In line with UNESCO’s commitment to advocate for the essential role of culture in sustainable development, the UNESCO Thematic Indicators for Culture in the 2030 Agenda (UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators) is a conceptual and methodological framework of thematic indicators whose purpose is to measure and monitor the progress of culture’s enabling contribution to the national and local implementation of the Goals and Targets of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

The framework has been developed by UNESCO in collaboration with the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), with the aim to assess both culture’s role as a sector of activity, as well as the transversal contribution of culture across different SDGs and policy areas. The UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators framework maps the SDGs in 22 indicators, across four thematic Dimensions: Environment & Resilience, Prosperity & Livelihood, Knowledge & Skills, and Inclusion & Participation.

The project’s framework and methodology make culture visible, provide a thematic overview, build messages and advocacy, inform national and local policies and actions, help understanding trends and build knowledge, and monitor the global progress of culture in the realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development.

The implementation of the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators in Serbia and the city of Leskovac is overseen by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in Paris.

The pilot implementation of the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators’ framework has been launched with a kick-off workshop held in Belgrade at the Institute for the Study of Cultural Development on 15 November 2021. The workshop was organized by the Ministry of Culture and Information and the city of Leskovac in close collaboration with UNESCO.

Kick-off workshop, Belgrade, 15 November 2021

The workshop gathered 15 participants, including 11 women, which were representatives from the national and local authorities, as well as other relevant Ministries, the national Bureau of Statistics and other competent entities whose work is informed by culture and heritage.

The Workshop introduced the methodology of the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators framework, and shared capacity building materials with the participants, which were representatives from Ministry of Culture and Information, the City of Leskovac, the Institute for the Study of Cultural Development, the Ministry of Finance, the Statistical Office as well as the Republic Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments, the Institute for the Advancement of Education, and the Institute for Nature Protection of Serbia. Civil society representatives from the Institute for Creative Entrepreneurship and Innovation dealing with economic aspects of culture, applied research and encouraging innovation in the creative sector also took part in the workshop.

Following the launch of the pilot implementation, the national and local teams organized working meetings to map data sources and facilitate data collection. The latest of these working meetings was held on 2 February 2022 in Leskovac and was attended by representatives of the city, members of the national implementation team as well as relevant cultural institutions from Leskovac. Dr. Lidija Dimitrijevic, Deputy Mayor of the City of Leskovac, and Sasa Mladenovic, Head of the Department for Social Activities shared introductory remarks. Jelena Bratonožić Stanisavljević from the Ministry of Culture and information focused on the implementation process and the activities foreseen within the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators methodology. Bojana Subašić and Marijana Milankov from the Institute for the Study of Cultural Development presented the thematic dimensions and highlighted the indicators applicable to the urban level.

Title: Working meeting, Leskovac, 2 February 2022

The national and local implementation teams are currently operating in close contact and coordinating their actions for the data collection, which is ongoing and will lead to the construction of the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators. Their analysis and interpretation will allow to formulate policy guidance and recommendations relevant at national and local level.