Key Points from WIA, UNESCO Partnership for Gender Parity and Inclusion in Animation

Wowza, that’s a plot twist better than a Pixar movie! Just when you thought 3D animation was all polygons, rendering, and sleepless nights, this news pops up and adds a whole new layer to the art. Good ol’ palpable activism. WIA has just teamed up with the behemoth we call UNESCO. An advocacy group from the arts tying knots with a heavyweight from the United Nations – talk about power couples, eh?

So now, we aren’t just looking forward to the next big spectacle from 3D creators, but also to a future where our beloved industry is fully inclusive. It’s just like that moment when Lighting McQueen realized there’s more to life than winning – there’s also fairness, inclusion, and gender equality!

L-R: Ernesto Ottone R., Marge Dean (Image courtesy of WIA, ©Emmanuel Steinitz)

Presently, Women in Animation (WIA), an international body backing equality for women and undervalued gender identities in animation, has announced an exciting collaboration with UNESCO. This global organization is renowned for protecting and promoting culture for sustainable development while upholding human rights. The collaboration represents a joint vision to empower and support animation, VFX, and gaming enthusiasts, predominantly in developing countries. WIA President Marge Dean took part in a signing event with Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture on November 10, 2023, at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France. Later, she was a featured speaker at the UNESCO Partner’s Forum.

The WIA and UNESCO collaboration presents an opportunity for global change at the crux of gender justice, alongside art, technology, business, and culture. With new animation industries flourishing worldwide, together, the two bodies can advocate for gender equity from the ground up.

-Marge Dean, WIA President

Ever since 1946, UNESCO has been working closely with various partners that support its global activities and programs. UNESCO prioritizes gender equality aligning with the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. UNESCO’s message about gender equality is unequivocal:

Both genders should enjoy equivalent opportunities, choices, capabilities, power, and knowledge as equal citizens. Implementing the knowledge, values, attitudes, and skills to address gender disparities is critical to establishing a sustainable future for all.

Over time, UNESCO has developed an extensive network of cooperation with civil societies possessing expertise in their arenas. In fact, civil society actors played a key role in the adoption of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions in 2005. Now, working with more than 400 civil society partners, this marks the first time UNESCO has partnered with an animation advocacy organization.

Civil society actors contributed significantly to the framing and acceptation of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions back in 2005. Over the past decade, their contribution has only grown as countries devise and implement fresh cultural policies. Organizations like Women in Animation can expedite the execution of the UNESCO 2005 Convention across local, national, regional, and global levels and ensure the voices of artists and cultural professionals, especially women, are taken into consideration.

-Toussaint Tiendrebeogo, Secretary of the UNESCO Convention

Both bodies are in agreement that animation provides a viable and sustainable career path for women globally, and an excellent avenue for sharing local cultural narratives with international audiences.

Animation renders the ideal global medium for narrating culturally authentic stories that connect audiences worldwide and not only illustrate the world as it is but as it could be. WIA aims to ensure that women and nonbinary people are represented in these realms, both in the content and the leadership and creative teams behind the industry and its stories.

-Jinko Gotoh, WIA Vice President

At the UNESCO Partner’s Forum held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, Dean led a presentation named “Gender & the Film, TV Industry: Fostering cultural diversity in the audio-visual sector via Women in Animation.” Here, Dean emphasized how the organization endeavours to eliminate frequent barriers faced by underrepresented gender identities in the animation sector. Initiatives like Stories x Women and WIA’s main Mentorship Circles offer educational opportunities and resources for members to further their careers, especially in creative leadership.

The partnership with UNESCO will enhance WIA’s global expansion efforts, creating new opportunities for resources and connections in developing regions like Nepal, where WIA recently announced a collaboration with WIA Nepal. The Napelese branch is spearheaded by Board President Sampada Malla and is sponsored by Incessant Rain Studios, led by Founder/Co-CEO Kiran Bhakta Joshi and co-CEO Deepa Chipalu Joshi. They are devoted to helping young Nepali women and their families understand the potential career paths in animation and visual effects and providing education scholarships to allow these women to enter the industry.

Following the presentation was an insightful discussion panel featuring:

WIA President, Marge Dean
Global Public Policy VP at The Walt Disney Company, James Filippatos
Co-founder/Executive Producer at MakoKids, Irmak Atabek Ndungu
Incessant Rain Studios’ Co-CEO, Deepa Chipalu Joshi
Founder/co-CEO of Incessant Rain Studios, Kiran Bhakta Joshi

Key Points from WIA, UNESCO Partnership for Gender Parity and Inclusion in Animation

Key Points from WIA, UNESCO Partnership for Gender Parity and Inclusion in Animation

Key Points from “WIA, UNESCO embark on historic partnership supporting global gender parity and inclusion in animation”

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