The aim of the workshop was to present the results and experiences related with the implementation of the UNESCO Culture for Development Indicators (CDIS) in South-East Europe (SEE) and to discuss possible follow-up actions to continue the promotion of the role of culture in development in the region.

Launched in 2009, the 22 CDIS cover 7 key policy areas related to development (economy, education, governance, social participation, gender equality, communication and heritage), providing important statistics on the wide-ranging impacts that culture can have on development. Ultimately, this common framework enables national policy makers to better integrate culture in development policies and strategies.

Ana Luiza Thompson Flores, Director of the Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, opened the workshop by underlining the strength of culture as both an enabler and a driver of sustainable development, social cohesion and an asset in abolishing poverty and inequality. In his opening remarks, Paolo Fontani, Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in Brussels, welcomed participants to the event organised in the framework of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, highlighting the increasingly central role of culture to the future of Europe and in the EU’s strategy for international relations.

The workshop gathered representatives of national CDIS project teams from countries in the SEE Region participating in the CDIS project, representatives of SEE counties’ delegations to the EU, representatives of EU institutions and a number of related stakeholders. A number of presentations were given by representatives of Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia to share the outcomes of CDIS implementation in their respective countries. 

The event was also an opportunity to discuss the results of the CDIS at a global level and to present UNESCO’s work to develop indicators of the contribution of culture towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals as set out in the 2030 Agenda. Speaking at the event, Jyoti Hosagrahar, Director of UNESCO’s Division of Creativity insisted on the transversal nature of culture, highlighting that "Culture appears across the SDGs and it is an essential aspect of sustainable development” reminding of culture’s contribution to the ‘5Ps’ of the 2030 Agenda - People, Planet, Peace, Prosperity, Partnerships.

In line with the 2014 Ohrid Strategy and the relevant Declarations of the ‘Council of Ministers of Culture of South East Europe - Enhancing Culture For Sustainable Development’ and the commitment of Council of Ministers of Culture of South East Europe (CoMoCoSEE) to mainstream culture into other policy areas with the aim of achieving the SDGs, the workshop will result in a number of soon to be published conclusions and recommendations.