Does Turkey care about cultural diversity?
More than 100 countries have endorsed a UN convention on protecting cultural diversity, but a decade after its inception, the convention still awaits ratification by the Turkish parliament.
On Oct. 20, 2005, the UNESCO General Conference adopted the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The convention, backed by Turkey’s representative at the session, aims to protect local cultural outputs and expressions against popular culture, such as films, television programs and songs. Popular culture has grown in speed and influence since the 1990s with the impact of globalization.
To take effect in individual countries, the convention needs to be ratified by their legislatures. The parliaments of 115 countries have so far endorsed the convention, to which the European Union is also a signatory. But 10 years later, the Turkish parliament has yet to ratify it.
A draft ratification bill was submitted to parliament on Aug. 22, 2011, signed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Outlining Ankara’s approach on the issue, the preamble of the bill reads, “The convention carries significance in terms of preserving our country’s cultural values against cultural industry products and the cultures of countries with which we interact intensely, passing those values on to the future and transforming them into an industry capable of competing with the cultural industries of the said countries.”
