KEY MESSAGES

• Implementation of the sustainability provisions of the Convention can be interpreted as the formulation of strategies to achieve culturally sustainable development, a concept that brings together the cultural and economic dimensions of development in a framework emphasizing growth, equity and cultural integrity in the development process.
• The cultural industries can be a major target for policy leading towards development that is both economically and culturally sustainable; policy initiatives to support the growth of these industries can yield significant long-term economic, social, cultural and environmental benefits.
• There is considerable scope for donor countries to promote the integration of culture in sustainable development in the global South through their ODA strategies and programmes; a particular avenue for such assistance is through technical assistance and expertise to help overcome disadvantage in recipient countries’ access to new information and communications technologies, and to promote the connectivity essential for developing countries’ participation in international markets for their cultural goods and services.