Culture

The time has come for culture to have a real place at the table of decision-making on the Future of Humanity

“We must remember, as the Rome Charter says, culture sometimes is the solution, and sometimes it can help to find the solutions. Many say that without culture they would not have survived the lockdowns, but without appropriate measures culture will not survive.”

"G20 will be an important milestone in the promotion of culture in sustainable development and one that Rome is happy to articulate with UCLG and Urban 20.”

“We will exchange about cultural policies and we will promote culture as the fourth pillar of development, and a cornerstone for global solidarity.”

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Background

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a major turning point towards the renewal of culture as an essential component for the recovery and to build back better. The pandemic has shown the profound need of people for culture and has also made evident the interrelation and interdependence of cultural policies with policies related to education, gender equity, health, inequalities, urban planning, public spaces, accessibility and technology, among others. Culture is seen as the response to many challenges, and local and regional governments, with cultural organisations and civic society, continue to make efforts to reinforce transversal actions and advocacy on culture as a fundamental dimension of sustainable development.

Remarkable collaborative initiatives have been launched in the last months and continue to develop, and they prove to be key to building the Pact for the Future of UCLG announced at the World Council in November 2020, “powered by solidarity, equality, culture, and accountable institutions that leave no-one and no place behind”. The #culture2030goal campaign, which is developing a strategic framework within the context of the UN Decade of Action, in April 2020 released a Statement on Culture and the COVID-19 pandemic that “emphasises the need to place culture at the heart of the response to the Covid-19 crisis today and at the centre of all endeavors, at all scales, to rebuild our societies, tomorrow”.

On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, in September 2020, UCLG and other members of the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments released the UN75 Visioning report. The report promotes the agenda of cities and local governments for the next 25 years and it recalls that the international community should recognise culture as a dimension of sustainable development, on an equal basis to the economic, social and environmental pillars. Moreover, it affirms that the post-2030 Development Agenda should include “a stand-alone Goal on Culture” that includes several targets related to memory, heritage, creativity, diversity and knowledge, supported by a narrative that clearly identifies culture as a core component of local and regional identity, a strand of global solidarity, and a vector for peace and human rights.

In October 2020, UCLG and the City of Rome presented the Rome Charter as an original and forward-looking contribution of the international municipalist movement to efforts towards a new global development pact, and it was approved at the UCLG World Council of November 2020, held in Guangzhou and online. The Rome Charter includes the most compelling narrative on the Right to Participate Fully and Freely in Cultural Life, with 5 specific areas, or cultural capabilities, that unfold this issue: Discover, Create, Enjoy, Share and Protect. It is envisioned as an inspiration for innovative cultural policies worldwide and the main contributor to the Pact for the Future of UCLG.

The impact of the crisis has put even more pressure on a sustainable recovery, which can provide answers to the most critical challenges humanity is facing with a holistic perspective that includes culture. The importance of culture during and beyond the pandemic has brought the Urban 20, co-chaired by the cities of Rome and Milan, to include culture in its conversation and to liaise with the G20 meetings that will also devote space for the place of culture in sustainable development. These recent developments constitute the basis of the debate on the place of culture in sustainable development, which will serve to inform the Policy Council on Opportunities for All, Culture and City Diplomacy: Keys to Sustainable Development and Peace, whose priorities already include addressing the cultural dimension in the recovery, and the need to link human and cultural rights, identifying democratic access to information technologies as a critical cultural right.

The session gathered mayors, councillors and local elected representatives from cities from across the planet and representatives of the #culture2030goal campaign. Together, they discussed the need to reinforce actions and advocacy to defend and pledge for culture to be upgraded to its adequate value regarding development at the local level.

30M

million people employed by the creative economy

2.3B

income generated by the creative economy

Challenges

A post-covid urban resiliency will need to bring culture close to the people after it has been taken away from them for almost two years.
Cities’ responses should include a strong cultural dimension based on creative and inclusive measures that can ensure that the Pact for the Future can deliver on commitments of the Rome Charter.
Heritage, diversity and knowledge, but also international law require actions to lead to the cultural renewal as an essential component to build back better since culture represents a response to many challenges at the heart of the UN 2030 Agenda.
Culture is essential for our daily life (series, museums, books, music) and it is critical for each individual to find its own space in society.

Learn more about the challenges being faced by cities and regions

Responses

Culture is an important antidote for the negative effects of the current crisis, and for others, as expressed in the UCLG Presidency Decalogue for the COVID-19 aftermath. Culture is a dimension of sustainable development and needs to be explicit to provide accurate and suitable responses to the main challenges of humanity, from climate change to gender equality, inclusive societies or COVID-19, and many others.
Culture is a key element to drive the social contract renewal through the UCLG Pact for the Future: For the people, planet, governments. It is urgent to put the cultural perspective in public local policies. The place of culture in development needs to be upgraded and actors promoting the cultural narratives should sit at the main table of the future of humanity. The time is now.
The Rome Charter on the Right to Participate in Cultural Life provides a solid basis to bring a human-rights-based approach to development. Since its adoption, it has allowed significant progress in the acknowledgment of culture as an essential part of city life, at many levels. The U20, co-chaired by Rome and Milan, and the G20 process under the Italian Presidency are important milestones in this regard.
Artistic expressions can boost innovative thinking on urban resilience strategies. Initiatives such as the Orchestras of Transformation in Rome and their projects aiming at raising awareness on the role of cities, cultural institutions and organisations in the mitigation and adaptation to the climate crisis, are significant bottom-up examples of the role of culture as an enabler of urban resilience in the face of disasters and crises, which can be replicated.
The 4^th edition of the UCLG Culture Summit in Izmir (9-11 September 2021) will be an excellent opportunity to connect culture and resilience and promote creativity and innovation through heritage, diversity and knowledge, as fundamental elements of local sustainable development.
The #culture2030goal campaign constitutes one of the most recent successful initiatives, driven by global civil society, in the promotion of culture as the 4^th pillar of sustainable development. It also exemplifies the critical role of networks in shaping the future of multilateralism and building a recovery that offers opportunities for all, which is one of the priorities of the Policy Council on Opportunities for All, Culture and City Diplomacy. The campaign, led by several global cultural networks, is putting many efforts in mainstreaming the transformational role of culture in development, undertaking bold actions to enhance culture in local public policies and global debates. Local and regional governments and partners must continue to support the #culture2030goal campaign and join the call for the integration of culture as an explicit and operational dimension of sustainable development.
There is a growing interest to work on the cultural dimension of development by governments at different levels, and the need to promote cultural policies based on diversity, democracy and freedoms. Many developments are taking place at the local and regional level in this regard, and these are aligned and recognised by global agendas of sustainable development. Territorial approaches to the implementation of cultural measures for recovery and beyond are vital in order to reach all citizens and communities.
Although culture has demonstrated to be vital in coping with the current challenges, cultural actors are the first to suffer the effects of the crisis and will be among the last to return to the previous conditions. At a city level, cultural ecosystems are fragile and need a response that goes beyond local solutions, such as economic support or digitalization. Inclusive and sustainable cultural sectors and creative economies must be fully supported and acknowledged as essential contributors to the welfare and wellbeing of communities. International law requires actions to lead to cultural renewal as an essential component to build back better, leaving no one and no place behind.

Learn more about other responses and initiatives in terms of Migration:

Towards the Pact

Culture as a right and a value represent a major step to promote the commitment from cities and local governments to diversity and democratic values. Putting the cultural perspective in public local policies is pointed out as an emergency.

Resources

For further information on the topic of Public Service Delivery and its impact on cities and regions, please refer to the related resources included below.