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Côte d'Ivoire and UNESCO commit to improving socio-economic rights and social security for artists
"We must work together to give you this status, so that the children of Côte d'Ivoire can say: I want to become an artist".
This is how Ms. Françoise Remarck, Minister of Culture and Francophonie, addressed the artists and cultural professionals who were present at the of the UNESCO-Aschberg project in Côte d'Ivoire, on 30 July 2024 at the Museum of Civilizations of Côte d'Ivoire.
With technical and financial support of UNESCO, the initiative aims to set up – through a participatory process – a professional identification card for artists, accompanied by a social security system adapted to their work. The attribution of this card will contribute to formalizing the Ivorian cultural and creative industries. The project, implemented by the Ministry of Culture and Francophonie in partnership with the Ministry of Employment and Social Protection of the country, was selected through the second UNESCO-Aschberg call for projects that supports UNESCO Member States in protecting artistic freedom and the status of the artist. Côte d’Ivoire is one of twenty-four governments and civil society organizations benefiting from this call.
Artists and cultural professionals make a vital contribution to society. However, they often work in precarious conditions due to the absence of adequate legal protection that recognizes the specificity of their work. As outlined in the UNESCO 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist, artists should be granted the same rights as other professional categories, including access to social security, retirement pensions, adapted tax conditions and the right to organize unions.
As Mr. Adama Kamara, Minister of Employment and Social Protection emphasized: “Artists are sculptors of soul and spirit. The initiative that brings us together today marks a major step in our shared commitment to promoting and protecting our artistic talents, which are the heart of our cultural identity and our national wealth. By recognizing the professional status of our artists, we will lay the foundations for a rewarding and fairer framework for their activities. The professional card, beyond constituting an administrative document in the formalization of the sector, will allow artists to benefit from social protection”.
The UNESCO-Aschberg project follows the adoption of Cote d’Ivoire’s Decree No. 2021-624 of 20 October 2021 on the status of the artist, and a first phase of consultation to define a minimum wage for artists. “This project is the sign of a real turning point in Côte d’Ivoire in favor of cultural and creative industries and artists’ rights, and highlights a strong political will in the continuity of the efforts sustained over the last few years,” said Mr. Désiré Beugrehi Gnackaby, Education Programme Specialist, representing Mr. Mame Omar Diop, Head of the UNESCO Office in Abidjan.
This commitment by Côte d’Ivoire is all the more relevant, as it puts the MONDIACULT 2022 Declaration into practice, which called for the reinforced economic and social rights of artists, and enhanced intellectual property protection, among others.
UNESCO would like to thank the Kingdom of Norway for its generous financial contribution to the UNESCO-Aschberg Programme for Artists and Cultural Professionals, which makes this assistance to Côte d’Ivoire possible. The UNESCO-Aschberg Programme aims to protect and promote artistic freedom and the status of the artist, in accordance with the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions and the 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist. Created in 1956 and redesigned in 2017 to actively support artistic work, the Programme addresses the structural challenges that make many artists and cultural professionals vulnerable to economic precarity and multiple crises.
