Launch in Korea of UNESCO Global Report RelShaping Policies for Creativity
On May 24th, 2022, the Korean edition of the UNESCO Global Report "RelShaping Policies for Creativity: Addressing culture as a global public good" was launched at the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, on the occasion of the International Forum on the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
During the opening ceremony, Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO Assistant-Director General for Culture, stressed that this report is “a call to action, encouraging countries and policymakers to fully integrate culture into their sustainable development strategies, as well as COVID-19 recovery plans.”
The Republic of Korea is a strong advocate for the 2005 Convention. With the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea, the report was launched in Korean, marking the third edition of UNESCO’s Global Reports for Culture to be translated and launched at the national level.
Published every four years since 2015, UNESCO’s Global Report, RelShaping Policies for Creativity is designed to monitor the implementation of the 2005 Convention. As the only report of its kind, it provides a global overview of the state of the cultural and creative sectors, through insightful new data that shed light on emerging global trends. It also puts forward policy recommendations to foster creative ecosystems that contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and beyond.
LEE Jin-sik, from the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Korea, Director General for Culture Policy, recalled his personal experience of participating in drafting the 2005 Convention, noting: "Under this framework, the International Forum today will serve as a launchpad for reinforcing strategic partnership between UNESCO and the Republic of Korea, not only to protect the diversity of cultural expressions, but to promote it proactively in difficult times."
Two sessions were held. During the first, "Diving into the 2022 Report" was presented by Magdalena Moreno, Executive Director of IFACCA, one of the authors of the Global Report, followed by “Implication of the 2022 Report for Korea” by Geon-Soo Han, Professor of Gangwon University. Magdalena Moreno underlined that “Over 10 million jobs in the sector were lost in 2020 alone due to the pandemic. As governments and sectors restructure, rebuild and reboot, we won’t truly know the impact for many years, possible decades, to come”
The second session highlighted that multi-stakeholder engagement, especially with civil society organizations, need to be further strengthened in the Korean context. More than 120 people attended this two-hour forum.
The launch of the report was hosted jointly by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea and UNESCO's Diversity of Cultural Expressions Entity, co-organized by the Arts Council Korea and Korea Culture and Tourism Institute.