The virtual meeting was attended by the president of the UN General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir, and the Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, who delivered the opening remarks. The Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Sustainable Development Goals, Richard Curtis, and the President of the Economic and Social Council, Munir Akram, will spoke at the meeting, held under the slogan, ‘Building Back Better: Towards a More Resilient and Impactful Cultural Sector in the Context of the Pandemic and the Decade of Action’.

It highlighted the contribution of the cultural and creative industries to relief and recovery strategies in the face of the global health emergency.

The event, which was held in plenary session, called for harnessing the transformative potential of culture as an accelerator for the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda.

The meeting, which coincided with World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, focused on the challenges and opportunities for the arts sector in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic.

jg/omr/mgt/chm