Personal resume

Mehri Madarshahi，served for 26 years（1977-2003）as a Senior Economic Officer at the United Nations Secretariat，she was assigned as a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Task Force on the Decentralization and as a senior advisor to the Executive Secretary of the Reform Board of the UN. She also served as a director of Board of the Africa Leadership Foundation from 1996-2009.Since 2004，she acts as the President of “Melody for Dialogue among Civilization Association” and Global Cultural Networks and a recipient of many international awards including Aspen Diplomacy Awards in 2012. She is the Visiting Professor at the Institute for Public Policy of the South China University for Technology and the CEO of the Shenzhen-Qianhai Cultural Consulting Company（MAH）.She is the Cultural Advisor to the Eoc Forum Global，and acts as the International Cultural Advisor to the Eoc Forum Global.

Good afternoon！ Thanks Mr Chairman for giving me the opportunity to speak about the important role that culture plays in advancing sustainable development issues. I have attended the meetings of the Eco Forum in the past 8 years but I wish to congratulate the organizers for including this important topic in the agenda of the meetings for the first time.

As the latest study undertaken by the International Confederation of the Societies of Authors and Composers indicates，the contributions of cultural and creative industries to the world economy stands at US$2.250 trillion or 3% of the world GDP，creating some 30 million jobs worldwide equivalent to 1% of the world’s active population. Today，the cultural and creative industries are considered as major drivers of national economies and in essence income generating，job creating and export earning factors in various countries of the world.

As it stands，the creative cultural industries revenues worldwide exceed those of telecom services（US$1，570b globally），and surpass India’s GDP（US$1，900b）. Within the total，the top three earners are television（US$477b），visual arts（US$391b），newspapers and magazines（US$354b）. The top three employers among these industries are visual arts（6.73m），books（3.67m）and music（3.98m）.

Cultural and creative content also helps sales of digital devices with a total of US$530b in 2013. Digital cultural goods are，by far，the biggest revenue source，generating US$66b in 2013 and US$21.7b of advertising revenues for online media and free streaming websites.

Performing arts are the biggest employers in the informal economy，providing unofficial music and theater performances，which are often free for audiences. Informal cultural industries sales in 2013 among emerging countries were estimated at US$33b providing 2 million jobs.

Despite the fact that cultural industries are becoming a dynamic sector with great potential for economic growth and economic development，their potential remains frequently underutilized and marginalized in national and international development policies and programs.

During the past decade，conceptual debates on linkages between culture and development have been both intense and fruitful allowing for the setting up of a highly relevant strategic and empirical framework：starting with the 2004 UNDP Human Development Report emphasizing the importance of cultural freedom for human development； to the 2005 UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions； the 2009 Colloquium on “Culture and Creativity as Factors of Development” in Brussels，. However，the major agreements reached at the United Nations such as MDGs（2000-2015），the Johannesburg Declaration，the Habitat International Coalition，the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 SDGs in 2015 did marginally refer to the important role of culture in sustainable and economic development and undervalued the contribution of culture to economic growth in terms of both income and employment generation.

Ladies and Gentlemen，

There is a growing belief that to successfully advance in solving global problems，we need to develop new methods of thinking，to elaborate new moral and value criteria，and，with no doubt，a new pattern of behavior. Today，the role of cultural industries as a powerful engine for economic growth and export，generating considerable income and employment can hardly be ignored. Cultural industries are indeed a strategic outlet for innovation，production，dissemination，income generation，poverty reduction，political recognition and influence.

A sustainable development strategy cannot be culturally neutral. An approach to development sensitive to cultural differences is the key to addressing the interlinked economic，social and environmental problems confronting the planet as a whole.

Despite all，we know how difficult it is to rally economists to the culture /sustainable development nexus. Let me stay with the economists for a moment. Few know that cultural and creative industries represent one of the most rapidly expanding sectors in the global economy with an average growth rate of 13.9% in Africa，11.9% in South America，17.6% in the Middle East，9.7% in Asia，6.9% in Oceania，and 4.3% in North and Central America – these rates are by and large even higher than the often invoked growth rate of the dynamic Chinese economy in the past decade. Let me also mention that cultural tourism represents 40% of international tourism receipts and relies heavily on cultural heritage and creativity in all their forms.

Culture as well as creative industries，sustainable tourism，and heritage- based urban revitalization are powerful economic activities that generate green employment，stimulate local development and trade opportunities，particularly in developing countries with their often rich cultural heritage and creative population.

Thus it is left to the policy makers to highlight better the relevance of the culture sector’s contribution to the economy and to poverty alleviation. Cultural industries’ impact needs to be better understood and appreciated，especially in view of the current economic crisis.

Public policies should instill at the heart of the cultural and creative industry sectors support for the diverse forms of creativity. The framework must be translated into national action plans，which can bring a holistic and inter-sectorial focus to cultural policies as an instrument of social transformation and citizenship. The new policies should underline the important role of cultural diversity in tackling ecological challenges，coping with climate change，preventing biodiversity loss and ensuring environmental sustainability since cultural factors influence individual behavior，values related to environmental stewardship and the ways in which we interact with our natural environment. In other words，in addition to its economic benefits，the role of cultural and creative industries in generating non-monetary values that contribute significantly to achieving people-centered，inclusive and sustainable development must be elaborated upon.

Ladies and Gentlemen，

To this end，effective policies remain strategically important. Success in attracting creative industries or creative actors can be seen as an outcome of long term policies affecting soft infrastructures，education，the sciences，culture and communication and information. Our sustainable future can be guaranteed only by a drive for a new type or form of development，one beyond the motivation of purely economic profitability. One，which by necessity drives to satisfy human needs and aspirations，as，declared to be the major objective of development.

Thank you for your attention.