The original idea, which was to establish a kind of development bank intended for cultural managers, evolved towards the creation of a fund meant to support projects of cultural development. The main aim of the Fund is to help cultural artists and managers to find additional financing for their projects, so that cultural diversity may benefit from globalisation and better assert itself instead of being its victim.

An Administrative Council consisting of fifteen members who enjoy a wide intellectual and operational autonomy administers the Fund. The Administrative Council is the only body empowered by the General Conference of UNESCO to lay down the principles governing the activities of the Fund and to decide on any disposition necessary to the execution of those activities. The director of the Fund is appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO to implement activities decided by the Administrative Council.

The activities of the Administrative Council of the IFPC come under the great priorities of all the organizations of the United Nations System, which are contained in the Millennium Declaration (8 September 2000) and concern poverty eradication through sustainable development. The Administrative Council of IFPC is alive to any project putting cultural management at the service of the sustainable development of a community, which can have multiplying effects and observe the fundamental rights of the human being, as well as the traditional values of the community concerned regarding universal acceptance of the dignity of human beings and equal opportunities between sexes. The Administrative Council of IFPC intends to conform to UNESCO’s concerns in favour of the safeguarding of cultural diversity through revitalization of intangible heritage, through dissemination of traditional and contemporary culture and through creativity. The IFPC funds, in total or in part, projects which fall within the scope of development through cultural activities.

The Fund’s resources are used to finance small projects as well as to support more considerable projects, which are financed in cooperation with other financing bodies pursuing the same objectives in the spirit of UNESCO’s ideals. The Administrative Council of IFPC wishes to give priority to projects that cannot benefit from other sources of financing in order to complete the necessary funds for their implementation.

The Director-General of UNESCO and the Administrative Council wish to improve cooperation with civil society organizations, foundations and the private sector. As in the past, agreements and partnerships could be linked to certain well-defined projects, thus taking advantage of the experience and competence of the UNESCO Secretariat in the field of cultural development. At present the main partners of IFPC are the Ford Foundation and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Financed projects:  2001 | 2002 | 2003 |  2004 | 2005