CISAC – Latin American and Caribbean Committee –Valparaiso 2017

Last April the CISAC – Latin American and Caribbean Committee was held in the city of Valparaiso, Chile. Many international societies participated during the three rewarding days.

The Committee started with the Audiovisual Societies Day,on the 24th of April, which was organized by ADAL, this was followed by the events on the 25th and 26th of the same month. The days were very fruitful, with a rich exchange about the political and economic situations of each of the participating societies. Special note was made of the importance of the fight being carried out by DASC, Directores Audiovisuales Sociedad Colombiana, and REDES – Red Colombiana de Escritores Audiovisuales , and the progress made regarding the Pepe Sánchez Bill, which protects the rights of authors in Colombia and has already passed to the third instance in the country’s Senate. This progress would not have been possible without the invaluable help of Dra. Clara Rojas, a member of the House of Representatives, who attended the event and spoke about her experience working together with the societies in defense of the Pepe Sánchez Bill, and what this means for Colombian authors. Because of her actions and commitment, Dr. Clara Rojas received an Honor Prize bestowed by Writers and Directors Worldwide that celebrates her exceptional contribution to the enactment and protection of the long yearned for law.

Another point highlighted was the strong support for the Brazilian societies GEDAR – Gestão de Direitos de Autores Roteiristas, and DBCA who are also in the struggle for the enactment of the “Nelson Pereira Dos Santos” Bill, which protects authors in Brazil.

The Chilean host society ATN – Sociedad de Autores Nacionales, de Teatro, Cine y Audiovisual was congratulated on the recently enacted “Ricardo Larraín” Law, and the fight required from its authors in order to achieve this collective accomplishment. The Audiovisual Societies Day was an important step for ATN, given that the fees with regard to the Audiovisual Authors’ right to remuneration were established.