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Chaired by Nina Obuljen Koržinek, Minister of Culture and Media of the Republic of Croatia, the Europe and North America Regional Consultation is the first of a series of five that are to take place from December 2021 to February 2022, as part of the inclusive and participatory process aimed at informing the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development â€“ MONDIACULT 2022, which will be convened by UNESCO, and hosted by the Government of Mexico, from 28 to 30 September 2022. 

The consultation aimed to map national and regional trends in the field of cultural policies and identifying gaps, challenges, and priorities at the regional level for the years to come. During the first session on investing in culture and creativity for job creation and socio-economic development, participants highlighted the social and economic impact of the culture sector on development and the need to fully unlock this potential through holistic and transversal cultural policies, and as such, emphasized that culture should be seen as an ecosystem that must be stimulated and supported.

Participants underlined that the cultural and creative sector should be integrated into national resilience policies and linked to other key public policy areas such as tourism, trade, infrastructure, the digital transformation and climate action. That MONDIACULT 2022 should have a comprehensive and ambitious global agenda and shall serve as a steppingstone for future cultural policies came out as the main take-away from this first panel. 

The second session focused on the promotion of cultural diversity in the digital environment and the advancement of the status of artists. Participants discussed the profound impact of digital transformation on the cultural sector, notably the need for updating legal and policy frameworks that support both the diversity of online cultural contents and the status of the artist, including freedom of creation and expression, as well as social and economic rights. Highlighted as being equally important is the human right to access and participate in cultural life in a fair and inclusive manner, without discrimination nor bias, affecting notably women and vulnerable groups. In this sense, the digital transformation can be instrumental in strengthening culture as global public good. Finally, participants stressed that a human-centered digital transformation, supportive of the culture sector, entails developing adequate infrastructure, as well as strengthening basic and advanced skills, for both cultural professionals and institutions.

Inclusiveness was at the heart of interventions of the third session on safeguarding and promoting cultural heritage for social inclusion. The need to embrace cultural heritage as a means of building trust and social cohesion by bringing together different communities was strongly emphasized. Participants highlighted that a better understanding of the human dimension of cultural heritage should also translate into firmer recognition and respect for cultural rights as human rights. Several interventions emphasized that more attention should be given to addressing the multiple risks facing cultural heritage, in particular armed conflicts, climate change and related natural hazards.

The fourth session explored the synergies between culture and education for human-centered development and sustainability. Participants underscored the benefits of investing in educational policies through and in arts and culture, as well as of awareness and understanding of cultural heritage, as integral dimensions of quality education, including global citizenship education. According to many participants such education has both personal and societal benefits by contributing to personal well-being, critical thinking and understanding of complexity. It also nurtures intercultural dialogue, social trust and cohesion. Investing in skills in arts and culture is also an investment for innovation, that should be seen as complementary and adding value to science education.      

A final session on regional and global cooperation for culture and sustainable development provided international organizations and specialized networks with the opportunity to exchange proposals on how to strengthen global solidarity and international partnerships on culture for sustainable development, in the run-up to MONDIACULT 2022 and beyond.

As an open and participatory process, UNESCO welcomes all actors of the cultural and creative sectors to join the conversation in the run-up to MONDIACULT 2022. 

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