Dear CIPRI Network, allies, collaborators and friends,
As this year is coming to an end, we at the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative® (CIPRI) and WhyWeCraft Association would like to express our gratitude and appreciation to all of you who have contributed to our projects and actions this year.
To capture the complexity of the past 12 months in just a few words, we would say that 2022 has unfolded for us under three overarching themes:
TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE, FOCUS and CONNECTION.
Transformative change is fundamental to our mission and vision and this year we worked on reflecting this systemic-change approach at the level of our CIPRI internal governance structures, as well as the organisation of the CIPRI Network.
Analysing all the work done in the past 4 years under the umbrella of the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative®, we identified the CIPRI Network as being an aggregator of Systems-Change Enablers, Ambassadors, Ecosystem Connectors, and have worked together with these stakeholder groups on facilitating action coordination and collective engagement.
We focused this year on designing our internal governance structures around proactive leadership and accountability. We tested, we learned what worked well and we improved what didn't. This is an ongoing process.
We also learned to focus on the good. We worked on consciously acknowledging our strengths and celebrating the value and the inspiration of our work. Our value proposition "Paving the way for systemic change through cultural sustainability by co-designing and implementing tools for valuing Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions" was reflected in all projects and actions developed in 2022 under our 4 Action Pillars.
This year we strengthened connection, both at institutional and operational levels, in terms of the stakeholders we engaged with and the geographies we operate in, but also in terms of the emotional and personal connections within the CIPRI Network and the Core Team. We conducted our first immersion in the Mexican cultural context as a team and marked the first presence of the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative® at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, Canada (COP15) witnessing the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in the late night hours of 18/19 December.
We would like to celebrate together the following Milestones for CIPRI in 2022:
The launch in April 2022 of the Cultural IP Month, catalysed by our members' community - a yearly event organised by the CIPRI Network under the theme Cultural Intellectual Property Rights are Human Rights. We are already looking forward to April 2023 and invite you to propose actions, panel topics and events under this theme!
Receiving observer status at the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Montreal, Canada (COP15) through our not-for-profit entity WhyWeCraft Association, licensee of the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative®.
The launch in November 2022 of our first report on work conducted in Mexico - Mexico 2022: Fieldwork and Consultations with Indigenous Artisans in Chiapas Report *read it here if you haven't already
Our fundraising campaign for fieldwork and consultations is still ongoing - and this holiday season we invite you to make a gift to support the continuation of this very meaningful and important work!
Other important CIPRI highlights in 2022 include:
The Second edition of the Executive Program of the Cultural Sustainability Academy - the Knowledge Hub for Cultural Sustainability®. Our diverse cohort included a Senior Director of a global fashion company, an Associate Director of Sustainability, a PhD student at Columbia University with focus on Education and a member of a royal family.
“I was delighted to be able to participate in the Cultural Sustainability Academy 2022. The course exceeded my expectations and proved to be an excellent introduction into the world of Cultural Sustainability and its many interconnected concepts. It has changed my perception of the industry and makes me want to delve deeper and refocus my career. I highly recommend the CSA for anyone with an interest in Cultural Sustainability''. - Ria
“The CSA 2022 created a pause and space for deep thought and dialogue on the thinking, research and action we need to bring to the work of cultural sustainability. The Academy gave me a deeper understanding of the interconnected relationships of cultural sustainability across law, design, research and education. Most importantly it gave me an expanded vocabulary to name, understand and communicate my process and practice around developing culturally sustaining models in my work.” - Arzu
Conducting Fieldwork and Consultations on the 3Cs' Rule: Consent. Credit. Compensation© Framework and The 3Cs - Get Weaving! Campaign with Indigenous Artisans, in Chiapas, Mexico, as part of the Latin America dissemination strategy.
Hosting the CIPRI Core Team Annual Strategic Planning Meeting in Puebla, Mexico, between 25 and 28 October 2022.
Attending COP15 in person and presenting The 3Cs Get Weaving! Campaign as part of the Fair on Communication, Education and Public Awareness (CEPA). Monica Moisin, who represented us there, closely followed the work of the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) Working Group and the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB) to learn and understand how we can be of best support in their interests and perspectives at an international level, and worked closely with numerous representatives of NGOs globally, who are part of the CBD Alliance.
Focusing on creating tools and practices to support and sustain our individual and collective wellbeing in the CIPRI Network. Internally, the CIPRI Core Team developed the CIPRI Warp and Weft© to guide a harmonious work dynamic based on each individual's values, strengths and capacities to achieve peak performance with enjoyment and passion. This set of principles provides transparency when working across complex concepts, various time zones and in other roles the CIPRI Core Team have outside of CIPRI that inform and support CIPRI in various ways.
With all this to be grateful for, what comes next?
In 2023 we will expand our educational and consulting services under the Cultural Sustainability Academy - The Knowledge Hub for Cultural Sustainability®
The Cultural Sustainability Academy - The Knowledge Hub for Cultural Sustainability® will provide:
The Executive Program - The third iteration of the Executive Program of the Cultural Sustainability Academy in 2023 will be the first hosted in-person. The program is centred around cultural context immersion and the two geographical locations envisaged for 2023 are Romania and Mexico. This program is designed to connect and equip a diverse network of professionals on the topic of Cultural Sustainability. Individuals can connect with like-minded people in a unique international location to build their knowledge and networks in the Cultural Sustainability ecosystem.
Corporate Capacity Building Packages - These packages are customisable programs delivered internally to businesses, brands, institutions and corporations to build team values around Cultural Sustainability and maintain confidentiality around challenges and outcomes. Customisable features include focus topics, delivery methods, delivery schedules and additional services such as both internal policy and creative process analysis and reform.
CIPRI Workshops 2023 - In 2023 the CIPRI Workshops will be 90 minute online interactive sessions that align with the Cultural Sustainability Academy - The Knowledge Hub for Cultural Sustainability®. A total of 4 Workshops will take place from April 2023, when we host our Cultural IP Month, until July 2023. The headline topics will be announced in January 2023.
We will continue the consultations with Indigenous peoples, ethnic groups and local communities on the 3Cs Rule: Consent. Credit. Compensation© Framework as we started in Mexico, and partner with members of said communities and other collaborators for the translation of The 3Cs - Get Weaving! Campaign in as many indigenous and local languages as possible in 2023.
We are looking for partners and allies to join forces to secure the necessary funding for enabling access to legal support and legal education for Indigenous peoples, ethnic groups and local communities, especially women and girls, with respect to the protection of Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs) and associated Traditional Knowledge (TK) related to textiles.
In 2023 we will also expand our network of advisors and collaborators. Our approach is always striving to learn more and understand various perspectives on Cultural Sustainability. The hope for 2023 is to reform the CIPRI Advisory Board and welcome additional members. The CIPRI Advisory Board consists of various experts who provide knowledge and opportunities to the CIPRI Network and Core Team to help us implement out action plan and fulfil our mission. If you would like to support the CIPRI Core Team with your network and expertise we invite you to reach out to us to express your interest in joining our Advisory Board.
We end these 2022 Reflections & 2023 Intentions just like we started, with the expression of our gratitude and appreciation for each and every involvement with the CIPRI Network. Together we create systems-change!
We will take this time from 22nd December 2022 to 8th January 2023 to pause and reflect on everything that happened for us in 2022 and on how we hope 2023 to unfold. With compassion, kindness and trust in this journey and in one another.
We hope you will do the same, and spend this end of the year with your loved ones and dear ones!
Yours faithfully,
Monica Boța-Moisin, Mónica Parra,
Nicole Crouch,
Shravani Deshmukh
