Implementation of the UNESCO Thematic Indicators for Culture in North Macedonia and city of Skopje kicks off
The UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe oversees the implementation of UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators in North Macedonia, and particularly the city of Skopje, in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The pilot implementation of this framework was officially launched through a kick-off workshop held on 6 June in close collaboration with North Macedonia’s Ministry of Culture, the city of Skopje and UNESCO.
In line with UNESCO’s commitment to advocate for the essential role of culture in sustainable development, the UNESCO Thematic Indicators for Culture in the 2030 Agenda (UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators) is a conceptual and methodological framework for the purpose of measuring and monitoring the progress of culture. This will further enable contributions to the national and local implementation of the Goals and Targets of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators framework has been developed through the collaboration of UNESCO and its Institute for Statistics (UIS). The project aims to assess both culture’s role as a sector of activity, and its transversal contribution to culture across different SDGs and policy areas. The framework maps the SDGs in 22 indicators, across 4 thematic Dimensions: Environment & Resilience, Prosperity & Livelihood, Knowledge & Skills, and Inclusion & Participation.
The project’s framework and methodology provide a thematic overview, building messages, advocacy and increasing the visibility of culture. Furthermore, through informing national and local policies and actions, and helping to understand trends and build knowledge, it allows the monitoring of the global progress of culture in the context of the 2030 Agenda.
On 6 June, UNESCO introduced its workshop on the pilot implementation of the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators in North Macedonia and Skopje, with support from its Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
Some 40 participants attended the event, including representatives from national and local authorities, relevant Ministries, the national Bureau of Statistics and other competent entities related to culture and heritage. The occasion was opened by the Ministry of Culture’s representative and Secretary General of the National Commission for UNESCO – Tatjana Kraljevska Lazarova, and followed by Petar Gicarovski, assistant to the head of public administration of City of Skopje.
Matteo Rosati – Officer-in-Charge of the Culture unit, and Siniša Šešum – Head of Sarajevo Antenna of the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe, addressed the audience, emphasising the relevance of this tool for measuring and monitoring culture’s contribution to the 2030 Agenda.
Furthermore, Alma Mrgan-Slipičević, UNESCO regional expert, introduced the methodology of the UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators framework, explaining the process, steps and possible challenges. More importantly, she underlined the value added by this tool and shared capacity building materials with the participants.
Following the pilot launch, a working meeting was organised on 7 June 2022 for the implementation team to map data sources and facilitate data collection. This consisted of: Tatjana Kraljevska Lazarova, Ljupcho Smilev, Davcha Spasova from the Ministry of Culture, Gorjan Gishev, representing the City of Skopje, Snezana Shipovikj from the State Statistical Office, Vesna Vasich from the Ministry of Education and Science, and Ilber Myrta from Ministry of Environment and Physical Planning.