The First Meeting of Portuguese Speaking Societies of Authors (I Encontro Lusófono de Sociedades de Autores) took place last November 10th at SPA’s head office. Brazilian, Angolan, Mozambican and Cape Verdean societies of authors took part in this initiative organised by SPA, as well as the host itself. Furthermore, the Meeting happened under the auspices of the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and CPLP (Community Of Portuguese Speaking Countries), with the presence of and addresses by Domingos Simões Pereira, CPLP Executive Secretary, Eric Batiste, CISAC CEO, and Ana Gomes, Portuguese member of the European Parliament.
According to the participants, this Meeting was a success and is a relevant step towards an effective cooperation between the societies of authors of Portuguese speaking countries. The most relevant aspect has in fact been the approval of the proposal to create a Portuguese Speaking Committee to be integrated into CISAC. This proposal has been unanimously approved and immediately presented to CISAC’s CEO, who expressed his agreement and appreciation regarding the initiative.
Final meeting announcement
Those who took part in the FirstMeeting of Portuguese Speaking Societies of Authors rejoice at the event and at the impulse for an effective and advantageous cooperation between the participating collecting societies.
This Meeting represents an important step towards the beginning of a dialogue cycle, consisting of the creation of regular channels of communication between the several Portuguese speaking societies and of work groups on specific areas related to the activities of those societies.
During the meeting, the importance of the Portuguese language as a factor of communication, unity, strengthening and feasibility of common projects has been highlighted.
All participants have approved the proposal for the creation of a Portuguese Speaking Committee within CISAC, presented to CISAC’s CEO, Eric Batiste, who also attended the Meeting. The need to complement the creation of that committee with the conclusion of a protocol focusing on specific aspects of the cooperation work of the societies present was also pointed out .
They also stressed the importance of the communication between the societies of authors and the public, so that authors’ work becomes even more visible and respectable.
It has been agreed by a consensus that these meetings are to take place on a yearly basis, alternating the host country between the several countries where these societies are based. The Brazilian societies present in the Meeting proposed that the 2010 edition takes place in Rio de Janeiro.
In the end, a proclamation that synthesizes the essential and common position of the societies of authors regarding their role in this global world where author’s rights and interests are more and more threatened, has been unanimously approved.
Proclamation
Gathered in Lisbon for the First Meeting of Portuguese Speaking Societies of Authors (I Encontro Lusófono de Sociedades de Autores), the undersigned entities, together in the protection and promotion of all peoples’ and nations’ Culture who share the Common Homeland of the great Portuguese Language, come before the international public opinion, the creators’ and authors’ community all over the world, the governments of their respective countries and the international organisations associated with Culture and Intellectual Property to express the following:
1.That Author’s Right continues to be the most important means for the self-sustainability of Culture, in order to ensure its independence from the tutelage of governments and economic interests of major cultural industry corporations;
2.That the current information and knowledge society cannot develop itself adequately unless due moral and economic recognition is given to those who create and produce cultural goods, made available for the worldwide community by means of electronic networks and digital resources;
3.That it is inadmissible that only the suppliers, distributors and economic agents of the Culture production chain are the sole beneficiaries of the commercialisation and offer of intellectual works in the digital environment, with scandalous damage to those who effectively create and produce them;
4.That the access of peoples and communities to Culture is not incompatible with the protection of the rights of those who create and produce the intellectual goods that are essential for human development;
5.That Collective Management is the essential mechanism for an effective protection of creators’ and authors’ rights and for the preservation and valorization of the cultural heritage of peoples and nations;
6.That any and all governmental initiatives should be expressly rejected, such as the one that is now under way in Brazil, when they aim at limiting the rights of authors and creators, as well as to tutor or meddle in the actions of their Collective Management entities which, due to their private nature, should enjoy full freedom of operation;
7.That the community of Portuguese speaking authors and creators should stay together and permanently mobilised to ensure the protection of the cultural expressions and manifestations of all peoples and nations whose strength and reason to think and feel is in the Portuguese Language.
Lisbon, November 10th, 2009
