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Cultural participation explained: new video for young people

From hobbies to social media to going to the movies: In a video for young people, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO shows what the right to cultural participation means.

All people have cultural rights. Regardless of where we live or how much money we have. But how are these rights expressed? What does the right to participate in cultural life mean for our lifes? The video, designed and produced by the Austrian Commission for UNESCO, gives a first insight into the different aspects of the right to participate in cultural life.

The focus is on the broad understanding of culture, equal opportunities and copyright: How do I contribute to cultural life? What does copyright have to do with me? And who takes responsibility for implementing the right to participate in cultural life?

Lively examples make cultural rights tangible for a young target group.

The video was produced for the Human Rights Space exhibition. The exhibition will open in October.

Legal aspects
Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) lays down the right to cultural life. The signatory states are obliged to protect and promote people’s cultural rights. This article reads as follows:

  1. Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its benefits.
  2. Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

The United Nations (UN) expanded the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and adopted the UN Social Covenant in 1966. This covenant obliges states to guarantee non-discriminatory access to economic, social, and cultural rights. These include the rights to health, education, work, housing, water, sanitation, and participation in cultural life. UNESCO, a specialised agency of the UN, is responsible for education, science, and culture — in the field of culture, UNESCO invests huge efforts into protecting cultural rights.

© Kostal/Godec
© Austrian Commission for UNESCO