Reflections on opportunities and chal-
lenges for African cultural actors in Aus-
tria's cultural sector
Preferential treatment within the meaning of
the UNESCO Convention is a commitment for
countries of the “Global North” to counteract
global asymmetries in the arts and culture sec-
tor and to give preferential treatment to the
“Global South”. This commitment to counter-
act global asymmetries in the arts and culture
sector also applies to Austria. It involves
strengthening cultural policy frameworks by,
for instance, fair procedures for issue of visas,
cooperation on an equal footing and the elimi-
nation of stereotypes and prejudices. Against
the backdrop of UNESCO’s Global Priority,
since 2023, the Austrian Commission for
UNESCO is focusing on the African Continent.
In a broad stakeholder process and in cooper-
ation with communities in Austria and cultural
actors from a number of countries and inter-
national NGOs, we examined how global asym-
metries can be counteracted – with a view to
the topics of visas, working conditions as well
as cooperation programs and residencies. In
addition to building connections and raising
awareness to the challenges faced by African
artists in the arts and culture sector, concrete
recommendations were developed on how to
achieve preferential treatment for artists and
cultural actors from the Continent.
The topics and fields of action mentioned in
the publication are
• cultural policy on the continent,
• questions of funding and promotion,
• North-South cooperation projects,
South-South mobility,
• sustainability,
2 Unless otherwise stated, the content is based on the interviews
conducted and the results of the workshop.
• education and training, awareness-
raising,
• visas and residency