World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2025; May 21st.

FORUM:"Bridging the gap between cultures is urgent and necessary for peace, stability and development." World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2025. Cultural diversity is a driving force of development, not only with respect to economic growth, but also as a means of leading a more fulfilling intellectual, emotional, moral and spiritual life. This is captured in the culture conventions, which provide a solid basis for the promotion of cultural diversity. Cultural diversity is thus an asset that is indispensable for poverty reduction and the achievement of sustainable development. At the same time, acceptance and recognition of cultural diversity – in particular through innovative use of media and Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) – are conducive to dialogue among civilizations and cultures, respect and mutual understanding. The delegations from 150 States unanimously adopted the historic Declaration for Culture affirming culture as a “global public good” and calling for it to be integrated “as a specific goal in its own right” in the development agenda beyond 2030. The text defines a set of cultural rights that need to be taken into account in public policies. These range from the social and economic rights of artists to artistic freedom, the right of indigenous communities to safeguard their ancestral knowledge, and the protection and promotion of cultural and natural heritage. It also calls for substantial regulation of the digital sector, notably of the major platforms, for the benefit of online cultural diversity, artists’ intellectual property rights and fair access to content for all.

EVENTS: On May 21st, 2025, we will mark the 20th anniversary of the entry in force of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions at UNESCO HQ and its regional offices worldwide. The observance of day will provide an opportunity to deepen our understanding of the values of cultural diversity and to advance the 4 goals of the UNESCO Convention adopted on 20 October 2005 which call to Support sustainable systems of governance for culture, to Achieve a balanced flow of cultural goods and services and increase mobility of artists and cultural professionals, to Integrate culture in sustainable development frameworks, to Promote human rights and fundamental freedoms.

From 29 September to 1 October 2025 at the Centre de Convencions Internacional de Barcelona (CCIB), Spain, the MONDIACULT 2025 is UNESCO’s flagship World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development, scheduled to take place. Hosted by the Government of Spain, the conference aims to shape the global cultural agenda and advocate for the recognition of culture as a standalone goal in the post-2030 United Nations development framework.

The conference will focus on six key themes:

1. Cultural rights: Ensuring equitable access to culture and safeguarding the rights of all individuals to participate in cultural life.
2. Digital technologies in the culture sector: Exploring the impact of digital transformation on cultural expressions, heritage preservation, and the creative industries.
3. Culture and education: Integrating cultural education into curricula to foster creativity, critical thinking, and intercultural understanding.
4. Economy of culture: Recognizing culture’s contribution to economic development, job creation, and innovation.
5. Culture and climate action: Addressing the role of culture in promoting environmental sustainability and resilience to climate change.
6. Culture, heritage, and crisis: Understanding how cultural heritage can be protected and leveraged in times of crisis, including conflicts and natural disasters.

In addition to the main themes, MONDIACULT 2025 will emphasize two critical focus areas:

1. Culture for peace: Highlighting culture’s role in conflict prevention, reconciliation, and the promotion of peaceful societies.
2. Artificial intelligence and culture: Examining the ethical implications of AI on cultural creation, dissemination, and preservation.

The follow-up Conference, MONDIACULT 2025 (Barcelona, 29 September-1 October 2025), provides an opportunity to review achievements at the national, regional and international-level achievements following the adoption of the MONDIACULT Declaration, which established a set of cultural rights that must be guaranteed. There has been evident momentum, as culture has been included on the agendas of the G20, G7, G77+China and other regional and international forums. The conference aims to enhance global collaboration on cultural issues, assess the implementation of the MONDIACULT Declaration's priority areas, encourage inclusive dialogues on cultural policies involving diverse stakeholders, establish priorities for a dedicated cultural goal in the post-2030 development agenda, and assist UNESCO Member States in strengthening cultural information systems for better public policies.

World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2024; May 21st.

FORUM: "Preserving Cultural Diversity is preserving what makes us human.'' World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2024.
Whether we speak different languages or come from different places, one thing is certain: preserving Cultural Diversity is preserving what makes us human! Follow the conversations with the hashtags: #culturaldiversity; #May21, #culturalheritage, #culturalsites.

EVENTS: On May 21st, we mark the World Day of Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2024 with a webinar, Join the panel discussion!

The 2024 call for applications to UNESCO’s International Fund for Cultural Diversity is now open!

The fifteenth call for applications opens on 15 April 2024 and closes on 14 June 2024, noon Paris time. For any inquiries, please contact the Secretariat of the 2005 Convention (convention2005.ifcd@unesco.org). Learn more about IFCD funded projects.

WEBINARS

World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2022, May 21st

FORUM: "The time to invest in creativity is now!"  World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 2022.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the cultural and creative industries hard, with many artists, culture professionals and venues finding themselves out of business, sometimes permanently. Rapid digitalization has further exacerbated inequalities within the global marketplace of arts and culture, leaving many artists and culture professionals struggling to gain decent work and fair pay.

