Culture in crisis – New UNESCO publication offers tips for resilient creative industries beyond COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the shift toward digital technologies beyond even the most ambitious forecasts. The roll-out of 5G, artificial intelligence and big data was always going to trigger more change and upheaval over the next five years than any other technology in the last thirty years.
According to one estimate, COVID-19 has telescoped five years of advances into the space of three months. The worldwide lockdown has driven our social interactions and our consumption of culture almost entirely into the digital space. The cultural and creative sector has thus become the proving ground for exceptions and limitations on intellectual property regimes in order to facilitate access – albeit in certain circumstances and conditions – to creative content. Streaming of, and access to, creative content has become indispensable in dealing with the adverse conditions of lockdown imposed in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Internet access has become an essential service despite the fact that approximately 46% of the world’s population do not have access to an Internet connection.
Who is this practical guide for?
Because of the wealth of knowledge it contains, this practical guide can be considered a source of expert advice for those seeking to emulate the measures taken to enable the cultural and creative sectors to weather the crisis, without which the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions in the medium and long term would be seriously compromised. The practical guide shows a representative sample of the actions taken by UNESCO Member States and civil society in all parts of the world. It differs from other compilations of measures in the arts and culture sector because it strives both to give special attention to the cultural and creative industries and to provide the comparative viewpoints of developed and developing countries, with an emphasis on a broad range of solutions adapted to different national contexts. Political decision-makers, heads of cultural bodies and enterprises, researchers and students will all find specific and concise accounts of the risks and benefits associated with the different measures.
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UNESCO
unesco.org