Madame Chair,
Italy fully supports the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly that recognize the driving role of culture for inclusive growth and resilience, both in developed and developing countries. Acknowledging the contribution of culture to sustainable development, we share the urgent need to reinforce the impact of the cultural and creatives industries, also by defining tailored policies and stimulating private and public investment in the sector.
Italy shares UNESCO’s strategy on «Culture for sustainable development» and convincingly supports the Organization’s work in strengthening the link between culture and sustainable development, namely in the field of « cultural industries ». In this sense, Italy strongly supports the declaration on « Culture, creativity and sustainable development », adopted in Florence in 2014, and the following declarations on the subject.
We have also sustained UNESCO’s commitment and efforts to support policy development for the cultural and creative industries through the 2021 International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. Inter alia, Italy assured during its G20 Presidency in 2021 a follow up to the meeting of the Ministers of Culture organized in 2020 by the Saudi Arabia G20 Presidency, leading finally to the first declaration of Ministers of Culture of the G20, under Indonesia Presidency in 2022.
Italy finally supports the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, created in 2004 to promote international cooperation between cities, that has identified creativity and the cultural industry as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development, instrumental to achieve the objectives set by the UN’s 2030 Agenda. Creative Cities are committed to developing partnerships with public and private entities, as well as with other network members.
The explicit acknowledgment of the driving role of culture for inclusive growth and resilience has also been confirmed during the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2022, which highlighted the future of the creative economy as a thematic priority. The MONDIACULT Declaration, unanimously adopted by 150 Ministers of Culture in 2022 affirms, for the first time, culture as a “global public good”, to be safeguarded, promoted and integrated in all other sectoral strategies and plans. We underline the relevance of the Declaration’s call for the explicit recognition of culture within the development agenda beyond 2030 – as an objective in its own right – as well as in climate change action.
With specific reference to the protection of cultural heritage and its role in strengthening the commitment of communities to sustainable development, Italy is a long-standing partner of UNESCO in safeguarding cultural heritage all around the globe. Cultural heritage is a catalyzer of peace and dialogue among different cultures, civilizations, religions and generations; it cements identity, builds social cohesion, fosters resilience in times of crisis and promotes values such as tolerance, respect and inclusivity. For these reasons and among other initiatives, in 2016, together with UNESCO, we established the world’s first emergency task force for culture, the Blue Helmets for Culture, that have been employed on many occasions ever since, both nationally and internationally, to help countries in need.
Madame Chair,
Italy is fully convinced that culture is a “global public good”. We therefore stand ready, in cooperation with UNESCO and with our international partners, to promote the role of culture across SDGs implementation plans.
Thank you.
