Sustainable Development Goals for Culture on the 2030 Agenda

Culture is who we are and what shapes our identity. Culture contributes to poverty reduction and paves the way for a human-centred, inclusive and equitable development. No development can be sustainable without it.

Placing culture at the heart of development policies constitutes an essential investment in the world's future and a pre-condition to successful globalization processes that take into account the principle of cultural diversity.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development marks a substantial step forward for sustainable development in many fields, and particularly for culture as it is the first time that the international development agenda refers to culture within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals related to education, sustainable cities, food security, the environment, economic growth, sustainable consumption and production patterns, peaceful and inclusive societies.

This unparalleled recognition does not only meet the request of the UN General Assembly and UNESCO’s Governing Bodies, but also the demand of Member States at country level.

In this light, the implementation of UNESCO's programme, through the operationalization of UNESCO’s Culture Conventions on the safeguarding and promotion of cultural and natural heritage, and the cultural and creative industries, as well as joint programmes with other UN Agencies and strong cooperation with the national authorities will be key for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.