The Freiburg Declaration on cultural rights was approuved in 2007. After 15 years of translating, commenting and implementing concrete actions, time has come to learn from these achievements and their limitations.

A colloquium will be organised on 23-24 May 2022 to identify the scope of the work to be developed in terms of observations, experiences, analyses, communication and shared advocacy.  In the face of current short and long term emergencies, can cultural rights be at the heart of human rights?

The programme of the session is available here (in French). Should you wish to take part in this seminar, please register here.

Forty years after UNESCO Global Conference on Cultural Policies in Mexico City and towards UNESCO Mondiacult 2022, to be held also in Mexico City in next September 2022, the members of the #culture2030goal campaign have released a Statement. 

The Statement of the #Culture2030Goal campaign calls for concrete, bold and engaging outcomes to accelerate the shift to a world that puts culture at the core of decision-making. It also calls for a stand-alone Goal on Culture in global agendas for development, including the post-2030 Agenda.

See the full Statement in English here.

European cities are increasingly multicultural. Migrations contribute to the mixing of populations, make different cultures coexist and shape composite identities. At a time when many European cities are asking themselves how to acknowledge difficult local histories, the association L'Âge de la Tortue will organise, in partnership with the Erasmus+ programme and Eurocities, an event on "Migration and Culture in Cities: Exchanging Experiences Throughout Europe".

The event will be held on next 2 June 2022 (9.00AM-17.00PM CEST) at Paris' National museum of immigration history. It will offer the opportunity to share and exchange experiences on art, culture and migration in cities.

You can read the concept note of the event and register here.

More information on the programme here.

The project "Capacity-building for European Capitals of Culture (ECoC)" has organised four Academy camps to support ECoC teams in addressing four relevant issues: (a) community engagement, (b) audience development, (c) the use of digital tools, and (d) international cooperation. These Camps have also boosted dialogue and exchange between ECoCs. The final Academy Camp will be held online on 12 and 13 May 2022 and facilitated by Jordi Pascual, coordinator of the UCLG Committee on Culture. It will provide the opportunity for all the ECoCs to grasp the bigger picture of the programme developed throughout the previous Academy Camps. All teams will be invited to review together the lessons learnt in the four Camps. Additional topics, such as governance, project management, the importance of narrative and ECoC's legacy, will also be discussed.

The programme is now available. To register, please click here.

The Committee on Social Inclusion, Participatory Democracy and Human Rights (UCLG CSIPDHR) recently launched a call for inputs to contribute to the next report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN OHCHR) to be published in 2022.

This call is a unique opportunity to contribute to the preparation of next UN Human Right Council's resolution on "Local governments and Human Rights" and to highlight how local and regional governments are ensuring that citizens' rights, especially by fighting inequalities and discriminations and promoting social inclusion for all. 

Local and regional governments willing to participate in the call are invited to identify key initiatives, challenges faced, and principles guiding them in the promotion and protection of human rights, with a specific focus on "the right to equality and non-discrimination and to the protection of persons in vulnerable and marginalized situations".

The UCLG-CSIPDHR Secretariat developed some suggested questions for reflection to encourage members to share their experience. 

Dealine: 22 April 2022. More information here.

The regional section of UCLG Africa and the UCLG Committee on Culture are organising a webinar on The International Award UCLG - Mexico City - Culture: An Opportunity of promotion and visibility for African Cities and Local and Regional Governments.

The webinar will take place on next 30 March 2022, from 4.00 to 5.30PM CEST. Interpretation will be provided in English, French and Arabic.

The webinar is organised by UCLG Committee on Culture and UCLG Africa regional section, in close collaboration with Culture et Développement, the African Local Governments Academy (ALGA) and the African Capital of Culture initiative, and with  the support of the European Commission.

For more information, please see the concept note.

Check out the report of the new United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of Cultural Rights, Alexandra Xanthaki, on "Cultural rights: Capturing the state of the art".

The City of Montréal (Québec, Canada) has released two documents called 'Diagnosis of amateur artistic practice' and 'Comparative study of municipal cultural leisure models' (December 2021). 

All the documents and publications related to this study are available in French on this webpage.

A summary of the main highlights in English is also accessible on upon request. Should you wish to access it, please contact bureau.duloisir (at) montreal.ca.

Building on the success of the four first editions of the International Award UCLG - Mexico City - Culture 21, the World Organisation United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) has launched a call for the 5th edition, to be held in 2021 and 2022.

This year, the Award will recognise cities, local and regional governments, as well as individuals, who have excelled in the promotion of cultural rights in the context of the Covid-19 crisis and post-pandemic recovery, and/or that have promoted culture as an important part of the caring system.

The call is open between 15 February and 22 April 2022. The Award will automatically recognise the 50 best practices through the label "50 best actions on cultural rights in the context of Covid-19 and the post-pandemic recovery". 

Apply to the Award now!

More information and application forms at www.agenda21culture.net/award/.

On last 1st March 2022, from 17.00-18:30pm CET the Climate Heritage Network organised the event "Cultural infrastructures as Drivers of people-centered climate action: A ResiliArt Debate for UNESCO Mondiacult2022" with the support of the #culture2030goal campaig.

The event allowed to discuss the following topics:

• How can Cultural Voices bring a people-centred approach to climate planning, one which addresses socioeconomic dimensions of the climate crisis?
• Continuity vs disruption: the challenge of transformative change (i.e. 1.5 degree pathways) for cultural policy.
• Culture- part of the solution to climate change but also part of the problem.
• Helping People Imagine Post-Carbon Futures

We invite you to consult the concept note of the session and to read the Provocation paper elaborated to impel the debates.