Barcelona | Culture, policy and sustainable development
MONDIACULT, the world’s biggest cultural policy conference, will be held in Barcelona 29 September to 1 October 2025.
The 2025 edition brings together thousands of participants to set the global agenda for culture in the years ahead. The discussions will revolve around 6 themes (Cultural rights, Digital technologies in the culture sector, Culture and education, Economy of culture, Culture and climate action, Culture, heritage and crisis) and 2 focus areas (Culture for peace, Artificial intelligence and culture), representing key challenges and opportunities for the future of culture.
Simultaneously, there will be two other key events in Barcelona from 26 to 28 September 2025:
The UCLG Culture Summit is the main meeting point at global level of cities, local governments and organisations that are committed to the effective implementation of policies and programmes on culture and sustainability. The Summit takes place in Barcelona, in recognition of the city’s work on the relationship between cultural rights, public spaces and democracy.
The Àgora Cívica is a space for debate and the exchange of local and international experiences and reflections in which to collectively consider the role of culture in the construction of contemporary societies. It was born from the agreement between the Barcelona City Council, the Barcelona Provincial Council, the Government of Catalonia, and the Ministry of Culture, within the framework of MONDIACULT 2025. The Àgora Cívica will take place in various locations across the city of Barcelona and, in a networked format, in other cities and at different times through the involvement of various civil society organisations.
As part of the UCLG Culture Summit programme, the Asia Europe Foundation’s Culture Department Director Valentina RICCARDI will be participating in the panel ‘Why we need a culture goal’ on 27 September at 11.30am.