A unique opportunity to speak up for audiovisual performers and call on better protection of their economic and moral rights is coming up this month. On April 26, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) celebrates the World Intellectual Property Day in order to promote discussion of the role of intellectual property (IP) in encouraging innovation and creativity.

The EuroFIA group met in Copenhagen on the 4-6th April 2017, hosted by Danish unions DSF and DAF. The group was also pleased to welcome FIA President Ferne Downey, who joined the meetings. The meetings were hosted in the premises of Landsorganisationen i Danmark (LO Denmark), which is the Danish Trade Union Confederation.

Despite the chilly days in Brussels, European copyright reform is the subject of a roasting debate. Two initiatives by the European Commission promise to rock the boat and transform the legislative framework, increasing harmonisation of exceptions and limitations, introducing new neighbouring rights for press publishers, addressing the value gap between user-generated video sharing platforms and content right owners...

The first working seminar of our new European project “Dance Futures: Creating Transition Schemes for Dancers and Promoting Sustainable Mobility in the Dance Sector” took place on the 22 and 23 of March 2017, in the Muntpunt library, in Brussels, Belgium.

Based on the lessons learned and recommendations developed in their previous project work on Skills development in the Audiovisual and Live Performance sector, the two EU social dialogue committees in which FIA participates have decided to further deepen their cooperation and enter a new phase of their joint work. 

On Friday, March 31, the Latin American group of FIA (FIA-LA) approved a resolution in support of SAG-AFTRA’s successful organizing efforts at Telemundo, including a unanimous declaration that the unions will urge their members not to permit Telemundo to move productions to their countries in retaliation for the actors voting to unionize with SAG-AFTRA.

World Theatre Day was initiated in 1961 by the International Theatre Institute ITI. It is celebrated annually on the 27th March by ITI Centers and the international theatre community. Various national and international theatre events are organized to mark this occasion. One of the most important of these is the circulation of the World Theatre Day Message through which at the invitation of ITI, a figure of world stature shares his or her reflections on the theme of Theatre and a Culture of Peace.