1.1_Background and Purpose of the Report

Leading up to the adoption of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, several global cultural networks campaigned under the banner “The Future We Want Includes Culture” for the inclusion of one specific goal devoted to culture, or for the integration of cultural aspects across the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This campaign was also known as the #culture2015goal campaign.

The nine networks involved in this campaign were (alphabetical order): Arterial Network, Culture Action Europe (CAE), International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies (IFACCA), International Federation of Coalitions for Cultural Diversity (IFCCD), International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), International Music Council (IMC), Latin American Network of Arts for Social Transformation, and United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) Culture Committee (Agenda 21 for culture/ AC21).

Four documents, including a manifesto, a declaration, a proposal of possible indicators for measuring the cultural aspects of the SDGs, and an assessment of the final 2030 Agenda, were produced between 2013 and 2015. In the final document of this campaign (23 September 2015: “Culture in the SDG Outcome Document: Progress Made, but Important Steps Remain Ahead”), the networks committed to keep active.

The SDGs have completed the initial 4-year cycle of review within the High Level Political Forum (HLPF), the entity created by the UN, that in July every year monitors progress, generally by nation states, through the so-called Voluntary National Reports (VNR) on a selection of Goals. As of 19 July 2019, all SDGs have been analyzed at least once. Beside the annual HLPF, the UN is also convening an SDGs Summit on 24-25 September 2019 to focus attention on 2030 Agenda.

This report has been prepared to take stock of the first four years of the Sustainable Development Goals and the 2030 Agenda, from the perspective of culture. It provides a short analysis of the presence of culture and associated concepts in the annual progress reviews for the SDGs, focusing on the VNRs submitted by State Parties to the UN for the HLPF, but also based on the principles (the 5P’s, of People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace and Partnerships), annual HLPF themes, Goals and Targets reviewed and compared to the parallel developments of policy in the Culture sector, through main Cultural actors such as UNESCO and other international organizations working for the inclusion of Culture in the sustainable development agenda. It also includes an analysis of the Voluntary Local Reviews (VLRs, submitted by cities and local governments). Finally, it provides key recommendations for all parties involved in the next cycle of HLPF.