[DRAFT] Support for the Arts in Schools

[Authoritaria-Imperia]

(OOC) I've gotten an SC resolution passed before, but the GA is a whole new ball game for me! Here's a proposal establishing a fund for the arts in schools. All advice is appreciated — I hope I didn't WAFAL on too long!
Latest changes: New title, existing WA resolutions acknowledged, a new database established, and a course-offerings mandate added!
Draft 2:

Support for the Arts in Schools

Category: Education and Creativity
Area of Effect: Artistic

This most august World Assembly,

Believing that artistic self-expression carries intrinsic value, that all sentient beings possess creative potential, and that any instance of inaccessibility to the arts is a stifling of creativity and cultural growth,

Aware that such expression plays a crucial role in a well-rounded, holistic education, and that many artistic works now celebrated as cultural treasures are often the result of a distinct creative idea realised by a single individual,

Acknowledging this Assembly's prior resolutions concerning the arts which, though well-intentioned, fail to recognise the arts' nature as a discipline distinct from other pursuits in its indiscriminate demand for pure creativity,

Adamant that the passage of more in-depth international legislation with a focus uniquely on the artistic disciplines is warranted and indeed necessary for the protection of access to artistic expression and the cultivation of creativity in educational establishments,

Hereby,

1. Defines, for the purposes of this resolution,
   1. “artistic expression” as all endeavours of primary intent to entertain an audience or promote philosophically introspective thought, each encompassing one or more of three broad fields: the literary arts, involving written creativity such as the composition of poetry or prose; the performing arts, involving the composition and performance of music and the performance of drama through acting and dramatic readings; and the visual arts, involving the composition of works appreciated through a visual medium, including but not limited to paintings, drawings, sculptures, and virtual design,
   2. “artistic resources” as all tangible or digital materials necessary for a type of artistic expression, including but not limited to stationery, musical instruments, theatrical property, and technology and software, as well as any funds designated for the acquisition of such materials, and
   3. an “educational establishment” as any public or private institution of principal purpose to act as the main source of education for enrolled primary, secondary, or tertiary students;
2. Mandates that all educational establishments within member states provide enrolled students with access to at least one course per year focusing primarily on artistic expression, whether obligatory or elective;
3. Establishes the World Assembly Fund for the Arts (WAFA) to serve as a central fund to which member states may apply to receive artistic resources on behalf of educational establishments within their borders;
4. Establishes the International Database for Artistic Expression (IDEA) as a global database under the WAFA to which all works of artistic expression may be voluntarily submitted for recognition and cataloguing;
5. Tasks the WAFA with
   1. the evaluation of applicant states’ needs for artistic resources and those resources’ subsequent allocation,
   2. the reception, storage, and distribution of such resources voluntarily donated to the WAFA by member states, and
   3. the management of the IDEA through the cataloguing of all submitted works of artistic expression and the provision of accessibility to the Database for all member nations;
6. Prohibits the WAFA from disallowing any member state access to artistic resources when there is a sufficient available supply of such resources and a reasonable need for them in that state;
7. Prohibits member states from disallowing educational establishments within their borders access to artistic resources that can be or have been provided by the WAFA;
8. Encourages member states with a surplus of artistic resources to donate such resources to the WAFA in good faith;
9. Clarifies that this resolution
   1. does not protect access to forms of artistic expression in member states in which such forms of expression are illegal under national or international law and
   2. does not protect access to or actively permit the provision of any artistic resource in member states in which the possession or usage of such a resource is illegal under national or international law.

The World Assembly,

Aware of the intrinsic value of artistic self-expression and the crucial role such expression plays in a well-rounded, holistic education,

Cognizant of the fact that many artistic works now celebrated as cultural treasures are often the result of a distinct creative idea realised by a single individual,

Believing that all sentient beings possess creative potential, and that any instance of inaccessibility to the arts is a stifling of creativity and cultural growth,

Further believing that the passage of international legislation is warranted and indeed necessary for the protection of access to artistic expression and the cultivation of creativity in educational establishments,

