At a time we are discussing the present and future of Lusophony, subject which will be at the center of the forthcoming debate of the leaders of the CPLP – Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, SPAutores reaffirms the strategic importance it attaches to cooperation of collecting societies representing authors and its desire to create a confederation that unites, strengthens and mobilizes Lusophony.
The project launched by SPAutores in 2014, was reinforced with the creation of a manifesto on the importance of the Portuguese language, in October 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, and now is to be carried forward with commitment, conviction and creativity.
On the other hand, the regular presence of the SPAutores at the general assemblies of the CISAC’s African Committee, namely in Rwanda, Namibia, Angola and this year in Côte d’Ivoire, contributes to emphasize the importance and scope of this project, and also to be aware of what many countries think about it, how to follow it and how it should be furthered developed.
SPAutores has also maintained the dialogue with the Moroccan Authors’ Society (BMDA) and MACA of Macao, on this strategic objective. All available information has been shared with the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC), based in Paris.
These reasons are enough for SPAutores to reaffirm its commitment to the realization of this project and to declare that no other European society, supported by the value and interpretation of figures, may wish to be involved in this project, especially if it does so in the spirit of supervision and not as a healthy and rigorous partnership.
Recent statements made on this subject at the Cannes MIDEM have triggered a significant set of reactions from many African societies, some of which are even available to intervene with CISAC as a legitimate way of protesting and revitalizing their place and role in all societies of authors of several continents, with full sovereignty.
SPAutores has taken note of these reactions and expresses its interest in continuing to dialogue on this subject with the right partners, always with a spirit of independence and full respect for sovereignty of the structures that, in each country, ensure the correct collective management of copyright, concern and assistance that we always welcome.
SPAutores’s President, José Jorge Letria, will meet this week in Paris, at CISAC, with the general director of the confederation, Mr. Gadi Oron, who knows well the positions of the society of the Portuguese authors and the ambition and scope of the cooperation project ongoing.
Moreover, SPAutores expresses its wish that the leaders of CPLP will not fail to defend and strengthen the importance of Lusophony in the world, represented by more than 260 million speakers on several continents.
Lusophony, in this unstable and uncertain world, represents a platform for cooperation, meeting and dialogue that also gives consistency to the need to create a Lusophone Confederation of Societies of Authors, with the presence and the essential intervention of Brazilian authors’ societies, that are already mobilized for this strategic initiative.
Lisbon, June 19, 2018
