At the 19th session of the Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 UNESCO Convention on Cultural Diversity, Member States expressed almost unanimous support for the development of an additional protocol aimed at strengthening the application of the Convention in the field of artificial intelligence.
The European Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (ECCD) welcome this major political step forward.
By paving the way for a legally binding instrument, States are opting for ambitious regulation of AI, based on effective respect for intellectual property rights, protection of cultural professions and the full integration of cultural diversity into international regulatory frameworks.
This international momentum now calls for a stronger commitment from the European Union. While Europe has laid the initial foundations for AI regulation with the AI Act, this draft framework needs to be completed and further developed in order to fully address the specific challenges of the cultural and creative sectors.
The ECCD call on the European Commission to invest ambitiously in the work on the additional protocol and in the drafting of operational guidelines, the draft of which, submitted to the intergovernmental committee, needs to be clarified and reworked.
They also encourage MEPs to take advantage of this international initiative to make Europe’s voice heard loud and clear in this process. The commitment of MEPs to the Commission and Member States will be useful in ensuring that the European Union plays a major role in building a responsible and balanced AI framework that protects cultural diversity and intellectual property.
The European Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (ECCD) will remain fully mobilised, alongside the International Federation of Coalitions (IFCCD) and the States Parties to the Convention, to ensure that the 2005 Convention remains a living, protective and politically effective instrument in the era of artificial intelligence.