Our Creative Diversity

A report from the three-year study by the World Commission for Culture and Development chaired by former UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar. It responds to a crucial question: is culture the last frontier in development? Fresh perspectives on the interactions between culture and development and proposals to help the world's communities forge their own paths towards development without losing their distinctive identities.

Explores the interactions between culture and development and puts forward proposals in the form of an international agenda aimed at motivating people to recognize cultural challenges.

Explores the interactions between culture and development and puts forward proposals in the form of an international agenda aimed at motivating people to recognize cultural challenges.

This report analyses all aspects of cultural diversity, which has emerged as a key concern of the international community in recent decades, and maps out new approaches to monitoring and shaping the changes that are taking place. It highlights, in particular, the interrelated challenges of cultural diversity and intercultural dialogue and the way in which strong homogenizing forces are matched by persistent diversifying trends. The report proposes a series of ten policy-oriented recommendations, to the attention of States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, international and regional bodies, national institutions and the private sector on how to invest in cultural diversity. Emphasizing the importance of cultural diversity in different areas (languages, education, communication and new media development, and creativity and the marketplace) based on data and examples collected from around the world, the report is also intended for the general public. It proposes a coherent vision of cultural diversity and clarifies how, far from being a threat, it can become beneficial to the action of the international community.

Part I: Setting universal rights