Culture, Recovery and Reconstruction: Sustainable Development Policies

Many cities around the world are facing acute stresses and shocks due to conflicts and natural disasters. The World Bank Group and UNESCO have joined forces to prepare a White Paper as a framework for mainstreaming culture in post-conflict, post-disaster city reconstruction and recovery programmes. The paper will focus on the roles that culture, though cultural heritage and the cultural and creative industries, can play during the reconstruction and recovery process to achieve the sustainable development of cities, human settlements and citizens.

Drawing from the reconstruction experience of selected cities and the knowledge of international experts, the objective of the paper is to propose a harmonized approach and operational guidance to consider during post-crisis interventions across the globe. The paper will include existing frameworks, such as the 3Ps (people, places and policies) and sustainable cities. It will build on the recommendations of the UNESCO Global Report, Culture: Urban Future, and support practitioners throughout the project cycle (planning, financing and implementation) to promote inclusive, resilient and competitive cities, in line with the New Urban Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Embracing a wide and collaborative process, the Networking Event on “Culture, Reconstruction and Recovery” aims to enhance coordination among development partners and explore stakeholders’ views on how to integrate and safeguard culture during city reconstruction and recovery process. The event will also provide a platform to share the proposed culture and reconstruction framework and guiding principles among participating mayors, city-level practitioners, representatives of international organizations, international experts, and representatives of civil society. The World Bank Group and UNESCO will then build on the outcomes of this expert discussion to finalize the White Paper and launch its dissemination and implementation through their respective operational teams.