Culture 21

Culture 21, also known as Agenda 21 for culture, is a program for cultural governance developed in 2002–2004 and organized by United Cities and Local Governments.

Part of the program's premise is to add culture as a fourth conceptual pillar of sustainable development in governance, the historical three pillars of which are the environment, social inclusion, and economics.

Agenda 21 is an agenda for sustainable development in the 21st century, approved by United Nations members at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992. The original Agenda 21 did not discuss culture in great depth. It did include a section (Chapter 28) known as "Local Agenda 21" which called for local governments to adopt action plans and to collaborate with international organizations; a deliberative process which itself would "increase household awareness of sustainable development issues". While the ecological dimension of Local Agenda 21 was paramount at first, cities in the following years have incorporated cultural development into their outlook on sustainable development. In 1998, the World Bank and UNESCO jointly endorsed the inclusion of culture in the sustainable development strategy.

In September 2002, the first World Public Meeting on Culture, held in Porto Alegre, resolved to create guidelines for local cultural policies. A final document was approved on 8 May 2004 in Barcelona, and on 15 September it was submitted to UN-HABITAT and UNESCO. In October 2004 the United Cities and Local Governments World Council met in São Paulo, and officially adopted the Culture 21 as a reference document, to be managed and coordinated by the UCLG.

By 2010, over 400 governments and organizations had joined Culture 21 in some way. By 2015 membership exceeded 500.

The Culture 21 has 67 articles, divided into three sections: principles, undertakings, and recommendations. The "Principles" include core values such as cultural diversity and human rights, as well as perspectives on which actors will implement the agenda. Cities are envisioned as primary sites for cultural production and governance, as well as places where cultural policy is necessary for harmonious coexistence. Culture itself is described as an essential part of constructing citizenship for people of all ages. Participation in culture takes place through channels including internet, public spaces, and work.

The "Undertakings" section encourages policies which support cultural development and expand access to culture without prejudice. It specifically mentions books, internet, museums, and tourism as vectors for culture. It calls for decentralized but funded cultural policies; multilateral cooperation between cultural institutions, NGOs, and governments; and popularization of scientific technical culture. It advocates the right of freedom of speech, the moral rights of authors and artists, and the development of legal systems for historic preservation. The recommendations section addresses local and national governments, regional blocs, and international organizations, offering advice for how each of them can implement this agenda.

In the UCLG, the Culture 21 is managed by the Committee on culture of the world organization United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). The Committee on culture is co-chaired by Buenos Aires and the City of Mexico and vice-chaired by Angers, Barcelona, Belo Horizonte, Bilbao, Bogotá, Jeju, Paris and Porto Alegre since 2016. Between 2012 and 2015, the UCLG Committee on Culture was chaired by the Lille-Métropole and co-chaired by Buenos Aires, México DF and Montreal, and the cities of Angers, Barcelona and Milan were Vice-Presidents and three other cities (one from Africa, one from Middle East/Asia and one from Asia/Pacific) to join the Board as Vice-Presidents. Before 2012, the Committee on culture was chaired by Barcelona city council, and Stockholm, Lille, Buenos Aires and Montreal councils are its vice presidents.