Culture
Investing in cultural diversity for peace and social cohesion
Safeguarding cultural heritage, protecting cultural diversity and promoting pluralism and dialogue between cultures are vital to achieve sustainable development. Mainstreaming principles of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue, integrating culture into national development strategies, enhancing cultural policies and capacity-building activities that advance the cause of social cohesion, peace and development, is now a major challenge in South-East Europe.
Strategy
Action in the first quadrennium (37 C/5) of the Medium Term Strategy 2014-2021 (37 C/4) will promote the pivotal role of culture, heritage and creativity as a means of achieving sustainable development and peace.
It will do so by implementing strategic objectives 7 "Protecting, promoting and transmitting heritage" and 8 "Fostering creativity and the diversity of cultural expressions", through 2 Main Lines of Action and 7 expected results, in order to demonstrate the power of culture as a driver and enabler of peace and sustainable development through the Organization's flagship programmes and standard-setting instruments.