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Question 12: Values and Culture

What are the best means for Canada to make its culture and experience known abroad?

 

 
 
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Contributor:1876
Date: 2003-05-01 12:23:38
Answer:
There are actually two sides to the question, "What are the best means for Canada to make its culture and experience known abroad?" The other side is, how can we best learn about other cultures and experiences as well? There needs to be an exchange, not just a blind promotion of Canadian culture and values.

It is difficult to export Canadian culture when most Canadians don't even know what it is. DFAIT perhaps thinks of exporting Canadian culture as books, films, and other cultural products we send to others. However, there are many Canadian citizens and permanent residents in Canada who maintain ties with other countries and share their experiences and tastes. Making Canadian culture better known in Canada must be a component of making it known abroad. Positive steps have been taken to promote Canada's book industry (subsidies, high-profile awards, etc.). As a result, Canadian fiction has a following both in Canada and overseas. One of the biggest problems is Canada's film distribution system, which favours Hollywood films blocking both Canadian and foreign films (other than American). Canadian and foreign films also do not have the advertizing budgets of Hollywood films. Canadian Heritage and DFAIT could invest in promoting films (made by Canadians and about Canada) both in Canada and overseas. In addition, since culture should be a dialogue and an exchange, we could also revise our film-related policy to make it easier for foreign films to become better known and watched in Canada.

The federal government currently supports Canadian Studies programs overseas. It could also do more to support the mobility of Canadian Studies researchers in Canada to participate in international events. Otherwise, there is no Canadian perspective on Canadian Studies!

Another useful cultural exchange is that of NGOs. NGOs work with each other across borders, and share information, publications and methods. They tend to be creative, and reflective of Canadian culture and values. They link people in Canada and overseas who are active in their communities. However, Status of Women Canada's Women's Program, for example, as a rule does not fund any international activity by Canadian women's organizations. (The exception is FAFIA, which was designed as an umbrella organization to help women's organizations participate in UN consultations. However, FAFIA currently has no office and no staff.) Promotion of Canadian culture and cultural products needs to be more broadly defined. Canadian Heritage and DFAIT could work with other departments to look at the cultural aspects of their work, and see how it can be promoted. Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, for example, could be key. Aboriginal economic development initiatives in the creation of traditional goods and of other cultural products (films, books, art)could also be better promoted as a part of Canadian culture in Canada and overseas. There is a ready market in Europe for such products, but no efficient way of promoting and getting them there. One success story has been the federal government's national and international support and promotion of Inuit carving, which now has an international reputation and is the number one source of earned income for Inuit.

One area in which DFAIT could do more is in the protection of collective intellectual property, to ensure that traditional Aboriginal designs cannot be ripped off by multinational corporations, or by other non-Aboriginal profiteers. This has already happened with traditional Cowichan sweaters, which I think were copied and sold by Ralph Klein. Panama passed a law protecting the intellectual property of indigenous peoples. However, international trade and intellectual property instruments recognize only individuals and corporations, and the 50-year public domain rule also leaves Aboriginal designs and stories up for grabs.

This should be part of the larger priority I recommend for DFAIT of better integrating the "three pillars" - prosperity, values and security. Trade agreements and relationships should be made to work for all Canadians, and promote the economic and social well-being of all Canadians, not just those with financial influence. DFAIT could think about who needs prosperity most in Canada, and to ensure their perspectives and priorities are a part of DFAIT's.
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