The 22 core CDIS address 7 key policy dimensions: Economy; Education; Governance; Social participation; Gender equality; Communication; and, Heritage. Workshops have been organised at a national level to foster broad participation and ownership of the CDIS and its outcomes.

This process aims to provide evidence-based justification for the inclusion of culture in development strategies and plans; to gather new data for informed policies and monitoring systems for culture; build capacities in data collection and analysis on culture and development; promote awareness of culture’s role in sustainable development through participative inter-institutional dialogue; foster a comparable understanding across the region and at an international level.

Implementation of the CDIS methodology in 5 countries of South-East Europe by the UNESCO Venice Office started with the launch of activities in Pogdorica, Montenegro, in February 2015. Following data collection and the construction of indicators, a final workshop took place on 15 April 2015 where Montenegro’s draft results for the CDIS were presented. The analysis and validation of the indicators and the finalization of the report are ongoing.

The country team in Croatia began data collection and the construction of indicators in late April 2015. The validation of indicators is ongoing. A final workshop to present Croatia’s results is planned for the summer of 2015.

The implementation of the CDIS methodology in the Republic of Moldova was officially launched on 8 June 2015 in Chisinau. The construction of the CDIS indicators is to be completed in the fall of 2015. Based on the experience of the country, UNESCO is exploring the possibility of extending the application of the CDIS methodology to all the countries benefiting from the second Culture Programme of the Eastern Partnership, funded by the European Commission. Consultations in this sense are ongoing.

Preparatory activities to launch the CDIS in Albania and Serbia are also underway, to be finalized during the second half of 2015.

Thanks to these joint efforts, South-East Europe is the sub-region at global level in which the implementation of the CDIS methodology is most advanced, providing an unprecedented opportunity to compare data, results, and sectoral policy at a sub-regional level.

* * * * *

The UNESCO Culture for Development Indicators (CDIS) aim to highlighting how culture contributes to development at a national level, fostering economic growth and helping individuals and communities to expand their life choices and adapt to change. They contribute to the implementation of Article 13 (Integration of Culture in Sustainable Development) of the 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

The implementation of CDIS in South-East Europe is taking place under the leadership of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, Venice (Italy), thanks to the contribution of the Government of Italy and in close cooperation with the Ministries of Culture, the National Commissions for UNESCO, and other relevant authorities of the concerned Member States.

Link: Culture for Development Indicators