KEY FINDINGS

• Implementation of the 2005 Convention has contributed to an increased recognition of the role of culture in sustainable development, notably in the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.
• Although several international sustainable development programmes include culture as a major area of intervention, the proportion of development aid spent on culture and recreation today is at its lowest for over 10 years.
• 86% of the Parties that have adopted a national development plan or strategy have included references to the cultural dimension of development. Over two-thirds of these are from the global South.
• Yet these same countries acknowledge culture primarily as an instrumentality, as a driver of economic or social outputs; only 40% of national development planning documents contain outcomes or actions specific to the goals of the Convention.
• Across the board, the environmental impact of cultural production and artistic practice is not yet taken sufficiently into account.
• Cities all around the world are exploring innovative ways of fostering sustainable development through the cultural and creative industries.

Photo: Christine Ödlund Amiralens Trädgård, Photograph by Jean-Baptiste Beranger, Courtesy Galleri Riis/Christine Ödlund, 2013, Sweden