Today we are presented with a challenge:

1. how can we build back better?
2. How can we ensure that everybody can create, produce, disseminate, and enjoy a diversity of cultural expressions?
3. How can we ensure that artists and culture professionals everywhere benefit from the opportunities of digital technology, and that none are left behind?

Statement by the Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, 21 May 2022

In the words of former United Nations Secretary-General Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali, “cultures need to assemble, but not to resemble one another”. These words encapsulate the fundamental aim of World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development and the UNESCO culture conventions alike – to remind us that diversity is just as essential for the cultural world as it is for the living world.In the midst of crises, from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic to wars and conflict, we can recognize more than ever both the importance and the urgency of defending cultural diversity and tangible and intangible heritage. Indeed, culture is our most powerful ally for crisis management and recovery. It is a means by which each and every one of us can cultivate and enrich our inner life; it allows us to come together, to remember the past and to think about the future. It allows us to understand that our differences provide the opportunity to celebrate the richness of the human mind, to expand our horizons and to achieve unity in diversity.Yet, cultural diversity continues to be weakened, be it by COVID-19, conflict or climate change. The closure of cultural sites and the cancellation of festivals, concerts and ceremonies owing to the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the sharing of culture and impacted professionals, in particular independent creators.Although the rapid advancement of the digital world has broadened access to culture and inspired creativity, it also exacerbates inequality and can be a vector of cultural homogenization. This is the reason behind UNESCO’s intention to devise new, strong, public policies for culture based on the opinions of those involved in the field; these have been collected over the course of the 355 UNESCO ResiliArt debates held across 115 countries. These reflections informed the UNESCO report Re|shaping policies for creativity, which was published this year. The report sets out clear recommendations: to implement a more protective status for artists, to reduce inequality, both of gender and between regions and to ensure a fair income distribution between digital platforms and creators.UNESCO will ensure that these issues will be at the heart of Mondiacult 2022, the next World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development, which will be held in September in Mexico City – a key event for the world of culture and for its future.On this Day, UNESCO would like to call upon everyone to celebrate cultural diversity, through which we will be able to build the intellectual and moral solidarity of humankind.

Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-General.

EVENTS

- Launch of the “Strengthening Digital Literacy Skills and Competencies and Promoting Gender Equality in Cultural and Creative Sectors in Central Asia”

From May 20, 2022, 10:00 AM.to May 20, 2022, 1:00 PM.

- In celebration of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, UNESCO organizes a special event on the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD):The time to invest in creativity is now. From May 20, 2022, 2:00 PM To May 20, 2022, 4:00 PM.

This special event will feature keynote speeches and discussions with actors from the cultural and creative industries and private sector donors on the importance of investing in the creative economy now. The event will also feature exclusive performances from IFCD projects, and offer participants the chance to ask questions directly to IFCD project managers from across the globe.The IFCD is one of the few United Nations funds that provides financial support to arts and cultural bodies, public institutions, and NGOs in the Global South to strengthen the cultural and creative industries in their countries, bolstering inclusive and sustainable development. Over the past 12 years, UNESCO, through the IFCD, has invested more than US$ 9.4 million in 129 cultural projects across 65 Member States.

- Through the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2022, UNESCO is reinvesting in the global policy dialogue in the field of culture, building on its mandate and expertise to foster multilateral cooperation and policy dialogue as a follow-up to its landmark conferences on cultural policies. The Conference will be convened by UNESCO forty years after the first MONDIACULT World Conference on Cultural Policies held in Mexico City (Mexico) in 1982, and 24 years after the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies for Development held in Stockholm (Sweden) in 1998. 

From 28 to 30 September 2022 in Mexico City.

- Launch of the Korean edition of the Global Report - Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity.

FromMay 24, 2022, 2:00 PM To May 24, 2022, 4:00 PM.

The Republic of Korea has been strongly committed to pursuing its active partnership with UNESCO to promote the value of the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. Since 2008 the Korea-UNESCO Funds-In-Trusts has supported more than 25 projects in developing countries to build an enabling environment for Cultural and Creative Industries and the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea chaired the 14th session of the Intergovernmental Committee on the 2005 Convention, which was held exceptionally online due to the pandemic. The Republic of Korea has launched the previous two editions of the Global Report and organized the forums to inform the policy dialogue on the latest policy developments to support arts and creativity. The Republic of Korea’s launch event is co-hosted by the UNESCO Secretariat of the 2005 Convention and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, and organized in cooperation with the Arts Council Korea and Korea Culture and Tourism Institute. UNESCO Assistant-Director General for Culture Ernesto Ottone R. will participate in the national launch of the Global Report in Seoul and the public presentation will include the participation of Magdalena Moreno Mújica, one of the authors of the Global Report and Executive Director of IFACCA, Geon-Soo Han, Professor of Gangwon National University and Yoonhyung Jeon from the Korean Film Council and a member of the EU-UNESCO Expert Facility. The International Forum and the launch event would be a valuable occasion to explore new opportunities and shed light on current and future challenges in areas such as digital environment, media diversity, status of artists and artistic freedom.

LIVESTREAM 

The Time to Invest in Creativity is Now!