| MONDIACULT World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Frequency |
|
| Locations | |
| Years active | 43 |
| Inaugurated | 1982,Mexico City |
| Website | Official website |
TheWorld Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development (MONDIACULT)[a] is a series of international events and the world’s largest cultural policy conference during which Member States ofUNESCO work together to set and commit to the global agenda for culture.[1]
It was first held in 1982 in Mexico, and re-launched in 2022.[2] MONDIACULT is now intended to take place every four years.[3]
In 1982, the first World conference on cultural policy, first of its kind, was organized by the UNESCO inMexico City,Mexico.[2] The conference affirmed culture as a fundamental dimension of development, and the need for cultural policies at the national level. Between 1988 and 1998, theWorld Decade for Cultural Development followed, helping in the development of landmark international policy frameworks and guidelines on the safeguard and promotion of culture and cultural diversity.[4]
In 1998, inStockholm,Sweden, the UNESCOStockholm Conference on Cultural Policies for Development defined a new global agenda of cultural policies for development. Major outcomes of that conference included a focus on cultural diversity, the role of culture in human development, and on cultural industries.[2][5]
After these two conferences, a series of international legal texts were produced.[5]
In 2001, UNESCO released theUniversal Declaration on Cultural Diversity.
Two years later, theConvention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage was approved, committing to "safeguarding living heritage and placing it on equal footing with built and movable heritage, noting that it constitutes the mainspring of cultural diversity and contributes to anchoring culture in development from a human-centered perspective."[2]
TheConvention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions followed in 2005.
From 28 to 30 September 2022, in an effort to renew and expand the global cultural agenda, UNESCO convened MONDIACULT 2022, again in Mexico City. The conference gathered over 150 states and resulted in the adoption of a Final Declaration recognizing culture as a global public good and calling for its inclusion in the post-2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.[3][6] The MONDIACULT 2022 Final Declaration also instructed the UNESCO Director-General to reconvene the Conference every four years, starting in 2025, as well as the preparation of a "Global Report on Cultural Policies" to be presented at each MONDIACULT conference.[3][7]
Pursuant to the 2022 Declaration, a new world conference on cultural policy took place inBarcelona,Spain from September 26 to October 1, 2025. Thousands of participants and more than 150 ministers of culture gathered to set the global agenda for culture in the years ahead. Calls for peace inGaza drew loud applause at the opening ceremony.
As in 2022, regional consultations were held prior to the Conference, in late 2024 and early 2025.[8]
The UNESCO launchededCulture: The Missing SDG, its first edition of itsGlobal Report on Cultural Policies.[9]
A number of parallel fora were organized alongside the main three-days Conference, including a forum of young people,[10] a meeting of cities and local governments,[11] a forum on thecentenary of cannabis prohibition,[12] and the main "Ágora Cívica", a joint initiative promoted by theBarcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council, theGovernment of Catalonia, and theMinistry of Culture bringing together key international figures in the defense of cultural rights, such asAlexandra Xanthaki,UN Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights, and Patrice Meyer-Bisch, promoter of the Fribourg Declaration."[13] Finally, the Conference included various side-events.[14] concluded by theBarcelona Declaration on Cultural Rights, understanding culture as a space for identity building, resistance, and freedom.[15]
The Mondiacult forum concluded without any binding decisions, but the participants agreed on two main axes: placing cultural rights at the center of public policies and integrating culture as a specific area within the United Nations post-2030 development agenda.
The final document, approved by all delegations, proposes to protect creators against the impact of artificial intelligence to avoid situations of precariousness and digital exploitation.[16]
The goal of UNESCO is relaunching MONDIACULT as a quadriennal cycle of conferences is to "[reinvest] in the global policy dialogue in the field of culture, building on its mandate and expertise to foster multilateral cooperation and action."[17]
Unlike other UNESCO expert summits or forums, MONDIACULT is ministerial and state-led body. It works on a cross-sectoral basis and is meant to be policy-cohesive across the cultural field, bridging policies on heritage, creativity, education, environment, and rights. The goals of MONDIACULT Conferences are to define the long-term cultural agenda, with links to the broader United Nations system.
In 2022, the Conference stated 5 objectives:
In 2025, the Conference had 6 themes (Cultural rights; Digital technologies in the culture sector; Culture and education; Economy of culture; Culture and climate action; Culture, heritage and crisis) and two focus areas (Culture for peace;Artificial intelligence and culture) with the following objectives:
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