. 

-        Organization of professional meetings based on themes of sectoral and economic cultural structures.

Strengthening ACP cultural industries

The 1^st ACP Festival will propose a series of concrete measures designed to strengthen the professional network of ACP cultural industries:

-        Support for diffusion: Increasing the global circulation of ACP cultural products and artists by inviting, in particular, promoters to Santo Domingo to discover performing artists.

-        Access to a large audience: The 1^st ACP Festival will be held in the historical and prestigious venues of Santo Domingo, such as Plaza España or the Ruinas de San Francisco, thereby affording visitors the opportunity to discover the historical city.

-        Opportunities for meetings and promotion: The 1^st ACP Festival will promote privileged inter-cultural and professional meetings among ACP artists, international promoters, and ACP cultural operators. The Festival will also promote professional networks with a view to enhancing intra-ACP movement of ACP cultural operators and products, thereby improving international circulation. 

Activities of the 1^st ACP Festival

The following components of ACP cultural industries will be presented for the first time in a single cultural event to be held from 14 to 21 October 2006:

•  Professional Meetings and " Master classes"

•  Market Area for ACP Cultural Festivals and Operators

      - Musical Industries

            - Cultural Operators

- ACP States and partner institutions

- Crafts, Fashion and Design

- Publishing 

• ACP Visual Arts Exhibition

- Painting

- Sculpture

- Design

- Photography

• Theatre  "Contemporary  Dance Platform" 

•  Concerts

• Traditional Dance and Music  

• Fashion parade

• Grand ACP Parade in Santo Domingo

• ACP Cinema

• ACP Village (Restaurants)

2^ND MEETING OF ACP MINISTERS OF CULTURE

The 2^nd Meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture on 13 October 2006 will be preceded by a two-day preparatory Technical Meeting of Senior Cultural Officials during the period 11 to 12 October 2006.  The Technical Meeting will, inter alia, assess the implementation of the "Dakar Plan of Action on the Promotion of ACP Cultures and Cultural Industries", adopted during the 1^st Ministerial Meeting held in Dakar, Senegal (June 2003), draw up concrete proposals on the implementation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, and take a decision on partnership proposals for the implementation of the Resolutions of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) on matters related to culture.

Furthermore, the Technical Meeting will also decide on concrete proposals to enable ACP States to exchange experiences in the utilization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) in the field of culture and other measures aimed at bridging the digital divide, as well as initiatives to exploit cultural opportunities to promote Sustainable Development.  On the basis of the outcome of, and recommendations submitted by the preparatory Technical Meeting, the ACP Ministerial Meeting will adopt "The Santo Domingo Resolution".

THE ACP GROUP

Africa - Caribbean - Pacific

On 6 June 1975, 46 ACP States signed the Georgetown (Guyana) Agreement, thereby affirming their common identity based on solidarity and their quest for economic and social development in the framework of cooperation with the then European Economic Community (EEC). The Group has since expanded in membership, and consists now of 79 Members with a combined population of over 700 million, spread over three continents. At the beginning of the 21^st century, the ACP Group constitutes the largest organized development grouping on the international scene, and a force to be reckoned with in international fora, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Over time, the Group has enlarged its scope of activity and field of action beyond the framework of development cooperation with its traditional partner, the European Union.  Today, partnerships and cooperation agreements exists with international institutions and organizations such as the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), Commonwealth Secretariat, G90 (formed with the African Union and the Group of Least-Developed Countries), UN agencies, and Civil Society Organizations.

ACP-EU: A unique model of partnership

Since 1975, the ACP Group has maintained special cooperation links with the European Union through partnership Agreements that are unique in nature. From Lomé to Cotonou[1], these successive Agreements have evolved through international geo-political and economic transformations in varied sectors such as trade, environment, agriculture, political dialogue, education, health, culture, etc.  

The most recent Agreement entitled the "Cotonou Agreement" was signed in June 2000. All 79 Members of the Group, with the exception of Cuba, are signatories. The main objectives of the Cotonou Agreement are poverty reduction and eradication, sustainable development and the integration of the ACP States into the global economy through development cooperation, with the financial assistance of the European Development Fund (EDF) and involvement of civil society. The ACP Group and the European Union revised the Cotonou Agreement during 2005, and negotiations were concluded during an official ceremony in Luxembourg, on the occasion of the celebration of the 30^th Anniversary of the Group.

