Further Education & Training Colleges Bill & UNESCO Convention on Protection & Promotion of Diversity of Cultural Expression: ad
NCOP Education, Sciences and Creative Industries
15 November 2006
Meeting Summary
A summary of this committee meeting is not yet available.
Meeting report
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.
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