UNESCO

16
Culture
The 2030 Agenda specifically mentions
culture’s role as an enabler for sustainable
development in the political declaration
and includes a number of specific entry
points for culture, including a significant
reference to cultural and natural heritage.
UNESCO has a well-established
leadership and comparative advantage
within the UN system in the field of
culture at both normative and operational
levels based on its Culture Conventions;
its clear mandate and convening power in
the area of culture and the Organization’s
significant expertise in supporting
Member States in this area, especially
in capacity building and in providing
technical assistance at international,
regional and national levels; its growing
capacities for the monitoring of culture,
its recognized role in the protection
of culture in emergency and conflict
situations; and its strong networks of
specialized centres and experts fostering
innovation and information exchange,
all place UNESCO in a privileged position
to make a valuable contribution to the
agenda’s implementation.
Communication
and Information
The 2030 Agenda places strong emphasis
on access to information and fundamental
freedoms, and is entirely consistent
with UNESCO’s Medium-Term Strategy
for 2013–2021 on promoting freedom
of expression, media development and
access to information and knowledge.
UNESCO has demonstrated expertise
and networks in promoting an enabling
© UN Photo/Marco Dormino
UNESCO’s continued support to international
and regional cooperation in the protection of
tangible and intangible cultural heritage will be
an essential contribution to the 2030 Agenda.
View of the Great Mosque of Djenné in Mali, a
country where UNESCO has undertaken many
actions to ensure rehabilitation of cultural
heritage severely damaged by armed groups
in 2012 and 2013.
environment for a key fundamental
freedom (SDG 16.10) namely, freedom
of expression, which also encompasses
press freedom and journalistic safety, and
has a clear Member State mandate and
capacity to monitor progress in regard
to attacks on journalists and ending
impunity for such attacks. It also has
a role in facilitating pluralism, gender
equality, women’s empowerment and
citizen participation in the media, and in
supporting sustainable and independent
media institutions. UNESCO is the only UN
agency responsible for community media,
which is the media closer to rural, hardto-reach
and marginalized populations.
The Organization’s dedicated
programmes are designed to enable
universal access to and preservation
of information and knowledge, and
also give UNESCO strong tools to
contribute to the 2030 Agenda. Due to
the crosscutting nature of ICT, especially
the rapid acceleration of highly-capable