Albares presents new Strategy for Culture and Sustainable Development in Spanish Cooperation to Council of Ministers

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, the European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, presented the new Strategy for Culture and Sustainable Development in Spanish Cooperation to the Council of Ministers on Tuesday 28 July. This document renews and strengthens Spain's commitment to defending and promoting cultural rights and cultural diversity as fundamental pillars of sustainable development at a global level.

In the Minister's words, "this Strategy is based on a clear conviction: without culture, there can be no sustainable development". Building on this principle, a roadmap has been drawn up to guide Spanish Cooperation's efforts towards achieving fairer, more inclusive, democratic and sustainable societies.

The Strategy has been drawn up through a broad participatory process involving professionals from Spanish Cooperation and the cultural sector, incorporating contributions from institutional representatives, technical staff, cultural actors and creators. Furthermore, it has been shared with and endorsed by the main coordination and consultation bodies of Spanish Cooperation.

The Strategy forms part of the new cooperation model promoted by the Law on Cooperation for Sustainable Development and Global Solidarity and the Spanish Cooperation Master Plan, which recognise culture as a human right, a specific area of action and a cross-cutting element of all international cooperation. Accordingly, the document views cooperation as a tool for building bridges, reducing inequalities and expanding opportunities, and regards culture as a human right, a space for participation and dialogue, a driver of social cohesion and a tool for peace-building.

Based on this vision, the overarching objective is to promote the full exercise of cultural rights, fostering cultural expressions in all their diversity to contribute, through culture, to a fairer and more sustainable world.

To achieve this objective, the Strategy is structured around ten strategic priorities. The first four focus on guaranteeing the cultural rights of all people, promoting participation in cultural life, diversity and the fight against inequalities, as well as incorporating a feminist approach, and seeking to strengthen democracy, peace-building and social cohesion.

Strategic priorities 5 and 6 highlight the contribution of culture to economic and social development in Spanish Cooperation's partner countries by promoting the cultural and creative sector, as well as strengthening the link between culture and education.

For their part, strategic priorities 7, 8 and 9 address some of the key global challenges, such as the protection of cultural heritage, the role of culture in tackling environmental and climate challenges, and the importance of participatory, transparent and democratic communication.

Finally, the last of the strategic priorities is committed to fostering partnerships capable of expanding the scope, innovation and impact of cultural cooperation for sustainable development.

With this new roadmap, Spain calls on institutions, organisations, communities and cultural actors to join forces in defending cultural rights and to move forward, through international cooperation for sustainable development, towards a fairer, more inclusive and sustainable future.

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