International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD)

The IFCD is a multi-donor Fund established under Article 18 of the UNESCO 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

The IFCD invests in projects that lead to structural change, demonstrating the value and opportunities that the cultural industries bring to sustainable development processes, in particular to economic growth and the promotion of a decent quality of life.

The IFCD supports projects that…

• introduce and/or develop policies and strategies that have a direct effect on the creation, production, distribution and access to a diversity of cultural goods, services and activities;

• create new cultural industries or strengthen existing ones.

The IFCD invests in projects that reinforce the cultural value chain

These are some of the activities carried out by IFCD-funded projects:

Policies and strategies • Enacting national cultural policy reform and market regulations;• Establishing inter-ministerial and cross-sector committees to develop integrated cultural

policies;• Engaging civil society in policy development processes;• Developing strategic action plans to implement cultural policies;• Mapping and measuring social and economic contributions of cultural industries.

Cultural industries• Strengthening local capacities for business development and supporting cultural

entrepreneurship;• Creating new cultural industry business models and promoting the use of information

and communication technologies (ICTs);• Strengthening professional networks and fostering innovative partnerships.

What are the IFCD’s areas of intervention?

Music Publishing / Books

Spoken Word Dance

Theatre Media Arts Visual Arts Photography

Cinema / Audiovisual Arts

Design and Crafts

IFCD’s key facts

• Funded projects: 71 projects from 43 developing countries.

• Funds spent on projects: 4.6 million USD.

• Applications received: over 200 per cycle.

• Resources: voluntary contributions received from Parties, as well as from other States; regional/international organizations; public/private organizations and individuals.

The IFCD in Latin America and the Caribbean

16 projects from 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries are receiving IFCD funding totaling over 1 million USD:

Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Cuba, Grenada, Guatemala, Mexico, Peru, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Uruguay.

Examples of IFCD-funded projects around the world:

• South Africa: Unlocking funding to support cultural industries through innovative partnerships - 59,935 USD.

• Benin: Developing new business models for the music industry: creating 100 music distribution points to facilitate the sales of Beninese artists’ music locally - 20,000 USD.

• Bosnia and Herzegovina: Mapping the film industry to encourage cultural policy development - 35,700 USD.

• Guatemala: Opening opportunities to indigenous cultural entrepreneurs in the audiovisual sector - 98,610 USD.

Next call for funding requests• Launch of the call: January 2014.

• Deadline for National Commissions for UNESCO to forward pre-selected projects to the UNESCO Secretariat: 15 May 2014.

• Deadline for International NGOs to submit projects (max. two applications per INGO with written support from beneficiary countries) to the UNESCO Secretariat: 15 May 2014.

• Max. amount: 100,000 USD.

• Project implementation: between 12 and 24 months.

Who can apply?

* National Commissions and any other organizations participating in the pre-selection or approval of projects submitted to the UNESCO Secretariat are not eligible for IFCD funding.

• Public authorities from developing countries that are Parties to the 2005 Convention;

• NGOs coming from developing countries that are Parties to the 2005 Convention;

• International NGOs;

• Micro, small and medium enterprises of the private sector active in the cultural field of developing countries that are Parties to the Convention, to the limit of available funds from contributions provided by the private sector.

How to apply?

• Public authorities and NGOs shall download the appropriate IFCD Application Form at www.unesco.org/ifcd.

• Applicants shall consult the IFCD Annotated Guide available online to help them prepare a successful application.

• Applicants shall contact their National Commission for UNESCO for deadlines and guidance.

National Commissions play a crucial role…

• National Commissions publicize the call for funding requests and set appropriate deadlines at the country level;

• They form a pre-selection panel made up of public authorities and members of civil society organizations to evaluate and pre-select projects;

• Pre-selection panel makes sure the projects are relevant, meet the country’s needs and priorities, and have been subject to consultation among stakeholders;

• National Commissions forward a maximum of four applications: two per public authority and two from NGOs, to the UNESCO Secretariat.

How does it work?

Step 1: Launch of

the call

UNESCO Secretariat

launches the call. National Commission

disseminates the call at the national level.

January

Step 2: Submission at national

level

Except for international

NGOs, all applications

must be sent to the National

Commission of the country in

which the proposed

project is to be carried out.

Deadline: determined by

National Commission

Step 3: Pre-selection at

national level

National Commission forms a pre-

selection panel, which carries

out a first review, and pre-

selects the applications for submission to the UNESCO Secretariat.

Deadline: 15 May

Step 4: Technical

examination

UNESCO Secretariat performs a technical

examination to ensure that

applications are complete and fall within the field of activity

of the IFCD.

mid-May - June

Step 5: Evaluation

Eligible applications are evaluated by an

international panel of experts

representing UNESCO’s six

regions.

July

Step 6: Funding approval

The 2005 Convention’s

Intergovernmental Committee makes the final

funding decisions during

its annual meeting.

December

Step 7: Launch newly-funded projects

UNESCO Secretariat prepares newly approved project

contracts and processes their first payments.

March

Step 8: Project Implementation

UNESCO Secretariat monitors project implementation and

analyses results.

Next 12 to 24 months

For further information, please consult:www.unesco.org/ifcd

Ifcd.convention2005@unesco.org