Cultural Sustainability and the SDGs: Strategies and Priorities in the European Union Countries

Abstract

This research aims to analyze how the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are included in the EU cultural policies and which are the priorities of the European Union (EU) in the cultural sustainability’s agenda. We performed a content analysis of the EU Countries’ cultural policies, evaluating the grade of inclusion of the SDGs. The conclusions show that the EU cultural policies, although not explicitly, include the SDGs in the definition of their strategies, policies, projects and actions. Specifically, eight of the seventeen SDGs are included in relation to the following interdisciplinary topics: Cultural and Natural Heritage (SDG11), Cultural Education (SDG 4), Cultural Diversity (SDG 4), Social Inclusion (SDG 10), Information Access (SDG 16), Cooperation with other institutions (SDG 17), Environment (SDG 13), Economic Growth (SDG 8) and Gender Equality (SDG 5). Topics’ priorities are generally commonly defined in the different EU countries.