UNESCO's Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity Report – Addressing culture as a global public good

Building on BOP’s contribution to UNESCO’s Re|Shaping Cultural Policies Global Report 2018, we worked with the Secretariat of the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions (2005 Convention) at UNESCO between 2020 – 2021 as the Data and Research partner for the third edition of the report.

BOP’s role

BOP collaborated closely with the editorial team and board consisting of ten expert authors of the report and the 2005 Convention Secretariat to source and create international datasets and evidence, both primary and secondary, in relation to the 11 Areas of Monitoring of the 2005 Convention Monitoring Framework - Cultural Policies, Media Diversity, Digital Environment, Partnering with Civil Society, Mobility of Artists, Flow of cultural goods and services, Treaties and Agreements, Sustainable Development, Gender Equality and Artistic Freedom. In addition, we reviewed and analysed 96 Quadrennial Period Reports submitted by countries to UNESCO between 2017- 2021, as well countries’ submissions to the 2018 UNESCO Global Survey on the implementation of the 1980 Recommendation concerning the Status of the Artist. Lastly, we also worked closely with the editorial team on the drafting of the chapters.

Purpose of the project

The Global Report series was launched in 2015 to monitor how the 151 countries that have signed up to the 2005 Convention are implementing its principles in their national cultural policies. One of the main objectives of the Convention is to “reaffirm the link between culture and development for all countries, particularly developing countries, and to encourage national and international action to recognize the true value of this link.” The Global Report series therefore also provides evidence of how implementation of the Convention contributes to the achievement of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and Targets.

The central importance of culture and development in the Convention is why the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) supports the Global Report series – not just the research and publications, but also capacity building missions in countries to help them with the implementation of the Convention and its monitoring. The Global Reports are therefore not just a vitally important publication series, but also part of a broader global programme of action research.

This third edition of the Report identifies emerging trends, analyses progress towards the Convention’s objectives, highlights key challenges and proposes a series of policy recommendations in relation to the 2005 Convention Monitoring Framework.

“It is an essential collection of data on culture and creation. It is a unique tool for analysing these issues, both globally and locally. It takes stock of the geographical, gender and digital inequalities detrimental to cultural diversity. Consequently, it shows the impact of the persistent imbalances in the circulation of cultural goods and services, in a context where developed countries’ application of the preferential treatment measures recommended in the 2005 Convention remains an exception.” 

Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO

Importantly, this edition of the Report also looks at the challenges and solutions facing the cultural and creative ecosystem in the context of the global Covid-19 crisis, and in response to the UN Secretary-General’s call for a Decade of Action. In doing so, the Report draws on BOP’s 2021 study for UNESCO on the global economic impact of the pandemic on the cultural and creative industries.

The full report can be downloaded below.