At Mondiacult, Albares promotes the recovery of heritage damaged by the Russian aggression against Ukraine

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, at the opening of the UNESCO Mondiacult 2025 Conference in Barcelona

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares Bueno, has taken part in the inauguration of the UNESCO Mondiacult 2025 Conference in Barcelona, where he called for the preservation of culture "as a way of defending freedom, humanity and peace in the face of violence and closed societies".

In his inaugural speech together with the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, the Deputy Director General of UNESCO, Ernesto Renato Ottone, the Minister for Culture, Ernest Urtasun, and other authorities, the Minister for Foreign Affairs highlighted the Culture, Peace and Resilience hub project in Lviv, financed by the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID). It was presented at the side event "Lviv Culture Hub", which is dedicated to the restoration of cultural assets damaged by the Russian aggression against Ukraine, as well as to the training of managers and the recovery of the country's cultural fabric.

Albares pointed to the rights-based approach being applied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with AECID's new Culture and Development Strategy, which will be presented at an event during Mondiacult 2025, "because culture is not a complement to development, but a fundamental human right and an engine for fair and equitable growth".

As part of the ministry's contribution to the Conference, which takes place between 29 September and 1 October, the AECID will also hold the events "Ibero-American Contributions to the Global Agenda", together with the Organisation of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI), and "Creative Economy: for effective financing for development and cultural rights in the digital era", together with the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB).

Strategic relevance of culture

In his opening address, the minister underlined the strategic relevance of culture for international relations and for the construction of global governance. "Without culture, there can be no dialogue; without dialogue, there is no hope for overcoming the challenges and conflicts we face," Albares said.

The minister alluded to Spain's commitment to multilateralism, hosting this meeting open to 193 countries. He also highlighted the call to action of the Declaration of Mexico in 2022, the last venue of the Conference, defending that "culture is a global public good that must be preserved, enhanced and promoted transversally in the goals of the global agenda of the future".

First celebration outside Mexico

Following the candidacy presented by Albares and the then Minister for Culture, Miquel Iceta, Spain takes the baton from Mexico, which hosted the 1982 and 2022 Mondiacult conferences. As early as 1982, Spain held the vice-presidency of the Conference which, according to the minister, "marked the beginning of a collaboration that has matured over the decades". This is the first time the Mondiacult Conference has been held outside Mexico, which Albares defines as "a symbol of continuity and confidence" that Spain assumes "with great pride and a great sense of responsibility".

The minister stressed in his speech at the plenary that the 1982 Declaration and the 2022 Declaration are the foundations on which the Mondiacult 2025 Conference, the main international meeting on cultural policies, will be built, where work will be done to ensure that "culture is, in a measurable and verifiable way, a pillar of fair, peaceful and sustainable development".

Non official translation