Quebec ministries and organizations program for international cooperation
Through their activities, the Societe de developpement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), the Ministere des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie (MRIF) and the Ministere de la Culture et des Communications (MCC) achieve several objectives related to international cooperation and the needs of several cultural stakeholders. They also help to achieve several objectives in Quebec's International Policy, including strengthening Quebec's capacity for action and influence, the promotion of Quebec culture and identity and the contribution to the international solidarity effort. The objective of their activities is notably to contribute to strengthening the reciprocity of exchanges, highlighting Quebec's cultural industries on the international stage and supporting initiatives that are in line with foreign relations intensification policies.
In terms of culture, the MCC coordinates international action and acts as the MRIF's preferred interface. In this way, it contributes to the implementation of various initiatives.
The purpose of the MRIF's community life program is to support the initiatives of civil society partners in line with Quebec's Francophonie objectives. For example, this program annually supports the Vues d'Afrique program, the mandate of which is to bridge Quebec with African and Creole nations through reciprocal discovery and mutual knowledge by implementing cultural activities.
The programme d'aide a l'exportation et au rayonnement culturel (Sodexport) (link available in French only) led to the signing of reciprocal agreements with several countries and the SODEC's operations being presented to developing countries, along with various tools to support them in developing a national policy on cultural industries. This program also annually supports a unique project consisting of meetings on screenwriting for fiction feature films in French: the Atelier Grand Nord. Founded in 2003 by the SODEC, this event brings together professionals from the film industry and the Francophone community for work and exchange sessions on screenwriting, which allows participants to test their ideas and discuss their scripts. Thanks to support from the IOF and the lnstitut francais, representatives from Francophone African countries have participated in the workshops since 2014.
Through its programs and initiatives, the MRIF would like to help showcase Quebec culture and identity internationally as well as participate in the global international solidarity effort. For example, support for the Vues d'Afrique program through the community life program provides a basis for better reciprocal knowledge of African and Quebec cultures. Over 100 foreign films are proposed to the Quebec public annually, about 2500 students participate in cultural workshops, and thousands of people attend the festival outside of Montreal.
The results the SODEC expects include fostering an exchange of Quebec expertise and highlighting Quebec's cultural industries on the international stage. As part of the international component of the Sodexport program, presentations have been given since 2012 in Haiti, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Morocco and West Africa. A representative of the West African Economic and Monetary Union also came to stay in Quebec to better grasp the issues involved in implementing an organization like the SODEC. As for the Atelier Grand Nord, since it was founded, 45 feature films have been released, demonstrating its success. The films produced were internationally showcased on the big screen at the largest festivals and fairs in the world, making the Atelier Grand Nord the only activity focused on screenwriting to have achieved that level of results.
MRIF
Vues d'Afrique: 2014-2015, $CAD 20K
SODEC
Atelier Grand Nord 2014-2015: $CAD 21.5K