MONDIACULT 2025, UNESCO's Conference on Culture and Cultural Policy has concluded in Barcelona. It is the world's largest cultural policy meeting with three thousand delegates. 163 UNESCO member states were represented by delegations led by ministers of culture and secretaries of state. MONDIACULT is to cultural policy what COP is to climate policy in the world. Despite this, no media in Sweden have reported on or discussed its conclusions.
The first time MONDIACULT was conducted was in Mexico in 1982. Then it took until 2022 before it was time again, also this time in Mexico. The time was ripe to start discussing the place of culture in an upcoming agenda for sustainability – post agenda 2030. In Mexico in 2022, member states established the value of culture as a global public good in a declaration (although not legally binding).
Over three intensive days, panels were held in which each country made its contribution via its ministers or the leader of the delegation. In addition, a number of official side events were held with in-depth conversations about culture and cultural policy practice. Sweden's delegation was led by State Secretary Karin Svanborg Sjövall. She highlighted Sweden's priority issues in UNESCO regarding human rights, artistic freedom, but also the importance of art and culture in times of crisis and conflict. The Nordic Council of Ministers organised a side event focusing on artistic freedom.
The UN Special Rapporteur for Cultural Rights, Alexandra Xanthaki, reminded delegates that international law requires member states to ensure cultural rights – not for the nation and its identity – but for individuals and groups who have the right to create, disseminate and share in the culture of their choice. It is particularly important to ensure the cultural rights of minorities, marginalised groups and refugees.
Expectations from the cultural sector around the world were high when the member states gathered in Barcelona to continue the talks after the meeting in Mexico. It landed in a recognition of the importance of culture and a proposal that culture can have its own sustainability goal in the upcoming agenda. It was a weaker wording than many cultural actors around the world had hoped for, even though cultural rights, climate, education, economy, peace, digitalization, AI affect culture and are affected by culture. At the same time, all of us who are interested in cultural policy can in practice rejoice in UNESCO's first-ever global report on cultural policy and culture as the missing sustainability goal. It is likely to inspire the talks that will be held at the next MONDIACULT, which is planned for 2029 and then in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
The fact that the summit, despite the differences between the member states, managed to reach a common wording gives hope. As the host country, the Prime Minister of Spain, Pedro Sanchez, said in his opening speech: culture invites us to dream.
https://www.kulturradet.se/nyheter/2025/mondiacult--varlden-kom-samman-for-kulturens-betydelse/