Stockholm, 2 April, 1998

Action Plan on Cultural Policies for Development

The Intergovernmental Conference on Cultural Policies for Development, held at Stockholm (30 March 2 April, 1998).

1. Reaffirming the fundamental principles of the Mexico City Declaration on Cultural Policies, which stresses "that in its widest sense, culture may now be said to be the whole complex of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual and emotional features that characterize a society or social group. It includes not only the arts and letters, but also modes of life, the fundamental rights of the human being, value systems, traditions and beliefs";
2. Recalling that the World Decade for Cultural Development stressed the importance of acknowledging the cultural dimension of development; asserting and enhancing cultural identities, broadening participation in cultural life; and promoting international cultural cooperation;
3. Conscious of the efforts needed to face the challenges of cultural development and preservation of the diversity of cultures, as expressed in "Our Creative Diversity", the Report of the World Commission on Culture and Development.
4. Emphasizing ... the importance of national measures to harmonize national cultural policies and the need to preserve the pluralism of grassroots cultural initiatives in order to promote mutual understanding as well as respect and consideration between individuals and nations in view of the risk of disagreements and conflicts;

Recognizes the following principles:

1. Sustainable development and the flourishing of culture are interdependent.
2. One of the chief aims of human development is the social and cultural fulfillment of the individual.
3. Access to and protection in cultural life being a fundamental right of individuals in all communities, governments have a duty to create conditions for the full exercise of this right in accordance with Article 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
4. The essential aims of cultural policy are to establish objectives, create structures and secure adequate resources in order to create an environment conducive to human fulfillment.

5. The dialogue between cultures appears to be one of the fundamental cultural and political challenges for the world today; it is an essential condition of peaceful coexistence.
6. Cultural creativity is the source of human progress; and cultural diversity, being a treasure of humankind, is an essential factor of development.
7. New trends, particularly, globalization, link cultures ever more closely and enrich the interaction between them, but they may also be detrimental to our creative diversity and to cultural pluralism; they make mutual respect all the more imperative.
8. Harmony between culture and development, respect for cultural identities, tolerance for cultural differences in a framework of plural democratic values, socio-economic equity and respect for territorial unity and national sovereignty are among the preconditions for a lasting and just peace.
9. Acceptance of cultural diversity helps to highlight and strengthen intercommunity links rooted in values that can be shared by all the different socio-cultural components of national society
10. Creativity in societies favours creation, which stems above all from an individual commitment. This commitment is essential to building our future heritage. It is important to preserve and promote the conditions for such creation - in particular the freedom of the creative artist - within every community.
11. The defence of local and regional cultures threatened by cultures with a global reach must not transform the cultures thus affected into relics deprived of their own development dynamics.
12. We must therefore empower all people and communities to harness their creativity and to consolidate and forge ways of living together with others, facilitating genuine human development and the transition to a culture of peace and non-violence.

The Conference in Consequence affirms that:

1. Cultural policy, as one of the main components of endogenous and sustainable development policy, should be implemented in coordination with policy in other social areas, on the basis of an integrated approach. Any policy for development must be profoundly sensitive to culture itself.
2. The dialogue between cultures should constitute a fundamental aim of cultural policies and the institutions which embody them at the national and international level, universal freedom of expression is vital for this interaction and for effective participation in cultural life. ...
3. Cultural policies should promote creativity in all its forms, facilitating access to cultural practices and  experiences for all citizens regardless of nationality, race, sex, age, physical or mental disability, enrich the sense of cultural identity and belonging of every individual and community and sustain them in their search for a dignified and safe future.
4. Cultural policies should aim to create a sense of the nation, as a multifaceted community within the  framework of national unity ..
5. Cultural policies should also aim to improve social integration and the quality of life of all members of society without discrimination.
6. Cultural policies must respect gender equality ...

12. Cultural policies should place particular emphasis on promoting and strengthening ways and means of providing broader access to culture for all sectors of the population, combating exclusion and marginalization, and fostering all processes that favour cultural democratization.

13. Cultural policies should recognize the essential contribution that is made by creators to improving the quality of life, to promoting identity and to the cultural development of society.

14. Any cultural policy should take into account all the elements that shape cultural life: creation, preservation of the heritage and dissemination. A balance should be struck between these factors.

Policy Objectives Recommended to Member States:

Objective 1: To make cultural policy one of the key components of development strategy.

Objective 2:  Promote creativity and participation in cultural life.

Objective 3: Reinforce policy and practice to safeguard and enhance the cultural heritage, tangible and intangible, moveable and immovable, and to promote cultural industries.

Objective 4: Promote cultural and linguistic diversity in and for the information society.

Objective 5: Make more human and financial resources available for cultural development.