MONDIACULT 2025
2025-10-01
I spent a week in Barcelona to attend MONDIACULT – UNESCO’s World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development (29 Sept-1 Oct 2025). I arrived early to take part in the Civic Agora organised in Barcelona (26-27 Sept 2025).
Both events provided many opportunities to learn about current developments in global cultural policy and also to talk to other UNESCO Chairs, senior politicians, policy makers, and representatives of NGOs about various dimensions of heritage futures.

MONDIACULT attracted more than 100 Ministers of Culture and overall more than 1,200 participants from around the world.

Highlights included several brilliant presentations by Alexandra Xanthaki, the UN Special Rapporteur for Cultural Rights. She emphasized the responsibility of states for cultural rights of individuals and groups, while criticizing states caring only about majority cultures and marginalising minorities and people at the margin of society.
Another highlight was the launch av Version 1 for a Culture Goal av Culture2030Goal campaign. Such a goal is very strongly supported by the Ministers of Cultures, and policy makers attending MONDIACULT, as reflected in the Outcome Document. Also significant was the launch of the UNESCO Global Report on Cultural Policies. These documents are the basis for further discussions among various NGOs over he coming years and will serve to influence the UN member states in favour of giving culture a strong position on the Post-2030 Agenda.

(Figure shows the Swedish Delegation incl Secretary of State)
I was able to have many conversations on heritage futures (short and long!), and will be following up many of them, including with the following people:
Politicians and government representatives
- Glenn Micallef, EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport
- Karin Svanborg-Sjövall, Secretary of State, Ministry for Culture, Sweden
- Marta Cienkowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Poland
- Jacob Ellis, Director of External Relations and Culture, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales, UK.

UNESCO
- Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Culture
- Berta de Sancristobal, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, one of my focal points at UNESCO
- John Crowley, former Director, UNESCO Management of Social Transformations (MOST) Programme
NGOs etc
- Naima Benkari, Focal Point for the SDGs, International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
- Medea Ekner, President, International Council of Museums (ICOMOS), Paris
- Lars Ebert, Secretary General, Culture Action Europe
- Jordi Pascual, United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), Coordinator Culture 2030 Goal Campaign
- Ava Paulus, Focal Point for the Climate Action Working Group, International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
- Andrew Potts, Preserving Heritage
- Isber Sabrine, Heritage for Peace
- Terence Tan, International Puppetry Association (UNIMA)
- Amilcar Vargas, Casa Batlló, Gaudí Barcelona
UNESCO Chairs
- Vicky Karaiskou, UNESCO Chair on Visual Anticipation and Futures Literacy towards Visual Literacy, Cyprus
- Roland Benedikter, UNESCO Chair in Interdisciplinary Anticipation and Global-Local Transformation, Italy
- Alicja Jagielska-Burduk, UNESCO Chair in Cultural Property Law, Poland
- Julius Heinecke, UNESCO Chair in Cultural Policy for the Arts in Development, Germany
- Chiara Bortolotto, UNESCO Chair in Intangible Cultural Heritage and Sustainable Development, France
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