The duty reported [hier] worrying figures on listening to French-language music on online platforms. The absence of a French-language song from the list of the 100 most listened to songs is another demonstration of the strength of the deleterious impact of digital platforms on Quebec culture.
Beyond the music sector alone, the digital revolution that the planet is going through affects all sectors of cultural activity. For example, there are already as many families who subscribe to digital platforms like Apple TV+, Netflix and Disney+ as to good old cable. This new technological environment is transforming our habits.
If we do nothing, what will Quebec cinema, our music industry or our television look like in 10, 20, 30 years? We must act now to ensure that our culture can find the space it needs to flourish in the digital infrastructures that are being built all around us.
It is not impossible. We did it for the book: when you enter a bookstore, you can find both books from here and elsewhere. It is not by chance. This is because the Quebec state has ensured that Quebec books have their place. We must do the same thing on the big digital platforms: make sure that among the range of choices we are offered, we also find our own culture. This is the “discoverability” of cultural content.
It is to respond to this immense challenge that the Government of Quebec was present in Paris on June 6 to ask UNESCO to include “linguistic diversity in the digital environment” in its work on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions. Thanks to the joint work of the Department of Culture and Communications and the Department of International Relations and La Francophonie, Quebec’s proposal found a favorable reception, particularly among our friends from La Francophonie, and was adopted. This diplomatic victory confirms that Quebec is not alone in working to increase the “discoverability” of its culture on digital platforms. Apart from our American neighbours, all the cultures of the world must indeed face this challenge, including Canada. It is therefore with the federal government and allies around the world that we seek the best possible answers.
Canada, with its Bill C-11, has just provided an initial response by requiring digital platforms for Canadian content. Quebec must, however, go further and require the presence of original French-language content on these platforms. We are all the more likely to succeed if we do not act alone and other states take similar steps to protect their own national culture.
At the UNESCO meeting in Paris, a first step in this direction was taken: the 150 or so signatory countries of the 2005 Convention agreed on the need to begin an in-depth reflection on the challenges posed by the digital economy. for the linguistic diversity of cultural expressions.
If we want Quebec culture to remain our common culture; that it shines and that it continues to produce works that speak of us, that take place in our home, that it be produced by our craftsmen; and that it does not become a niche for 4, then 3, then 2 million Quebecers, we must act now. This is what the Government of Quebec is dedicated to, at every opportunity it is given and wherever it can.