This year on April 26th we celebrate not only the World IP Day but also two years of existence for the Cultural IP Rights Initiative.
Interpreting this year’s World IP Day theme - Innovation for a Green Future - in our two year anniversary booklet we talk about Craftsmanship for a Green Future because craftsmanship is such a powerful concept.
It embodies both tangible and intangible value, it embodies knowledge and skills transmitted across generations, it embodies innovation and self-sustainability, in embodies symbols of identity. And for many, it is a LIFESTYLE.
You can download our Craftsmanship for a Green Future Booklet here:
The choice of April 26th as our anniversary day was not a matter of hazard. It was a mindful, purposeful choice.
April 26th is declared by the World Intellectual Property Organisation as the World IP Day. But with the existing IP framework failing to adequately support craftspeople and Indigenous communities, what does the World IP Day mean to them?
Supporting the normative work of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (in short, the IGC), I turned to fashion and textile stakeholders asking them to be trustworthy partners in advocating for equitable legal frameworks that efficiently support craft custodians and Indigenous communities.
And a few of them said YES, so in 2018 we launched the platform with buoyancy and faith at the showroom of our CIPRI Family member, ABURY, in Berlin.
Advocacy actions are not enough if not followed by concrete actions in practice.
We need to design benefit-sharing models for collaborations with craft communities and Indigenous people and make sure we apply the 3Cs RULE (Consent, due Credit, Compensation). We must deconstruct and reconstruct supply chains, like LEGO parts.
We need two meet half way and be mindful of each other.
Everything matters, the terminology we use: “compensation” vs “wage”, “handcrafted” vs “handmade”, “partnership” vs “subordination”. Distinguishing between co-design and production services. Terminology dictates the way we frame our relationships and the way we design policies.
The sweet spot for sustainable collaborations between between artisans and designers lays at the intersection of law, fashion and textile business practices, and traditional knowledge as a cornerstone of sustainable development. That is why sustainable development without cultural sustainability is impossible.
April 26 2020,
Oradea, Romania
Monica Boța-Moisin