In 2024, UNESCO's International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD) will provide US$1,187,298 in seed funding for 12 transformative projects that aim to advance the creative economy worldwide. Projects from Armenia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ethiopia, Malawi, Mexico, Mongolia, Tunisia, Türkiye, Uganda and Uruguay were selected from 530 submitted applications.

This year's funding supports diverse capacity-building measures in the cultural and creative industries from strengthening intellectual property rights regulations in Ethiopia, to offering digital training on web design and marketing for artists in Uruguay.

The 2024 IFCD beneficiaries are:

CULTURE - MY WAY: Supporting artists with learning disabilities through vocational training, Armenia

Storytelling the future: empowering Brazil's youth in the audio-visual sector, Brazil

Promoting the professionalization of musical diversity in Valparaíso, Chile

Strengthening career opportunities for emerging musicians, Colombia

Strengthening Intellectual Property Rights in Ethiopia (EIPRE), Ethiopia

Mainstreaming Gender Equality in Malawi's Cultural and Creative Sector, Malawi

Creating networks among cultural agents to drive community action in Jalisco, Mexico

Promoting social equality in Mongolia's cultural and creative sector, Mongolia

TACIR: Contributing to equitable and decentralized access to creativity, Tunisia

Grow Local, Grow Equal: supporting the sustainable development of Türkiye’s music industry, Türkiye

Revitalizing the film industry in Eastern Africa, Uganda

Empowering the cultural entrepreneurship of vulnerable youth in the digital art sector, Uruguay

The UNESCO Fund supports sustainable development of culture, creates an enabling environment for cultural entrepreneurs, facilitates access to markets, and ensures the accessibility of diverse cultural expressions for all. Each project contributes to the protection and promotion of cultural diversity, in line with the UNESCO 2005 Convention on Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture said, "The IFCD beneficiaries represent not only the creativities around the world, but also the grassroots aspiration to make to the creative economy work for all. This year, we are pleased to increase the number of funded projects, in line the MONDIACULT 2022 Declaration which calls for the adaptation of cultural policies to contemporary challenges."

The latest round of funding was approved during the Seventeenth Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, held from 27 to 29 February 2024 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. This brings IFCD's total contribution to the cultural and creative sector to US$11.5 million since 2010, which has funded 152 projects in 71 developing countries. Greater financial support from the UNESCO Member States and external donors is solicited to further increase the number of funded projects among the hundreds of proposals received each year.

Toussaint Tiendrebeogo, Secretary of the Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions said, "As we embark upon the 20th anniversary of the Convention in 2025, it is critical to ensure the sustainability of the Fund and its ability to foster the emergence of dynamic cultural and creative sectors in developing countries."