Hereby,

1. Defines, for the purposes of this resolution,
   1. “artistic expression” as all endeavours of primary intent to entertain an audience or promote philosophically introspective thought, each encompassing one or more of three broad fields: the literary arts, involving written creativity such as the composition of poetry or prose; the performing arts, involving the composition and performance of music and the performance of drama through acting and dramatic readings; and the visual arts, involving the composition of works appreciated through a visual medium, including but not limited to paintings, drawings, sculptures, and virtual design,
   2. “artistic resources” as all tangible or digital materials necessary for a type of artistic expression, including but not limited to stationery, musical instruments, theatrical property, and technology and software, as well as any funds designated for the acquisition of such materials, and
   3. an “educational establishment” as any public or private institution of principal purpose to act as the main source of education for enrolled primary, secondary, or tertiary students;
2. Establishes the World Assembly Fund for the Arts (WAFA) to serve as a central fund to which member states may apply to receive artistic resources on behalf of educational establishments within their borders;
3. Tasks the WAFA with
   1. the evaluation of applying states’ needs for artistic resources and those resources’ subsequent allocation and
   2. the reception, storage, and distribution of such resources voluntarily donated to the WAFA by member states;
4. Prohibits the WAFA from disallowing any member state access to artistic resources when there is a sufficient available supply of such resources and a reasonable need for them in that state;
5. Prohibits member states from disallowing educational establishments within their borders access to artistic resources that can be or have been provided by the WAFA;
6. Encourages member states with a surplus of artistic resources to donate such resources to the WAFA in good faith; and
7. Clarifies that this resolution
   1. does not protect access to forms of artistic expression in member states in which such forms of expression are illegal under national or international law and
   2. does not protect access to or actively permit the provision of any artistic resource in member states in which the possession or usage of such a resource is illegal under national or international law.

A big thanks to

• Cretox State
• The New California Republic
• Comfed

[Cretox State]

"What does this proposal achieve that this resolution does not?"

[Authoritaria-Imperia]

"What does this proposal achieve that this resolution does not?"

(OOC) Crud, I didn't realise that one covered the arts. Do you think that with an acknowledgement of existing resolutions and a clause about how the arts should be considered distinct, this one would be workable?

[Cretox State]

"What does this proposal achieve that this resolution does not?"

(OOC) Crud, I didn't realise that one covered the arts. Do you think that with an acknowledgement of existing resolutions and a clause about how the arts should be considered distinct, this one would be workable?

OOC: I think it could definitely work, since this proposal handles a more specific area, and focuses on material resources as opposed to education. I'm just not really convinced that this would achieve anything not already sufficiently covered, since Saving and Valuing already provides funding in much the same capacity:

3c. fund government initiatives that seek to further the research and development in various areas of the humanities nationally,

Also, could you please clarify if the committee is providing funding, or are institutions literally getting WA-brand paintbrushes shipped to them?

Edit: Upon further inspection, the last point appears to be covered by: "as well as any funds designated for the acquisition of such materials"

[The New California Republic]

"What does this proposal achieve that this resolution does not?"

(OOC) Crud, I didn't realise that one covered the arts. Do you think that with an acknowledgement of existing resolutions and a clause about how the arts should be considered distinct, this one would be workable?

You'd need to have something that is substantially different from it in terms of content, otherwise it'd just be too close to being duplication.

[Comfed]

You cannot modify other resolutions.

[Authoritaria-Imperia]

(OOC) Thanks for your help folks! I've added a clause acknowledging existing resolutions and justifying a bit why this one is still needed. I've also added the creation of a database to manage and catalogue works of art, and a mandate that at least one art course be offered at schools each year (is one per year too much?). Plus the title's gotten a fix to accommodate the greater scope of the draft.

OOC: I think it could definitely work, since this proposal handles a more specific area, and focuses on material resources as opposed to education. I'm just not really convinced that this would achieve anything not already sufficiently covered, since Saving and Valuing already provides funding in much the same capacity:

3c. fund government initiatives that seek to further the research and development in various areas of the humanities nationally,

You'd need to have something that is substantially different from it in terms of content, otherwise it'd just be too close to being duplication.

These are good points. I've added the creation of an international works-of-art database to allow for greater recognition of the discipline and an easier time for artists in general. There's also an arts-course-offering mandate, which #495 sort of includes but doesn't do well, lumping the arts in with unrelated sub-fields of the humanities in a way that lets schools neglect the arts if desired.

You cannot modify other resolutions.

Thanks very much for this clarification in response to my question! I've gone ahead and added the course-offerings thing as a mandate on its own, rather than as a change of existing resolutions.

Thoughts on the new draft?