AGORA

CIVIC

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 intergovernmental conference on cultural policies promoted by UNESCO and held in Barcelona.

The Civic Agora will take place in various locations across the city of Barcelona from September 26 to October 1, 2025, and, in a networked format, in other cities and at different times through the involvement of various civil society organizations.

THEMATIC AXES

Debate on the key issues on the international cultural agenda, from a local, Catalan and national perspective.

Cultural rights

We reflect on cultural rights as a framework for guiding cultural practices and policies: citizen participation; inequalities in access to and the exercise of cultural rights; the relationship between culture and other areas such as education, health or well-being, and the legal and political frameworks that enable their full realisation.

Cultural and language diversity

We debate the challenges posed by cultural and language diversity, and the responses given by civil society and institutions We deal with issues such as identities and cultural interactions, the promotion of the social use of languages, and the effects that technological and social transformations have on managing diversity. We also analyse the public policies that are linked to this.

Technologies and artificial intelligence

We analyse how digitalisation and artificial intelligence are transforming cultural life, especially in terms of creation, production, distribution and access to content. We also reflect on the ethical, legal and economic challenges that arise, how they affect the configuration of cultural sectors, and the responses provided by public policies and cultural agents, both locally and internationally.

Culture and peace

From culture as a meeting place for dialogue and consensus building, in a world full of conflicts, we share experiences and reflect on how culture can serve both to make tensions visible and to build scenarios f peace and coexistence.

Cities and the culture goal on global agendas

We address the central role of culture in global sustainable development agendas, and especially in the proposal to include a specific goal for culture in the Post-2030 Agenda. We also explain the experiences of cities, local governments and regions working to integrate culture into their development strategies, at the local, state and international levels.

Cultural ecosystems

We focus on how the cultural sectors are structured and evolve. We talk about innovation in organisational models, the economic dimension of culture, networking, and the policies that support these ecosystems. We also address the need to adapt legal and political frameworks to the specific reality of cultural practices and organisations, as well as the review of governance models.