Miquel Iceta defends culture as a specific Sustainable Development Goal in the 2030 Agenda in Mondiacult

The minister also assured the forum, which is being held in Mexico from 28 to 30 September, that 40 years after the first Conference on Cultural Policies, which was also held in Mexico, that "the time has come to help society look at culture with different eyes, as a powerful tool capable of generating fairer, more egalitarian and more sustainable societies".

Strong condemnation of Russia's invasion of Ukraine

MONDIACULT takes place in a historical context marked by a situation of global crises: the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the challenges resulting from climate change, the effects of globalisation and, specifically, the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister used this important gathering of world leaders, with more than 190 delegations led mostly by their culture ministers, to strongly condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine: "A completely unjustified aggression of unprecedented gravity, in flagrant violation of international law and the United Nations Charter, threatening global security and stability and the destruction of Ukraine's cultural heritage".

Iceta stressed the crucial role of culture in our societies "as a powerful tool capable of generating fairer, more egalitarian, more sustainable societies". He also wanted to share with the other countries present at MONDIACULT two of the measures implemented by the Ministry of Culture and Sport to strengthen the cultural sector: the Artist's Statute and the Young Cultural Voucher.

In his intervention, within the framework of thematic session 1, and calling for renewed and strengthened cultural policies, the minister pointed out that Spain is one of the few countries in Europe to include culture as one of the pillars of economic recovery following the pandemic, via the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan.

Culture, one more SDG

"We must work together to pave the way for the inclusion of culture as a global public good in the post-2030 Agenda. Culture must be one of the Sustainable Development Goals, it must be included with its own name in the executive plan to achieve a sustainable and inclusive future for all", the minister defended.

Iceta affirmed that culture is creation, community and memory, but it is also synonymous with freedom, respect and tolerance. "A more educated society is necessarily a freer, richer and, dare I say it, a happier society," he concluded.

This trip to Mexico will also enable the Minister for Culture and Sport to hold several bilateral meetings with some of his Ibero-American counterparts, thus strengthening Spain's close ties with Latin America.

Non official translation