The UNESCO, the UN agency to promote, amongst other things, international culture, has published a framework around four ‘Thematic Indicators’ in extention to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The purpose of the indicators is to be able measure and monitor the progress of culture’s contribution to the national and local implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. These indicators include Environment & Resilience, Prosperity & Livelihoods, Knowledge & Skills and Inclusion & Participation.
Over the last decade, UNESCO’s advocacy for a culture-based approach to development has resulted in several United Nations General Assembly Resolutions that acknowledge the role of culture as an enabler and a driver of sustainable development. This process culminated in the integration of culture in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted in 2015 by the 193 countries of the UN General Assembly. UNESCO’s commitment to ensuring that the transformative power of culture in enabling sustainable development continues with the development of the Thematic Indicators for Culture in the 2030 Agenda (Culture|2030 Indicators).
2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
UNESCO’s efforts to advocate for the role of culture for sustainable development over the last decade resulted in three milestone Resolutions adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (2010, 2011 and 2013), which acknowledge the role of culture as an enabler and a driver of sustainable development. This process culminated in culture being integrated in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development adopted in 2015.
The UNESCO Thematic Indicators for Culture in the 2030 Agenda (Culture|2030 Indicators) is a framework of thematic indicators whose purpose is to measure and monitor the progress of culture’s contribution to the national and local implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The framework will assess both the role of culture as a sector of activity, as well as the transversal contribution of culture across different SDGs and policy areas. As a set of thematic indicators, it is intended to support and complement the global indicators agreed upon within the 2030 Agenda and foster linkages between different Goals and Targets.
Read the entire report expanding on the indicators at the website of the UNESCO.