The ACP Group supports culture

Since cultural activities have an important impact on the socio-economic development of ACP populations, the ACP Group promotes concrete activities in support of this sector. Sustainable development, poverty reduction and gradual integration into the global economy remain core objectives of the ACP States at the beginning of the 21^st century.

Article 27 of the Cotonou Agreement states that in the area of culture, cooperation shall aim at "integrating the cultural dimension at all levels of development cooperation; recognizing, preserving, and promoting cultural values and identities to enable inter-cultural dialogue; recognizing, preserving and promoting the value of cultural heritage, supporting the development of this sector; developing cultural industries and enhancing market access opportunities for cultural goods and services".

In keeping with the directives of Summits of ACP Heads of State and Government, and following the mandate given by the ACP Council of Ministers, the 1^st Meeting of ACP Ministers of Culture was held in Dakar, Senegal from 18 to 20 June 2003. At the end of the meeting, the Ministers adopted the Dakar Declaration and Plan of Action on the Promotion of ACP Cultures and Cultural Industries, which define the framework, sectors and specify the areas to be financed within the framework of ACP-EU cooperation. The Ministers also decided to set up an ACP Cultural Foundation and organize the 1^st ACP Festival.

At the 4^th ACP Summit, held in Maputo, Mozambique, on 23 June 2004, the ACP Heads of State and Government recalled the potential role of culture in the promotion of peace and development, improving economic well-being, and strengthening social cohesion. ACP Heads in accordance with the Dakar Declaration also undertook to introduce political measures in support of culture, develop and establish cultural industries, and adopt measures for creating employment in the cultural sector.

The commitment of the ACP Group in the cultural sector can therefore be witnessed at the global level, where it takes account of the problems relating to the struggle against poverty, promotion of cultural diversity and support for economic restructuring in developing countries. The priorities of inter-cultural dialogue and the cultural dimension in social cohesion and conflict prevention are also supported by the Group.

In order to ensure the implementation of the Dakar Plan of Action, the ACP Secretariat and the European Commission (privileged partner for development, through the European Development Fund (EDF)), have identified the following two cultural programmes to be financed under the 9^th EDF:

• A support Programme for ACP Cinema and the Audiovisual sector with a financial package of 8 000 000 Euros; and

• A support Programme for Cultural Industries with a financial package of 6 333 000 Euros.

ACP States

Angola - Antigua and Barbuda - Bahamas - Barbados - Belize - Benin - Botswana - Burkina Faso - Burundi - Cap Verde - Cameroon - Central African Republic - Comoros - Republic of Congo - Democratic Republic of Congo - Cook Islands - Côte d´Ivoire - Cuba - Djibouti - Dominican Republic - Dominica - Eritrea - Ethiopia - Fiji - Gabon - Gambia - Ghana - Grenada - Republic of Guinea - Guinea-Bissau - Equatorial Guinea - Guyana - Haiti - Jamaica - Kenya - Kiribati - Lesotho - Liberia - Madagascar - Malawi - Mali - Marshall Islands - Mauritius - Mauritania - Micronesia - Mozambique - Namibia - Nauru - Niger - Nigeria - Niue - Palau - Papua New Guinea - Rwanda - Saint Christopher and Nevis - Saint Vincent and The Grenadines - Saint Lucia - Solomon Islands - Samoa - Sao Tome and Principe - Senegal - Seychelles - Sierra Leone - Somalia - South Africa - Sudan - Suriname - Swaziland - Tanzania - Chad - Timor Leste - Togo - Tonga - Trinidad and Tobago - Tuvalu - Uganda - Vanuatu - Zambia - Zimbabwe.

Contacts and information ACP Secretariat Political Affairs and Human Development Department 451 avenue Georges - Henri 1200 Bruxelles Belgique Tel : +32 2 743 06 00 - Fax : +32 2 735 55 73 www.acp.int ACP Festival www.acp.int/acpfestival acpfestival@acp.int Organization and Programming Andrew BRADLEY  Head of the Political Affairs and Human Development Department Tel: +322 743 06 24, abradley@acp.int Aya KASASA: Tel: +322 743 06 89, aya.kasasa@acp.int,  Dominique THIANGE: Tel :  +322 743 06 04, dominique.thiange@acp.int Press Tel: +32 2 743 06 00 press@acp.int