Hans d'Orville

Chairman of Advisory Committee of ICCSD and Former Assistant Director-General for Strategic Planning of UNESCO

Culture and economy are highly integrated and increasingly becoming important engines driving economic growth and enhancing innovation capacity. The cultural industry is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world, creating a large number of jobs for society. But it is also an extremely vulnerable economic sector. The cultural and creative industries have been hit hardest by the pandemic. In the context of economic globalization, no country can be immune from the rampant pandemic. We urgently need to build a stable and resilient creative and cultural ecosystem to overcome the current difficulties, promote the transformation and recovery of the cultural industry, and restore its vigor and vitality.

Multiple Tests Brought by COVID-19 and the International Situation

In the cultural sector, a great many public cultural venues are closed, and a series of offline activities have to be canceled. In this context, the UN General Assembly has adopted a landmark resolution on "Culture and Sustainable Development" to help the cultural industry cope with the impact of the pandemic and ensure the orderly production of cultural content. We should be aware that the cultural industry is low-carbon, eco-friendly, and widely accessible with high added value, which will help develop a green economy, promote the unity of stakeholders at all levels of society, and ultimately facilitate the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to be achieved by 2030.

Culture is of great significance for developing new growth poles in the economy, creating industry value and raising the incomes of workers. Sustainable development is a dividend in a peaceful environment. Without a peaceful and secure environment, sustainable development is out of the question. Culture can bridge the gap, promote inclusiveness, resolve conflicts and bring peace, while helping us adapt to digital transformation and extend industrial chains. The UN will continue to strengthen and improve the formulation of public policies in the field of culture, while promoting knowledge innovation and intercultural dialogue.

In the face of increasingly prominent global challenges, we need to respect cultural diversity, promote cross-cultural exchanges and communication, deepen understanding and expand consensus, and let more people understand the positive role of diverse civilizations in boosting sustainable development. We need to grasp the opportunity offered by digital transformation, to strengthen scientific and technological synergy, broaden cooperation in cultural freedom, further energize enterprise innovation, support gender equality, empower women in the economy, and realize the diversity of cultural expression.

The role of culture in education cannot be ignored. We should start with providing high-quality education and highlighting lifelong education, strengthen the dissemination and sharing of knowledge and skills, promote the spirit of innovation and the establishment of a sustainable consumption concept, and ultimately create a green and low-carbon consumption model in the whole society. In addition, cultural and climate issues are inseparable. On the basis of strengthening the protection of cultural heritage, we must vigorously address climate change issues such as rising sea levels and worsening desertification, and promote the healthy development of cultural tourism and other derivative industries.

At present, achieving the SDGs is fraught with difficulties. The impact of the pandemic has not dissipated, and many industries are still struggling to recover. The turmoil in the international arena has made the situation even worse, increasing factors of instability and worsening food security issues around the globe, especially in developing countries. The threat of inflation affects not only the daily lives of ordinary people, but also the finances and economic dynamism of countries. It is necessary for the globe to join hands to overcome various challenges.

Cross-Cultural Communication Promotes Equitable Recovery Aimed at Carbon Neutrality

We have agreed that this is the most important time to achieve the SDGs. For cultural inclusiveness and equitable global recovery realized in different ways, we need to build a circular economy to promote systemic solutions to environmental problems such as plastic pollution. We must seek alternative and eco-friendly materials, eliminate non-degradable plastic products at the technological source, call for less plastic use at the consumer end, and work throughout the process to protect coral reefs and many other marine lives. Meanwhile, the measurement of economic growth should not only adopt a single dimension, but focus on the sustainability of growth and whether it can be sustained among generations. Sustainable development with the goal of carbon neutrality requires that we put equity at the center of economic planning and policy making.

Green transformation and industrial development are gradually drawing more attention in urban renewal projects. Starting with the protection, renovation and reuse of old industrial sites, we should give full consideration to native cultural factors, explore new ideas of creative design, empower high-quality and sustainable development of old city areas, highlight interaction between culture and urban renewal. The cultural and creative industries need to follow the trend of scientific and technological innovation and growing digital economy to tap its enormous potential in promoting green and low-carbon development.

Cultures with varying intrinsic attributes focus on skills, ways of expression and thinking systems that differ remarkably from each other, showing resilience of different levels in times of shock and difficulties. ICCSD has carried out corresponding research into the role of concrete art forms such as music in promoting urban transformation, and will build on its work and continue to strengthen the protection and inheritance of various cultures.

As the experts at the meeting have said, we are currently on the precipice of climate change and must accelerate the pace of carbon emission reduction to curb the trend of environmental degradation represented by global warming. We need to accelerate revolutionary breakthroughs and progress in the energy sector, and at the same time, beef up publicity and raise the awareness of the urgency of sustainable development at all levels of society, unite more stakeholders, and let the whole society act together.

ICCSD will continuously spur sustainable development from a cultural perspective and vigorously participate in global agreements and negotiations to combat plastic pollution. Second, the Center will conduct in-depth studies on the world's leading decarbonization cases, horizontally compare the achievements and paths of sustainable development across different cities in the field of urban renewal, accelerate the flow of creative ideas, promote successful experience, and give play to the pivotal role of education in boosting the accessibility of ideas and green innovation. Moreover, to expand its influence, ICCSD will try to use media convergence and other publicity methods to let more young people benefit from its research results. In the future, more positive attempts and efforts will be made to serve urban renewal and low-carbon green development.