Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA)

Sweden has partnered very closely with UNESCO since the 1990s to pioneer global cooperation programmes at the interface of culture, policy-making and development. The landmark Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development held in Stockholm (1998) was the first to result in an action plan recognising the importance of integrating human development strategies in cultural policy and international cultural co-operation frameworks and integrating culture in international development assistance programmes.

The resulting Stockholm Action Plan adopted on 2 April 1998, was also the first to call upon governments to promote diversity and the idea that cultural goods and services should be fully recognized and not treated like other forms of merchandise in bilateral and multilateral trade agreements. The messages emerging from the Stockholm Conference served as the foundation for the Universal Declaration on Cultural Diversity (2001), and later, for the preparation and adoption of the 2005 Convention.

In line with Sweden’s key aid policy frameworks, the support by the Government of Sweden to the 2005 Convention helps to address key challenges in the areas of democratic development, rule of law and human rights.

Sweden is Party to the Convention since 2006.