The Municipality of Faro is the first in Europe to develop a Strategic Plan for Culture fully committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) defined in the 2030 Agenda by the UN, adopted by 193 countries.
The City Council emphasizes that, «with this pioneering strategic plan, Faro recognizes that cultural and creative industries and cultural infrastructure are valuable resources for innovation and sustainable development”.
«At the same time, while giving Culture a decisive role in the future of sustainable development of its territory, the Municipality of Faro updates the commitment of the Council of Europe Framework Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society, signed on Faro in 2005,' adds the municipality.
The Strategic Plan for the Culture of Faro "based on the thematic indicators defined in the Unesco 2030 Agenda, which aim to help cities assess the local contribution of culture to the SDGs, namely to better underpin the five pillars of the 2030 Agenda: people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships" .
According to Rogério Bacalhau, president of the Chamber of Faro, «Culture is intended to be the engine for the development of Faro so it is logical to adopt the methodologies recommended by the Unesco 2030 Agenda, since these also place culture at the center of territorial development policies».
To materialize these goals, the Strategic Plan for the Culture of Faro organizes its action programs according to four thematic dimensions aligned with the 2030 Culture Indicators, but interpreted in the light of the context of the Municipality of Faro.
In line with the “Environment and Resilience” dimension, the strategic plan presents the “Cultural Landscape” dimension in which “cultural programs and projects are dedicated to the contribution of Culture to sustainable land use planning, with a focus on material and immaterial heritage and natural, in the quality of the urban environment, including responses in terms of mobility and ecological balances».
Alongside the “Prosperity and Livelihoods” pillar, defined by the SDGs, the second dimension is “Creative Economy”, “which aims to contribute to key aspects of the economy (GDP, employment, new businesses, investment in innovation and crossover between tourism and culture , etc), through the development of cultural projects and governance structures in the sector».
The Strategic Plan also transports two more dimensions of the SDGs to the reality of its territory: “Creative Skills” – in parallel with “Knowledge and Skills” (SDG), which “will focus on the contribution of culture to the construction of knowledge; and finally “Cultural Participation” – which, together with the “Cultural Inclusion and Participation” pillar of the SDGs – will contribute to the reinforcement of social cohesion and inclusion».
The Chamber of Faro explains that the process of building the Strategic Plan for the Culture of Faro «began in October 2019 and its first phase consisted of an extensive process of diagnosis on the state of the art of the cultural and creative sector in the county. In addition to the analysis of documents and data, there were several moments of consultation with entities, cultural agents, as well as individual citizens, bringing together more than three hundred opinions, which makes it one of the most participated strategic documents for culture in the parents".
This was followed by a phase of structuring and analysis of the information, «the Municipality having publicly presented this Tuesday the first proposal for a Strategic Plan for the Culture of Faro which is under public consultation until mid-September».
«This is a fundamental process for the city and it is extremely important that it is participated by the greatest number of people and that the cultural and creative sector is reflected in the programs to be implemented by the Municipality», explains the mayor Rogério Bacalhau.
The application of Faro the European Capital of Culture 2027 is one of the projects stipulated in the plan. «Although this document provides for actions until 2030, the Municipality's commitment to the construction and development of a cultural strategy is essential for the application and its starting point», states the municipality of Faro.
«The Strategic Plan includes 27 programs, making the application for European Capital of Culture 2027 an individual dimension and program in itself. It is a very comprehensive program that encompasses all the dimensions and objectives stipulated in the cultural strategy and we are certain that it goes further. Thus, it will have a great impact on the innovation and sustainability of the development of the county and even in the region and even if Faro don't win the title, we are committed to a strategy for Culture for the next decade», concludes Rogério Bacalhau.
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