MONDIACULT 2025 Cultural Rights and Libraries: Intervention Transcript

IFLA attended the World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2025 to bring the voice of libraries to the table. Hosted by the Government of Spain in Barcelona from 29 September – 1 October 2025, this event has set the global agenda for culture in the years ahead. As an NGO in official partnership with UNESCO, IFLA was able to join the Thematic Session as an observer. Secretary General Sharon Memis joined the final discussion on Cultural Rights / Economy of Culture on 1 October to make a statement supporting the participatory approach to upholding cultural rights, and in particular, highlighting libraries as existing infrastructure to realise this goal.