27 May 2014: The UN Development Group (UNDG) has launched global, national and online consultations on culture and development in the post-2015 development agenda. The consultation is one of six dialogues on implementing the agenda, following thematic and national consultations in 2012-2013. The consultation aims to enable stakeholders to articulate their vision of culture, and make recommendations for integrating it into the post-2015 development agenda.

The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) will co-lead the global and national consultations. National consultations are expected to take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ecuador, Mali, Morocco and Serbia, and possibly India.

According to a joint concept note from the co-leaders, the consultations will explore: the contribution of culture to poverty reduction; the environment and climate change; sustainable cities and urbanization; education; gender equality and women’s empowerment; and inclusion and reconciliation. The consultations are also expected to address cross-cutting elements such as gender, human rights, inequalities and youth.

The public can submit ideas or proposals on culture and development through the World We Want 2015 platform.

In addition to culture, this series of consultations will address: localizing the post-2015 agenda; helping to strengthen capacities and build effective institutions; participatory monitoring for accountability; partnerships with civil society and other actors; and engaging with the private sector. Recommendations arising from the consultations will contribute to a report by UNDG, to inform both the UN General Assembly’s Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the UN Secretary-General’s synthesis report on the post-2015 development agenda.

The dialogues were launched by UNDG on 9 April 2014, at UN Headquarters in New York, US. Olav Kjørven, Special Advisor to the UNDP Administrator on the Post-2015 Agenda, said the first round of consultations had shown the degree to which people know what world they want to live in, and that irrespective of income, gender, location and other characteristics, common themes had been expressed. This second series of consultations, the Dialogues on Implementation, will be informed by those conversations and by the emerging contours of the new agenda, he said. Han Choong-hee, Republic of Korea, which is a co-sponsor of the national consultations, said engaging all concerned actors is the best way to ensure implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. [UNESCO Press Release] [Culture and Development Consultation Website] [Publication: Culture and Development: Concept Note] [IISD RS Story on Dialogues Announcement] [UNDP Press Release on Launch of Dialogues]