At Mondiacult, Albares promotes recovery of heritage damaged by Russian aggression against Ukraine

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares Bueno, took part this Monday in the opening of the UNESCO Mondiacult 2025 Conference in Barcelona, where he called for the preservation of culture "as a way of defending freedom, humanity and peace, in the face of violence and closed societies".

In his inaugural speech together with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez; the Assistant Director-General of UNESCO, Ernesto Renato Ottone; the Minister for Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and other authorities, the Minister for Foreign Affairs highlighted the Culture, Peace and Resilience hub project in Lviv, financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID) and presented at the "Lviv Culture Hub" side event, which is dedicated to the restoration of cultural assets damaged by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as the training of managers and the recovery of the country's cultural network.

Albares pointed to the rights-based approach that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs applies with AECID's new Culture and Development Strategy, which will be presented at an event during Mondiacult 2025, "because culture not only complements development, but represents a fundamental human right and an engine for fair and equitable growth".

As part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' contribution to the Conference, which takes place from 29 September to 1 October, the AECID will also hold the events "Ibero-America Contributions to the Global Agenda", together with the Organisation of Ibero-American States, and "Creative Economy: for effective financing for development and cultural rights in the digital age", together with the SEGIB.

In his opening address, the Minister underlined the strategic relevance of culture for international relations and for the construction of global governance. "Without culture, there can be no dialogue; without dialogue, there is no hope for overcoming the challenges and conflicts we face https://mondiacult2025.org/Mondiacult_Programacion_v.03.09.2025.pdf ", Albares said.

The Minister referred to Spain's commitment to multilateralism, hosting this meeting open to 193 countries. He further highlighted the call to action of the Declaration of Mexico in 2022, the previous venue of the Conference, defending that "culture is a global public good that must be preserved, enhanced and promoted transversally in the goals of the global agenda of the future".

Following the candidacy submitted by Albares and the then Minister for Culture, Miquel Iceta, Spain takes the baton from Mexico, which hosted the 1982 and 2022 Mondiacult conferences. In 1982, Spain held the vice-presidency of the Conference, and this "marked the beginning of a collaboration that has matured over the decades", according to the Minister. This is the first time that the Mondiacult Conference has been held outside Mexico, which Albares defines as "a symbol of continuity and confidence" that Spain takes on "with great pride and a great sense of responsibility".

The Minister stressed in his speech at the plenary that the 1982 Declaration and the 2022 Declaration are the foundations on which the Mondiacult 2025 Conference, the main international meeting on cultural policies, will be built, where work will be done to make "culture a pillar of fair, peaceful and sustainable development in a measurable and verifiable way".

For images of the event, click here.