CULTURE AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY IN UNCERTAIN TIMES
Most of the time at TAEC, we’re behind the scenes — supporting others to share their stories, rather than telling our own. But sometimes, it feels important to pause and give you a more direct look at the work we do and the realities we face. This is one of those times.
In late 2024, we received confirmation that a momentous new project we had applied for would begin. We had spent over a year working on our proposal, revisions, and planning, and were excited to start the “Women Entrepreneurs Achieving Viable IP Technologies” project, or WEAVIT.
This three-year, nearly $900,000 USD initiative was funded by the US State Department and aimed to strengthen the Intellectual Property (IP) protections for traditional designs in Laos – the cultural IP. We formed a Steering Committee with the Lao Handicraft Association (LHA), the Lao Department of Intellectual Property (DIP), and the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative® (CIPRI).
The project would be supporting:
- awareness-raising workshops in north, central, and southern Laos for traditional communities;
- training of 10-12 local facilitators to support communities who wish to document their traditional designs;
- a collaboration between the Oma ethnic group and a fashion designer;
- creation of new databases to document the cultural designs of two ethnic groups; and
- legal advice for the Lao government on strengthening IP protections for the traditional knowledge of the country – and much more.
We even managed to hold the first Steering Committee in January 2025, with Monica Boța-Moisin of CIPRI® travelling from Romania to join us, and DIP and LHA coming from Vientiane (you may remember our post about the first meeting in January!). But, in the very same week, we received a notice: all activities were to pause immediately, due to a 90-day “funding freeze.”
Following the 2024 US elections and a change in administration, broad cuts were made to government programmes focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), both in the US and internationally. WEAVIT, with its focus on women and cultural heritage, was one of many initiatives affected. After a long period of limbo, we’ve now had formal confirmation: the project will not go ahead. We have processed all the work done, and the work lost.
This experience shows how international funding decisions – even those made far from Laos – can directly shape what’s possible here. A promising opportunity was halted not because of a lack of vision or interest in collaboration, but because of shifting political priorities abroad.
Although WEAVIT ended before it truly began, the interest from local partners has reinforced our commitment to continue this work. Now more than ever, it is important to protect what it is we truly value, and to recognise just how interconnected global politics and local progress truly are. This goes both ways, we hope to contribute to a better world, starting here with our community in Laos.