Further Education & Training Colleges Bill & UNESCO Convention on Protection & Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expression: ad

EDUCATION AND RECREATION SELECT COMMITTEE
15 November 2006
FURTHER EDUCATION AND TRAINING COLLEGES BILL & UNESCO CONVENTION ON PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF DIVERSITY OF CULTURAL EXPRESSION: ADOPTION

Chairperson: Mr B Tolo (ANC)

Documents handed out:
Further Education and Training Colleges Bill [B23D-2006]
UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions Powerpoint presentation
Provincial Mandates

SUMMARY
The Committee voted formally for the adoption of the Further Education and Training Colleges bill, after receiving mandates from all provinces.
 
The Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) briefed the Committee on the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Culture Expression which was adopted in October 2005 at a United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) conference. The Convention is very important to the developing world because it discusses measures to correct imbalances in the trade of cultural goods and services. It aims to establish financial support and capacity building for cultural industries in the developing world.

MINUTES
Consideration of the Further Education and Training Colleges Bill
The Department of Education briefed the Committee on the amendments made by the National Assembly. Adv A Boshoff (Legal advisor to the Department) said that the amendments were technical, not substantive, and he went through them one by one.

Mr T Setona (ANC – Free State) said that Clause 17, which deals with who determines a college’s admissions policy was not consistent with other legislation. He enquired about the best practice in terms of delegation of powers from the Minister of Education to other authorities and said that the amendment was substantive and political. Adv Boshoff said that there was no hard and fast rule – when dealing with financial issues, which were executive, it was common to delegate powers to the Head of Department (HOD). In the current Bill, the power had been delegated to the Council and HOD, to make it consistent with who decided the language policy of a college.
 
Mr Setona said that Clause 54 referred to Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act. Was there any other educator legislation that regulated college staff? Adv Boshoff said that college staff employment was covered by the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. Other educator employment legislation was not applicable. The Chair said that the HOD would deal with operational issues and the MEC with policy issues.
 
The Committee noted the provincial mandates. The Eastern Cape, Free State, Northern Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Western Cape, North West and Limpopo were all for the bill and KwaZulu-Natal voted against it.

The Chairperson, Mr Tolo (ANC) read the formal motion to adopt the Bill, to which the Committee agreed..

UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of Diversity of Culture Expression Briefing
Miss V Matlou (Chief Director: Department of Arts and Culture) and Adv Anil Singh (Legal Advisor to the Minister) briefed the Committee on the Convention which aims to protect cultural diversity in the face of globalisation. South Africa’s Kader Asmal had chaired the working committee which drafted the Convention. The Convention was adopted in October 2005 at a United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) conference where 148 countries had voted for it, two (the United States and Israel) had voted against and four had abstained. The countries voting against the Convention contended that it would have serious implications for World Trade Organisation and other international trade in audiovisual goods and services. The Convention promotes culture as central to sustainable development.
 
The Convention is very important to the developing world because it envisages measures to correct imbalances in the trade of cultural goods and services, and establishing financial support and capacity building for cultural industries in the developing world. It also aims to facilitate co-operation and technology transfer to the developing world.
 
All over the world, languages are becoming redundant and vulnerable cultures are marginalized which provokes an imbalance in the flow of cultural goods and services, such as music, films, crafts and books.
 
Discussion
Mr Setona asked for a definition of cultural goods and services and asked the presenters to relate the definition to intellectual property rights.

Mr Sulliman (ANC – Northern Cape) asked how many countries had signed (not ratified) the Convention and if there would be financial implications if South Africa ratified it. Regarding intellectual property, South Africa had lost the rights to rooibos tea to the United States (US).

Mr Tolo said that there should be sanctions against countries which undermined other cultures.
 
Ms Matlou said that cultural goods included crafts, media, design and books. The Department of Trade and Industry now shared the Department of Arts and Culture’s understanding of intellectual property and cultural diversity. Whereas in the past they had negotiated for Ndebele dolls to be made in China, they now differed in their understanding. She alluded to the questionable ownership of the Lion King. The Convention would bind those countries that signed it. There were no financial implications to signing the Convention, each country would be autonomous in that regard.
 
Adv Singh explained the difference between ratification and signing stating that once a Convention was signed, the memorandum would be deposited with the Director General of UNESCO. It was difficult to measure the value of culture in terms of Gross Domestic product. It was difficult to calculate the monetary value of that right. The Convention did not deal with the question of countries that threatened other cultures but might do so in the future.
 
Mrs F Mazibuko (ANC-Gauteng) was concerned with threats to intellectual property and with placing taxpayers’ money into a fund without clear aims.

Mrs Matlou stated that a framework for the fund would be developed shortly.

Adv Singh was aware that UNESCO had been called “the biggest bureaucracy in the world” but the aim was for the money to go directly to artists and craft training.
 
The Committee voted formally to adopt the Convention.

The Committee adopted two sets of minutes. The meeting was adjourned.