PARIS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay announced to Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on February 2 local time that the hosting of the next World Conference on Cultural Policy and Sustainable Development (Mondiacult) will be handed over to Spain. The conference will be held in Barcelona in the second half of 2025.
Azoulay and Sanchez met in Madrid on the same day. During the meeting, she announced that UNESCO had approved Spain's candidacy to host the 2025 World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development.
According to reports, the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development is an important event for UNESCO's 194 Member States to jointly define the global cultural agenda. Azoulay confirmed that the conference will be held in Barcelona in 2025, when UNESCO will publish its first report on the state of the world's culture.
Azoulay said she and the Spanish prime minister agreed to focus on artificial intelligence, a technology that offers endless opportunities but also concerns for artists. The 2025 World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development will be an opportunity for countries to develop common solutions to ensure that the use of AI fully respects the rights of artists in terms of IP rights and remuneration.
Spain** submitted its bid to host the World Conference on Cultural Policy and Sustainable Development in October 2023. The city is already an important partner of UNESCO, with nine UNESCO-protected World Heritage sites and a UNESCO category II centre specializing in humanities and social sciences. Barcelona also has extensive experience in organizing UNESCO international events. In 2022, Barcelona hosted the UNESCO World Conference on Higher Education.