MediaRelease1 - Australian Permanent Mission and Consulate-General

Australian Permanent Mission and Consulate-General

Geneva, Switzerland

Address: Chemin des Fins 2, Case Postale 102, 1211 Geneva 19 - Telephone: 022 799 9100 - Fax: 022 799 9178

Media Release

AUSTRALIAN PERMANENT MISSION
AND CONSULATE GENERAL
Geneva, Switzerland

Australian support for Indigenous Participation at WIPO

Australian Ambassador to the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Tim Yeend, today announced that Australia will contribute A$100,000 to the WIPO Voluntary Fund for Accredited Indigenous and Local Communities.

In his Magna Carta Lecture Tjurkurpu: For the Indigenous Peoples of the World,
Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd outlined Australia’s strong commitment to helping Indigenous communities make the most of their intellectual property, including working within WIPO to support effective Indigenous participation in WIPO meetings.

Australia’s contribution will help to finance the participation of indigenous and local communities in the work of the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Traditional Cultural Expressions (WIPO IGC).

WIPO Director General Francis Gurry welcomed Australia’s contribution. “Australia’s donation to the WIPO Voluntary Fund will greatly help to facilitate the valuable contribution of Indigenous and Local Community representatives to the work of the WIPO IGC, which is reaching a crucial stage,” Mr Gurry said.

Established by the WIPO General Assembly in October 2000, the WIPO IGC is undertaking text-based negotiations with the objective of reaching agreement on a text of an international legal instrument (or instruments) which will ensure the effective protection of traditional knowledge (TK), traditional cultural expressions (TCEs)/folklore and genetic resources.

Australia is committed to a successful outcome to the negotiations in the WIPO IGC and welcomed the IGC’s recommendation to the General Assemblies for the renewal of its mandate.

“We hope Australia’s contribution to the WIPO Voluntary Fund will help to contribute to an outcome in the WIPO IGC that is well informed and appropriately balanced” said Ambassador Yeend. “We value the contribution of Indigenous and Local Communities representatives to the IGC.”

Australia’s contribution to the WIPO Voluntary Fund follows the announcement last week that Australia would contribute a further $100,000 to the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Populations, which assists representatives of Indigenous peoples’ organisations to participate in relevant UN human rights meetings.