Sustainable development is most often recognized by its three pillars: environmental, economic, and equity (social). However, over the last several years, advocates in a global campaign have pushed for the recognition of a... [ view full abstract ]
Sustainable development is most often recognized by its three pillars: environmental, economic, and equity (social). However, over the last several years, advocates in a global campaign have pushed for the recognition of a fourth pillar: culture. For example, in 2013, the global campaign, called “The Future We Want Includes Culture”, emerged during the post-2015 agenda debates, led by several global and regional cultural civil society organizations. By May 2014, the "Declaration on the Inclusion of Culture in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)" was launched and signed by 900 organizations and more than 2,500 individuals in 120 countries. Advocates for the inclusion of culture in the SDGs proposed that a goal explicitly about culture be included and suggested the wording: “Ensure cultural sustainability for the wellbeing of all”. In the end, an explicit goal about culture was not included in the SDGs that were adopted in September 2015. However, during the post-agenda debates the global campaign did propose targets that might help to benchmark the arts and cultural sector in development. This paper considers these proposed targets and indicators through the case of Medellin, Colombia, a city that has used the arts and cultural sector within its overarching urban planning for some time. We examine archival information, such as Medellin’s development plans and evaluation reports using qualitative methods, to answer the following question: How has Medellin used arts and cultural programming and planning within its development plans? Is SDG language informing recent Medellin development plans and how? Do development plans incorporate or discuss any of the types of arts and cultural targets and indicators suggested by the “The Future We Want Includes Culture” campaign and how? Through the case of Medellin, we assess culture and its contributions to development at the municipal level. According to its advocates, culture contributes not only to the economic and productive sector but also provides a range of non-monetary benefits, such as social inclusion; thus, in many instances it promotes socially inclusive development, the central theme of the conference. The paper fits across several of the conference themes and tracks, including the 23rd ISDRS Conference's special track of Art & Sustainability; as well as two of the tracks in the theme about Institutions and Governance Structures for Sustainable Development: Advocacy and public participation and Collaborative Governance for Sustainable Development.
