{"id":78070,"date":"2026-05-06T17:25:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T17:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/?p=78070"},"modified":"2026-05-08T19:10:54","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T19:10:54","slug":"how-can-equitable-access-to-heritage-help-solve-global-challenges-an-exploratory-dialogue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/2026\/05\/06\/how-can-equitable-access-to-heritage-help-solve-global-challenges-an-exploratory-dialogue\/","title":{"rendered":"How can Equitable Access to Heritage Help Solve Global Challenges? An Exploratory Dialogue"},"content":{"rendered":"

Introduction<\/span><\/h2>\n

How can equitable access to heritage help solve global challenges? That is the question we addressed during our <\/span>Exploratory Dialogue<\/span><\/a>, a major event we hosted on 29 April, 2026, at UNESCO House in Paris, France, to celebrate the <\/span>Open Heritage Statement<\/span><\/a> and explore its synergies with UNESCO\u2019s priorities in tackling the most urgent problems facing the world today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In this blog post, we set the event in its wider context, look back at some of the highlights from the discussions, report on our key takeaways, and pave the way for what comes next.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Dialogue in Context<\/span><\/h2>\n

This Dialogue was the culmination of years of research and consultations, <\/span>policy analysis<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>movement building<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>community mobilization<\/span><\/a>, as well as global advocacy efforts towards more equitable access to public domain heritage in the digital environment. You can read more about the journey that took us <\/span>from shared vision to global action<\/span><\/a>. A remarkable milestone, the Dialogue brought together over 100 participants, including UNESCO staff, Permanent Delegation representatives, National Commissions, cultural heritage practitioners, funders, and open heritage advocates and enthusiasts from around the world.<\/span><\/p>\n

Our aim by convening this Dialogue was twofold. It was an opportune moment to recognize the joint efforts of the Open Heritage Coalition and its global network of ambassadors in elaborating the <\/span>Open Heritage Statement<\/span><\/a>, a declaration of principles anchored in our shared belief in the <\/span>positive potential of equitable access to heritage<\/span><\/a>. This event was dedicated to the hard work, energy, and collaborative spirit that turned shared ideals into a tangible plea to fill an enormous international policy gap. Indeed, despite open heritage\u2019s clear potential for achieving UNESCO\u2019s key policy objectives, there are still multiple undue, unfair <\/span>barriers to access to heritage in the public domain<\/span><\/a>, and the Coalition was convinced that greater awareness, mobilization, and political will were needed among UNESCO Member States.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Hence the Dialogue was also a favorable occasion to explore how access to heritage in all its forms can make a significant contribution to achieving UNESCO\u2019s mandate of addressing global challenges. Specifically, it was a critical opportunity to sensitize UNESCO stakeholders to the relevance of the Open Heritage Statement as a foundation for further discussions across diverse areas of UNESCO\u2019s mandate and in a cross-sectoral, transversal approach, spanning areas of heritage protection, preservation, and sharing, of course, but also access to education, to the fight against climate change, all the way to artistic creativity and cultural diversity, social inclusion, ethical artificial intelligence, and more.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Key Takeaways<\/span><\/h2>\n

The discussion brought together <\/span>diverse experts from across the world<\/span><\/a> and showcased various real-life examples in which equitable access to public domain heritage can make a positive impact in many of UNESCO\u2019s priorities, in line with its mandate and in support of the fundamental right to participate in cultural life. Their perspectives helped us understand how access to heritage is vital in the digital environment as well as how unfair barriers keep impeding such access.<\/span><\/p>\n

For more information, you can see the <\/span>full program<\/span><\/a>, read the <\/span>detailed summary of each session<\/span><\/a>, and watch the recordings in English and French<\/a>.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

A resounding message united these interventions into a coherent narrative: there is an urgent need to lower the barriers that unfairly hamper access and prevent us from sustaining resilient and connected societies. Open heritage is a means to advance cultural policy goals aiming to remove unfair socio-economic barriers to access to heritage in the digital environment, in accordance, notably, with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Global collective action is now more important than ever, because without global policy alignment, the full potential of open heritage remains largely unrealized.<\/span><\/p>\n

Future Outlook: From Dialogue to Recommendation\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Sign the Open Heritage Statement<\/span><\/h3>\n

We are very proud of what the Open Heritage Coalition has accomplished. Well before its deadline, it reached its objectives of developing the Open Heritage Statement alongside a comprehensive advocacy strategy and campaign. As our movement evolves into its next phase, the Coalition is no longer accepting new members. As the new anchor point in this dynamic initiative, we encourage organizations and institutions to sign the Open Heritage Statement and join the momentum built by close to 100 <\/span>signatories<\/span><\/a> to date in order to show broad alignment and global support. To add your voice to the call, visit <\/span>openheritagestatement.org<\/span><\/a> and <\/span>sign the Statement<\/span><\/a> today.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Explore the Feasibility of an Open Heritage Recommendation<\/span><\/h3>\n

We call on UNESCO Member States to join the dialogue towards additional action by UNESCO to ensure equitable access to public domain heritage in the digital environment, possibly even by co-creating a new normative instrument, in accordance with UNESCO\u2019s existing normative framework. Recently, UNESCO has demonstrated a strong commitment to open through the <\/span>2019 Recommendation on Open Educational Resources (OER)<\/span><\/a> and the <\/span>2021 Recommendation on Open Science<\/span><\/a>. These recommendations were game changers. A UNESCO Recommendation on Open Heritage would be the next logical step.<\/span><\/p>\n

To achieve this, UNESCO Member States should explore the feasibility of elaborating a standard-setting instrument (a Recommendation) that would proactively promote and encourage open solutions to removing barriers to accessing heritage in the public domain, being mindful of the various governance frameworks that determine the ways in which heritage is shared and used.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We believe this Dialogue, and new initiatives to be taken in its wake, will further strengthen cooperation between UNESCO and Creative Commons, harnessing the obvious synergies and setting the stage for international discussions aiming to consolidate best practices and enshrine our common aspiration: ensuring equitable access to heritage. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How can equitable access to heritage help solve global challenges? That is the question we addressed during our Exploratory Dialogue, a major event we hosted on 29 April, 2026, at UNESCO House in Paris, France, to celebrate the Open Heritage Statement and explore its synergies with UNESCO\u2019s priorities in tackling the most urgent problems facing the world today.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":78072,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30,18],"tags":[3899,3564],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78070"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/30"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78070"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78070\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78076,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78070\/revisions\/78076"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78072"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}