International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development

The year 2021 was declared the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development at the 74th United Nations General Assembly. The implementation of the Year is led by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), in consultation with UNESCO and other relevant UN entities.

The International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development could not have come at a more relevant time. The COVID-19 pandemic has paralyzed the creative economy. From creation, production, distribution to access, no actor within the creative value chain has been spared its impact. The health crisis also revealed and worsened the pre-existing vulnerabilities within the culture sector. Many artists and cultural professionals have been ineligible for social and economic assistances that saved workers in other sectors. While we consumed cultural content online more than ever before, artists and creators rarely received fair remuneration for our clicks and views.

Under the theme The International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development, a number of activities will take place to highlight the power of creativity for resilience in a time of pandemic and to share best practices and experiences, enhance human resource capacity, promote an enabling environment at all levels as well as tackle the challenges of creative economy.

Relevant Activities

1. ResiliArt in celebration of the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development – Building Back Better through Creative Economy

The ResiliArt debate on “How we can Rebuild the Creative and Cultural Industries in the Aftermath of the COVID-19 Pandemic” will take place on 4 February 2021 from 15:30 to 17:00 Paris-time.

This debate will examine how to revive the creative economy using the opportunity of the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development to make the creative sector more resilient in the face of future crises and to design cultural policies that are better aligned with the 2030 Agenda.

Click here for more information: https://events.unesco.org/event?id=4069805387&lang=1033