2014 has been declared International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the first Year ever dedicated to a group of countries, by the UN General Assembly Resolution 67/206, approved on 21 December 2012. The global launch of the Year took place on 24 February at UN headquarters in New York, USA.

In the benefit of SIDS, the CLT sector of UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean supports national efforts in developing and implementing policies and measures that use cultural resources as a tool for sustainable human and economic development, through:

• Providing the Technical Secretariat of the Forum of Ministers of Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean, in which all SIDS Member States from the Region are represented,
• Maintaining and updating the Portal of Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean, as requested by GRULAC countries in the recent meeting (January 2014) of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC.
• Publishing periodical Culture & Development, which disseminates policies and good practices from all over the Region;
• Implementing the Caribbean Capacity Building Programme (CCBP) for World Heritage, in close cooperation with UNESCO's Kingston Office and World Heritage Centre (1972 Convention);
• Developing the Cameras of Diversity project, which supports the production and dissemination of audiovisual materials with local content – a new project called Caribbean Cameras of Diversity has been developed recently together with representatives from Caribbean SIDS (2005 Convention)
• Organising capacity building activities in the fields of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for Latin Caribbean SIDS (2003 Convention); preventing the illicit traffic of cultural goods (1970 Convention); and protecting and conserving the underwater cultural heritage (2001 Convention).

Also in 2014 it will take place in Apia, Samoa, 1-4 September, the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States. This event will seek a renewed political commitment to address the special needs and vulnerabilities of SIDS by focusing on practical actions.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are low-lying coastal countries that share similar sustainable development challenges, including small but growing populations, limited resources, dependence on international trade, vulnerability to natural and environmental disasters and limited capacity to face them and recover. Their survival depends firmly on their human resources and cultural heritage, which are their more important assets; those assets are currently under serious tension.

The SIDS were first recognized as a distinct group of developing countries at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992. The Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States held in 1994 in Barbados adopted a Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. This Programme was reviewed in the international meeting held in Mauritius in 2005, where a Strategy of Implementation was designed. Mauritius Strategy has been examined in several UN ad-hoc meetings.

UNESCO has contributed towards a new vision and commitment for small islands. It has called for intersectoral, interregional and intergenerational cooperation. In contributing to the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy, UNESCO draws on a set of standard-setting instruments in the cultural field, in promoting cultural pluralism and intercultural dialogue, the protection of the world's tangible and intangible heritage, and the development of cultural enterprises. On the occasion of the International Year of Small Island Developing States, UNESCO has launched a special website.

A Special Declaration on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) was adopted by the II Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), held in Havana, Cuba, on 28 and 29 January 2014. It has been a significant contribution in view of the challenges faced by the 22 SIDS of the Region.

2014 has been declared International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the first Year ever dedicated to a group of countries, by the UN General Assembly Resolution 67/206, approved on 21 December 2012. The global launch of the Year took place on 24 February at UN headquarters in New York, USA.

In the benefit of SIDS, the CLT sector of UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean supports national efforts in developing and implementing policies and measures that use cultural resources as a tool for sustainable human and economic development, through:

• Providing the Technical Secretariat of the Forum of Ministers of Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean, in which all SIDS Member States from the Region are represented,
• Maintaining and updating the Portal of Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean, as requested by GRULAC countries in the recent meeting (January 2014) of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC.
• Publishing periodical Culture & Development, which disseminates policies and good practices from all over the Region;
• Implementing the Caribbean Capacity Building Programme (CCBP) for World Heritage, in close cooperation with UNESCO's Kingston Office and World Heritage Centre (1972 Convention);
• Developing the Cameras of Diversity project, which supports the production and dissemination of audiovisual materials with local content – a new project called Caribbean Cameras of Diversity has been developed recently together with representatives from Caribbean SIDS (2005 Convention)
• Organising capacity building activities in the fields of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for Latin Caribbean SIDS (2003 Convention); preventing the illicit traffic of cultural goods (1970 Convention); and protecting and conserving the underwater cultural heritage (2001 Convention).

