La cultura es un derecho.
Pedro Sanchez, Prime Minister of Spain, Mondiacult 2025 Opening Ceremony
Culture as a force for peace, as a human right, and its promotion as a standalone Goal within the United Nations post-2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development were the cornerstones of the conference and of the work carried out within MondiaYouth, the session dedicated to young people, held for the first time as part of Mondiacult, UNESCO’s world conference on cultural policies, which took place in Barcelona from 29 September to 1 October 2025.
The conference addressed six key priorities: cultural rights, digital technologies, culture and education, the economy of culture, culture and climate action, and culture, heritage and crises.
For the first time, AIGU took part in Mondiacult at the direct invitation of UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. AIGU President Gianluca Buoncore and member Gemma Gresele actively participated in the MondiaYouth session, a space entirely dedicated to young people to discuss the future of culture and its role in sustainable development. The initiative marked a historic step, recognising that young people are not merely beneficiaries of cultural policies but key actors in their definition and implementation. The discussions brought together young people from over 50 countries, who contributed their skills and experience to the drafting of the final documents.
During the MondiaYouth sessions there was also the opportunity to engage with the Assistant Director-General for Culture Ernesto Ottone, and with Ernest Urtasun, the Spanish Minister of Culture.
The discussions held over the three days culminated in the document “MondiaYouth Perspectives 2025”, a report gathering seven priority actions addressed to Member States and stakeholders, presented as the official youth declaration during the Mondiacult closing ceremony, in the presence of DG Audrey Azoulay, ADG Ernesto Ottone, Minister of Culture Ernest Urtasun and all the delegates of the participating countries.
Our heartfelt thanks go to Director-General Audrey Azoulay for the invitation, to the Permanent Delegation of Italy to UNESCO for supporting our participation in the event, to the UNESCO Mondiacult staff and to the Ministry of Culture of the Spanish Government for the organisation.
We are extremely grateful to the Italian National Commission for UNESCO for the support we received and for the trust placed in us.
