The European Crafts Alliance is thrilled to announce an exciting addition to our growing network. We are officially expanding our footprint into Romania for the very first time with the arrival of the WhyWeCraft Association (Asociația WhyWeCraft®).
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The WhyWeCraft® Association advances cultural sustainability through legal innovation, advocacy, education, and policy development for craft and fashion ecosystems. As a licensee of the Cultural Intellectual Property Rights Initiative® (CIPRI), the organisation designs legal strategies and social innovation programmes that nurture traditional knowledge systems that are sustainable by design. It also plays a vital role in facilitating dialogue among diverse stakeholders across the Romanian craft landscape.
WhyWeCraft® strengthens the sector by delivering specialised legal expertise to communities of Custodians of Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Traditional Cultural Expressions (TCEs), craft practitioners, and creative industry professionals. Its interdisciplinary approach successfully integrates conventional intellectual property tools, such as trade marks, Geographical Indications (GIs), and industrial design protection, with cultural governance based on the 3C Rule: Consent. Credit. Compensation® Framework.
The association also contributes to major international policy development, holding observer status at the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the WIPO Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore (WIPO IGC).
photo: WhyWeCraft Association 2021. Photo by Daniela Tole – Monica Moisi