In September 2000 the world leaders gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York adopted the Millennium Declaration, which established a series of time-bound targets known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), whose deadline was set for the year 2015.

The countries represented in the UN Sustainable Development Summit (New York, 25-27 September 2015) adopted a new world development agenda: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which is a plan of action for people, planet and prosperity. It also seeks to strengthen universal peace in larger freedom and recognizes that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the greatest global challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

This new universal Agenda includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 targets, that demonstrate the scale and ambition of this programme.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development marks a substantial step forward for sustainable development in many fields, and particularly for culture as it is the first time that the international development agenda refers to culture within the framework of Sustainable Development Goals related to education, sustainable cities, food security, the environment, economic growth, sustainable consumption and production patterns, peaceful and inclusive societies.