Traditional Knowledge and Empowerment

Pilots are under implementation in

• Bolivia
• Ecuador
• Ghana
• India
• Mali
• Senegal
• Venezuela

Traditional Knowledge Industries

This program has moved ahead with noteworthy speed and effectiveness. The outputs relate to development of field piloting. President's Contingency funds to promote traditional knowledge industries were used to support the following:

Intellectual Property Protections of Indigenous Peoples

Venezuela: The project assisted with protections and marketing of medicinal properties in plants, by the Dhekuana. The focus of this work is to help the Dhekuana foundation [which was established with support of the Development Grant Facility and with a Board of Directors composed of the 12 Dhekuana Tribes (cited by The Economist 6/23/01)] use a trade secret approach to market and license their intellectual property based on ethnobotanical knowledge.

In FY03, funds from the President's Contingency were used to develop a presentation to five faculties of Yale University, delineating the history of the Dhekuana, establishment of their territorial rights, their archive and atlas, the Dhekuana Foundation (Kuyujani Originario), the potentials for a licensing deal between Yale University and the foundation, with Yale sublicensing to a pharmaceutical company. Faculty members responded positively with a detailed proposal that is currently being considered by the Board of Directors of the Dhekuana Foundation. President's Contingency Funds paid for the management and substantive development of this process including intermediation by a specialist in the Dhekuana culture.

To promote marketing of myths, stories, legends and poetry funds supported presentation to six publishers of samples of the Dhekuanas' myths, stories, legends and poetry for the production of a coffee table book with the royalties going to the Dhekuana.

Artisanal Products & Music Industry

India: Indian crafts market is the largest handicrafts producer worldwide. CEERD is supporting direct marketing of crafts from artisans' organizations to niche export markets, including the Museum Store Association of North America. A project development note has been prepared to assist in incorporation of this experience and its scaling up through the DPIPs. (Artisans comprise 20% of India's manufacturing workforce.) Other activities included

• Evaluation of the socio-economic impact on artisans of direct marketing to museum stores
  
• Analysis of the efficacy of intellectual property protections for crafts in the form of certification and trade dress - confirmation that these approaches make sense and recommendation of information campaign on certification.
  

Mali: The work was concentrated on

• Reviewing intellectual property regime in Mali governing crafts development, as an input to the Mali Integrated Framework - legal and regulatory environment on copyright, improvement of collection society
• Marketing diagnostic for Malian crafts, and investment requirements
• Evaluation of market for community-based tourism, needed preparatory activities, as an input to the Integrated Framework and identification for piloting, and confirmation that there is international market potential for Mali
• Three part study on legal and regulatory framework (copyright law and collection society); recommendations on public and private investment proposals; assessment of musicians association and recommendations for capacity-building, and music Industry Development incorporated into Integrated Framework as part of cultural industries component of CAS.

Ghana: Proposal to develop the music industry sector, in collaboration with 3 musicians' unions (10,000 - 20,000 members) - proposal (for loan of $10 million) prepared and incorporated into PRSP and CAS.

Senegal. Technical advice on "co-pilotage" between Ministry of Culture and the Association of Senegalese Musicians, to ensure accountability in implementation of the music component ($5.2 million) in the Private Sector Development Loan.

Community Based Tourism

Bolivia: 2 communities scaled up to 160 communities in loan.

Ecuador: Preparation of entire new loan.

Legal Services Requirements

Preparation of paper on "Significance of Legal Expertise in Traditional Knowledge Industries." This addressed the contributions of legal services for the poor, in law reform, group representation, overcoming administrative barriers, and advocacy vis a vis government, in the area of traditional knowledge industries. (The paper clarified the interface between the work program on income generation and that on legal services.)