Culture: Shaping the Future

The Culture Summit is organized by the world organisation of United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) to guarantee the place of culture in global debates on sustainable development and to encourage networking, peer-learning and the sharing of good practices between cities and local governments from across the world. Held in Bilbao, Jeju and Buenos Aires in previous years, the 4th UCLG Culture Summit will be hosted by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality on 9-11 September 2021 in Izmir, a global actor of local cultural policies.

BACKGROUND

The world has changed. Humanity is looking for a new balance where culture must be central in

societies that care for all. The pandemic of Covid-19 has shown the profound need for culture:

people have turned to culture to reinforce the sense of belonging in communities and cities,

inventing new forms of participation, recognizing what brings us together and creating new

meaning and solidarity. The pandemic has also shown the interrelation among cultural policies

and policies related to education, gender equity, health, inequalities, urban planning, public

spaces and innovation. Last, but not least, the crisis has made evident that the systems of

protection of cultural workers are precarious and need to improve all around the world.

This is why the title of the UCLG Culture Summit is Culture: Shaping The Future.

A SUMMIT ON CULTURE

The Summit will provide examples of concrete policies, programmes and projects developed

by cities during the COVID-19 crisis and for the recovery. We will discuss challenges, obstacles,

dreams, ideas and possible solutions. The Summit is informed by global Agendas, including:

- The UCLG Presidential Decalogue, that identifies culture as a main component in the recovery.

- The announcement of a new UCLG Pact for the Future of Humanity: for People, for

the Planet, for the Government, to be approved in 2022. This Pact will be “powered by

solidarity, equality, culture, and accountable institutions that leave no-one and no place

behind”. See also the UCLG video message on the “Pact for the Future”, and the video

“Culture is the antidote for the secondary effects of the current, and all, crisis”).

The global and regional initiatives on the place of culture in the recovery, and beyond.

The Summit will reinforce the messages about the role culture plays in sustainable

development at the local, national and global level, especially in the UN 2030 Agenda and the

Sustainable Development Goals. The place of culture in development needs to be upgraded.

Actors promoting the cultural dimension of development should sit at the main table of the

future of humanity.

The Summit will take place on 9-11 September 2021 in Izmir and online.

Izmir, the pearl of the Mediterranean, the intersection point of ancient cultures, the host of

UCLG Culture Summit 2021, awaits you with all its colours. The cultural vision of the city

involves developing trans-national relations by transforming the city into an effective global

node, celebrating diversity, promoting arts, design and innovation, protecting the heritage and

supporting ecological lifestyle, alternative production, distribution and organization models.

More information at: https://www.uclg-culturesummit2021.org/