Cartooning Global Forum
2018 recommendations

Based on the work session held at UNESCO, Paris, october 3rd, 2018,
where participants included 81 individuals, from 30 countries,
representing 33 organisations and associations, 8 institutions and universities,
10 newspaper, publishers and companies

During the first Cartooning Global Forum, convened on October 3rd 2018 at UNESCO, Paris all attending participants entered into an exchange on the following topics and concluded their debate with the subsequent recommendations.  Within the context of the 2030 SDGs, we commit to promote these recommendations and invite institutions, leaders, associations and NGOs to factor them in to the development of projects in these areas:

SDG 4 – Quality Education

• Promote educational action to include the study of news media images (cartooning as well as photo/video) in primary/elementary school curricula.
• Invite institutions to use cartoonists’ work in the illustration of school course materials.
• Equip each National Library, or equivalent archival body where they exist, with a fund for the conservation of cartooning, to preserve its history.

SDG 5 – Gender Equality

• Use cartooning as a means to diversify gender representation and challenge gendered perspectives.
• Demonstrate to young audiences that all genders are capable, welcome and needed in cartooning.
• Promote gender equality by including cartoonists of multiple backgrounds in public events.

SDG 10 – Reduced Inequalities

• Offer opportunities for historical and cultural reclamation (such as workshops) to populations without access to news, where illiteracy is prevalent, language barriers exist, displacement has occurred, disabilities are not accommodated or poverty is rife; enable those who draw to be vital actors rather than “forgotten spectators”.

SDG 16 – Peace, Justice and strong institutions

• Promote the efforts of professional journalistic institutions and unions who extend positive and protective measures to cartoonists working in news media in their territories. Likewise such measures extended by institutions and unions for visual artists.
• Advise web and media players, as well as users of social networks, how to contextualize news media cartoons, identify “fake news”, parse cartoons about controversial topics as opposed to actual incitement to hatred or defamation and place penal responsibility upon those who deliberately deface or misappropriate cartoons, altering the message conveyed to an unsuspecting public.
• Raise relevant museums, institutions and foundations’ awareness of cartooning’s value as contemporary art. Integrate works of cartoonists into Local/Regional/ National Contemporary Art Funds (or equivalent).
• Bring cartoons into public spaces, balancing the iconography of power with satire (for example, the First Council Chamber of the Paris City Hall covered by Tignous sketchs).
• Create an international aid fund for freedom of the press and information, to ensure permanent international financial support of NGOs and associations working in the field to protect journalists and cartoonists and in education on, public promotion of and developing audience exposure to news media images.
• Advise that as a matter of principle the work of threatened and displaced cartoonists be given priority in order to both materially assist them and ensure the preservation of their contribution to the heritage of cartooning.

These were the main themes of 2018’s forum. At each subsequent session our intent will be to take stock of the past year, extend the work based upon the prior recommendations, explore and develop them, detail methods of application, demonstrate their positive effects in society and promote peace, justice and equality.