Theme of a Decade:
2024 is the third consecutive year that ‘Cultural Intellectual Property Rights are Human Rights’ is the theme for Cultural Intellectual Property Month. The reason this theme needs a decade of attention is because it challenges mainstream conceptions of ownership, wellbeing and universal knowledge which took centuries to establish dominance. This theme does not attempt to demonstrate a new universal knowledge, but to create a space for a plurality of knowledge systems and worldviews to be nourished and coexist simultaneously, known as the Pluriverse (Arturo Escobar, 2018).
Keyword: MINDSHIFTS
Mindshifts are catalysists for systemic-change. There is no greater force for change.
Our beliefs, perceptions and attitudes develop from our experiences and inform our behaviour and habits. Being open to shifting our mindset based on our new understandings and values is a personal growth and care approach to changing systems.
Weaving dialogues - crafting actions:
Each Monday, from 8th to 29th April, building upon the outcomes of the 2023 Cultural Intellectual Property Month Red Thread Report, we will launch a Thread and a Big Idea meant to spark critical dialogues and inspire systemic-change. We train our minds to imagine alternative paradigms to the ones that favour extractivism, egocentrism and dissociation.
The Threads are:
Week 1 - Monday 8th April - Cultural Sustainability and Law
Big Idea: Cultural Sustainability requires legal frameworks that foster a culture of care, self-determination and reciprocity.
Week 2 - Monday 15th April - Cultural Sustainability and Fashion
Big Idea: Cultural Sustainability in fashion requires a rights-based approach for a legally grounded pathway to equity and social justice through creativity.
Week 3 - Monday 21st April - Cultural Sustainability and Cultural Heritage
Big Idea: At the heart of heritage creation and recreation is the concept of continuity. Cultural Sustainability is about continuity.
Week 4 - Monday 28th April - Cultural Sustainability and Biocultural Diversity
Big Idea: Cultural diversity and biological diversity are intrinsically linked. When cultural diversity is lost, biodiversity is lost and vice-versa.
How to contribute?
To weave a dialogue is an act of care, compassion and reciprocity. Participate in this reflective and meditative dialogue weaving through your most comfortable means of expression - written word, visual expression, video or audio recording. Share your reflections, experiences or calls for action. What will spark a mindshift?
Written by Monica Boța-Moisin, Nicole Crouch and Shravani Deshmukh for Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative®, Cultural Intellectual Property Month 2024.
