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.

The potential of culture to drive sustainable development is too often unrealised. In a world where resilience, creativity, cohesion and a right-based, people-centred approach are more essential than ever, we simply cannot afford to leave culture out in our efforts to respond to global challenges and build a better world.

How can we ensure a higher place for culture on the agenda, and so trigger the necessary shift of paradigm?

Entitled "Toward a Culture Goal in the Sustainable Development Agenda", the #culture2030goal campaign ResiliArt x Mondiacult event explored how to do this, and the potential explicit priorisation of culture to make a difference. In doing so, it also offered insights into how we can do better today, both in designing culture policies that support sustainable development, and in designing sustainable development policies that integrate culture fully.

The concept note of the event as well as the video recording of the session are available below:

The Cultural Relations Platform is about to launch a new edition of the Global Cultural Relations Programme (GCRP) 2022, a unique opportunity for people working in the cultural and creative sectors.   

The Programme will aims at skilling participants in internacional cultural relations, interactive training programme, promotes networking and collaboration with professionals all around the world, and enables the development of collaborative internacional cultural projects. 

The Programme is seeking for 40 professionals and entrepreneurs aged 25-39 and working in the cultural and creative sectors with at least 3 years's experience in international collaboration.  

This year the GCRP will take place in Istanbul from 10 – 13 May 2022. The programme will be conducted in English.

More information are available here.

Cultural practices and the creative economy have incredible potential to shape a greener, fairer, safer, more inclusive world for everyone.

Culture is a core part of what makes us human. It helps us to make sense of the world, to challenge our perceptions, and to ignite our emotions. It has the power to unite us around shared goals and inspire action for a better future.

The Missing Pillar Talks returned on Wednesday 9th and Thursday 10th March with ‘Common Sense and The Community’, a global programme of virtual talks, films, performances and discussions that look at culture’s contribution to UN Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals, including People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships. Over two half days, participants looked at how culture can inspire us, change our way of thinking and bring us together.

The 'Missing Pillar Global Talks: Common Sense and The Community' took place on 9-10 March 2022, 13:00-17:00 GMT. The Missing Pillar Talks are organised by the British Council in association with the United Kingdom National Commission for UNESCO (UKNC) and the Culture Committee of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG).

The full programme of the meetings is available here.

On next 11 February 2022, UCLG Committee on Culture together with UCLG-Africa and Culture et Développement will organise a webinar on 'Culture and the SDGs in Africa: Strategies and Realisations'.

The webinar will aim at discussing the role of culture in sustainable development and the implementation of global agendas on development in Africa, providing local examples from Africa and elsewhere of the effective implementation of culture towards the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among others, it will present the African Capital of Culture initiative as a valuable contribution to building stronger ecosystems across the African continent, and will introduce specific useful tools aiming at enhancing local cultural policies for sustainable development. 

The webinar will be available in English (14.00-16.00h CET) and French (10.00-12.00h CET). The Agenda of the webinar can be found here. The webinar is limited to 20 participants. Don't wait to register!

40 years after the first Global Conference on Cultural Policies, held in Mexico City in 1982, UNESCO will organize the Mondiacult 2022 Global Conference on Cultural Policies on 28-30 September 2022.

In this framework, and in order to prepare for this event, UNESCO is organizing a series of regional consultations from December 2021 to February 2022. The process is expected to be inclusive, participatory, priority-focused and strategic in terms of vision and ambitions. In this context, UCLG is involved in these consultations:

• EUROPE & NORTH AMERICA.
  13 December 2021.
  Participant: Jordi Pascual, Coordinator of the UCLG Committee on Culture.
• ASIA & THE PACIFIC.
  11-12 January 2022.
  Participant: Bernadia Tjandradewi, Secretary General of UCLG-ASPAC.
• AFRICA.
  31 January - 1 February 2022.
  Expected participant: Mustapha Moufid, Director of the Culture, Migration, Peace and Security Department of UCLG Africa.
• ARAB STATES.
  9-10 February 2022.
  Expected participant: TBC
• LATIN AMERICA & THE CARIBBEAN.
  14-15 February 2022.
  Expected participant: TBC

To know more on the consultations, please visit the Mondiacult webpage here.