Also in 2014 it will take place in Apia, Samoa, 1-4 September, the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States. This event will seek a renewed political commitment to address the special needs and vulnerabilities of SIDS by focusing on practical actions.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are low-lying coastal countries that share similar sustainable development challenges, including small but growing populations, limited resources, dependence on international trade, vulnerability to natural and environmental disasters and limited capacity to face them and recover. Their survival depends firmly on their human resources and cultural heritage, which are their more important assets; those assets are currently under serious tension.

The SIDS were first recognized as a distinct group of developing countries at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992. The Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States held in 1994 in Barbados adopted a Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. This Programme was reviewed in the international meeting held in Mauritius in 2005, where a Strategy of Implementation was designed. Mauritius Strategy has been examined in several UN ad-hoc meetings.

UNESCO has contributed towards a new vision and commitment for small islands. It has called for intersectoral, interregional and intergenerational cooperation. In contributing to the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy, UNESCO draws on a set of standard-setting instruments in the cultural field, in promoting cultural pluralism and intercultural dialogue, the protection of the world's tangible and intangible heritage, and the development of cultural enterprises. On the occasion of the International Year of Small Island Developing States, UNESCO has launched a special website.

A Special Declaration on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) was adopted by the II Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), held in Havana, Cuba, on 28 and 29 January 2014. It has been a significant contribution in view of the challenges faced by the 22 SIDS of the Region.2014 has been declared International Year of Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the first Year ever dedicated to a group of countries, by the UN General Assembly Resolution 67/206, approved on 21 December 2012. The global launch of the Year took place on 24 February at UN headquarters in New York, USA.

In the benefit of SIDS, the CLT sector of UNESCO Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean supports national efforts in developing and implementing policies and measures that use cultural resources as a tool for sustainable human and economic development, through:

• Providing the Technical Secretariat of the Forum of Ministers of Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean, in which all SIDS Member States from the Region are represented,
• Maintaining and updating the Portal of Culture of Latin America and the Caribbean, as requested by GRULAC countries in the recent meeting (January 2014) of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC.
• Publishing periodical Culture & Development, which disseminates policies and good practices from all over the Region;
• Implementing the Caribbean Capacity Building Programme (CCBP) for World Heritage, in close cooperation with UNESCO's Kingston Office and World Heritage Centre (1972 Convention);
• Developing the Cameras of Diversity project, which supports the production and dissemination of audiovisual materials with local content – a new project called Caribbean Cameras of Diversity has been developed recently together with representatives from Caribbean SIDS (2005 Convention)
• Organising capacity building activities in the fields of safeguarding intangible cultural heritage for Latin Caribbean SIDS (2003 Convention); preventing the illicit traffic of cultural goods (1970 Convention); and protecting and conserving the underwater cultural heritage (2001 Convention).

Also in 2014 it will take place in Apia, Samoa, 1-4 September, the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States. This event will seek a renewed political commitment to address the special needs and vulnerabilities of SIDS by focusing on practical actions.

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are low-lying coastal countries that share similar sustainable development challenges, including small but growing populations, limited resources, dependence on international trade, vulnerability to natural and environmental disasters and limited capacity to face them and recover. Their survival depends firmly on their human resources and cultural heritage, which are their more important assets; those assets are currently under serious tension.

The SIDS were first recognized as a distinct group of developing countries at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in June 1992. The Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States held in 1994 in Barbados adopted a Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. This Programme was reviewed in the international meeting held in Mauritius in 2005, where a Strategy of Implementation was designed. Mauritius Strategy has been examined in several UN ad-hoc meetings.

UNESCO has contributed towards a new vision and commitment for small islands. It has called for intersectoral, interregional and intergenerational cooperation. In contributing to the implementation of the Mauritius Strategy, UNESCO draws on a set of standard-setting instruments in the cultural field, in promoting cultural pluralism and intercultural dialogue, the protection of the world's tangible and intangible heritage, and the development of cultural enterprises. On the occasion of the International Year of Small Island Developing States, UNESCO has launched a special website.

A Special Declaration on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) was adopted by the II Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), held in Havana, Cuba, on 28 and 29 January 2014. It has been a significant contribution in view of the challenges faced by the 22 SIDS of the Region.