Abstract

The United Nations’ 2030 Agenda or Sustainable Development is a 15-year global framework. It is centred on an ambitious set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 169 targets and over 230 indicators. The SDGs address all UN Member States and the European Union. They address governments, civil society and the private sector. And they include culture. For cultural organizations, the Sustainable Development Goals create both challenges and opportunities. The main challenge is how to ensure the effective contribution of culture to the global policy agenda. The main opportunities lie in demonstrating culture’s importance to society, and supporting advocacy. The EU and its Member States are committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda. In November 2019 the Council amended its Work Programme for Culture to prioritise the SDGs, and invited the Commission to prepare an action plan on the cultural dimension of sustainable development1. In September 2020 senior officials of EU foreign and culture ministries discussed the issue