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From climate action to social inclusion, culture is an enabler and driver of sustainable development. In recent years, culture has been progressively recognized for its undisputed contribution in development strategies and prospects. Progressively, culture’s role has been manifested by its multifaceted impact to the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development across its 17 Goals.

In the framework of the adopted in December 2021, UNESCO is currently conducting a global consultation from mid-April to 15 May 2023 to prepare a report for presentation to the General Assembly at its 78th session in September 2023.

The process involves a wide range of stakeholders from Member States to UN agencies, non-governmental and inter-governmental organizations, UNESCO Creative Cities, as well as UNESCO Field Offices, Chairs, and Category 2 centres. Each stakeholder is invited to respond to an online questionnaire aimed at identifying key trends of the cultural and creative sector at the local, national and regional levels.

• Launch of the global consultation from mid-April to 15^th May 2023.
• Submission of the report to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) in July 2023.
• Submission of the report to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2023, during the 78^th session.
• Contributions are received in Word format and are also collected through the online platform Lime survey.

Since 2010, the United Nations Secretary-General submits to the General Assembly every two years a report on culture and sustainable development.

UNESCO, the only UN agency with a global mandate on culture, has been tasked to prepare these reports. Through the analysis of national policies, regional and international cooperations, as well as quantitative and qualitative data, the latter provide regular overviews of the progress achieved by the international community towards culture for sustainable development across various areas.

In 2020, 22 countries acknowledged through their Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) that culture is a core element of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Besides the UN System, the unprecedented inclusion of culture within the G20 process, which notably led to the adoption of the first ministerial Declaration on Culture in 2021, reinforced the momentum towards the recognition of culture as a driver for sustainable development.

Another major turning point of the global policy dialogue on culture for sustainable development was the unanimous adoption of a ministerial  Declaration by 150 States gathered at the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2022,  in which culture was affirmed as a global public good. The Declaration further called for culture to be recognized as a stand-alone goal in the post-2030 prospects.

In addition, the international community is engaged in joint reflection and advocacy efforts on culture for sustainable development as part of the Decade for Action and in the perspective of the Summit of the Future in 2024. This year, the High-level Political Forum (10-19 July 2023) and the SDG Summit 2023 (19-20 September 2023) will represent highlights to feature prominently the transformative role of culture in accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  

The last report on the UNGA Resolution on Culture and Sustainable Development (74/230) demonstrated that culture was at the centre of human development and was serving different purposes. Culture can:

• Be a pillar of peacebuilding, conflict prevention and post-conflict recovery.
• Be harnessed to mitigate climate change.
• Promote gender equality.
• Strengthen cities for sustainable development.
• Improve synergies with education to reduce disparities.
• Enable economic development and provide livelihoods.