Cutting Edge: Small Island Developing States:Cultural diversity as a driver of resilience and adaptation

Small Island Developing States are in actual fact vast oceanic States (SIDS). The future of the planet depends, to a large extent, on their future. They are at the forefront in demonstrating the power of culture to forge responses for resilience and adaptation to extreme hazards and climate-induced disasters. Spanning from the Caribbean to the Pacific via other islands in the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean and South China Sea, the SIDS are a mosaic of diversity. Differing in terms of population size and densities, geographical spread and present differentiated development patterns. 30% of the world's ocean natural and cultural resources are under their custodianship and the safeguarding of these resources are becoming increasingly challenging as a result of multiple combined factors.

SIDS share a set of common social, economic, and environmental characteristics making them a unique laboratory for sustainable development, as recognised in the 1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development. They exhibit vulnerabilities that include high exposure to natural hazards and the effects of climate change due to their coastal and oceanic geographies. The UN priorities for 2022, as underlined by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres state that “in the context of the climate crisis, Small Island Developing States and least developed countries are only one shock away from the apocalypse”. In addition, their size and remoteness pose challenges to their prospects for economic growth, further exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, notably by the drastic decrease of tourism revenues. Furthermore, their cultural resources – one of their most important sources of resiliency – are fragile and increasingly under threat.

Despite these vulnerabilities, SIDS, by building on their cultural resources, are harnessing their potential to achieve development goals and are providing valuable lessons for the broader international community. The islands have an undisputed capacity for adaptation to survive difficult times as demonstrated by their long histories rooted in innovative approaches, societal mobilisation and technological adaptation. Today, the SIDS bring substantial insights for anchoring culture in broader public policies for sustainable development. Their distinctive World Heritage sites offer scientific and historical assets for building resilience, providing laboratories for scientific research and analysis, whilst their cumulative local and indigenous knowledge systems enshrine a wellspring of wisdom of sustainable practices. By mobilizing this potential, the SIDS have effectively raised their voices and become uncontested players in the global arena, sounding the alarm about the disastrous impact of climate change on their livelihoods and survival in negotiations of the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including advocating for the place of culture in policy frameworks.

UNESCO – with its mandate in the sciences, education, and culture – is uniquely placed to enhance the linkages between culture and SIDS resilience strategies and is increasingly pivoting its work to support the very specific needs of its 39 SIDS Member States and 9 Associate Member States. Through the UNESCO Culture Conventions and programmes in particular, there is a clear framework for how to bolster the role of cultural, natural and intangible heritage, as well as creativity and innovation, to forge new development pathways, strengthen resilience and ensure that the SIDS cultural diversity continues to enrich all of humanity.

Small Island Developing States include some of the most unspoilt and diverse places on Earth, from atolls of white sand beaches ringed by blue seas and coral reefs, mountain ranges covered in cloud forests, mangroves and mud bottoms, to historic ports and towns and cultural landscapes created through traditional agricultural practices. Some are, in fact low-lying coastal states. They include some of the smallest nations such as the Pacific Island of Niue has a population of some 1,600 inhabitants but also some of the most densely populated, such as Maldives which has a population of over 1,030 per square kilometre. Oceans embed natural and biological diversity equally that provides scientific knowledge and responses to the challenges faced by the oceans globally across the world.

SIDS also represent some of the most culturally diverse areas in the world, exhibiting a great variety of cultures and languages, due to their histories exemplifying the nexus between culture and nature; cultural diversity and biological diversity. As “diasporic societies” – that formed because of many migratory movements, voluntary or not – the cultures of SIDS are not only shaped by the interactions between people and their environment, but also the cross-influence of relationships to their place of origin and their neighbours, connected by the ocean. SIDS’s living heritage and properties inscribed on the World Heritage List attest to this diversity, such as the heritage association with slavery and indenture (Aapravasi Ghat, Mauritius or the Brimstone Hill Fortress, Saint Kitts and Nevis), 20th-century global heritage of the nuclear age (Bikini Atoll Nuclear Test Site, Marshall Islands), indigenous stories and knowledge (Chief Roi Mata’s Domain, Vanuatu), and traditional economies (Kuk Early Agricultural Site, Papua New Guinea).

The different SIDS sub-regions display a diversity of features, forged by their histories, which have shaped their approaches to cultural policies. In the Caribbean SIDS, the majority of the population has links to Africa and other countries, sharing a common history marked by slavery, forced migration and the coexistence of different ethnic groups (including from Africa, East Asia and South Asia) within plantation societies. The Caribbean SIDS are among the five most globally important “biodiversity hotspots”, with four different forest types and a variety of coastal and marine ecosystems. The sub-region is usually divided into linguistic groups: English-speaking, French-speaking, Spanish-speaking and Dutch-speaking Caribbean. Following the end of colonial rule, culture became an important tool of emancipation, giving the sector a very particular place in Caribbean life, fostering the development of a local cultural identity to communicate a worldview strongly grounded in the African roots of much of the population and has resulted in unique and diverse forms of cultural expression and intangible cultural heritage, such as food, festivals, songs and performing arts. In the Caribbean, national level cultural policies continue to be shaped by a sense of shared identity, with the conservation and safeguarding of cultural heritage remaining a high priority for several countries. However, given that much of the built heritage represents a colonial past, support for its preservation is often ambivalent. Similarly, the history of cultural expressions being linked with political activism has sometimes held back the economic development of the creative sector but interest in the sector is growing.

From the Pacific Island nations to Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea (AIS), the SIDS embed a shared legacy of diverse marine ecosystems.In the Pacific Island nations, traditional indigenous systems of knowledge and land tenure shape the island landscapes and seascapes. The Pacific region spans a quarter of the globe - around 165 million km2 - and includes more than 20,000 islands, often separated by vast stretches of open ocean. The region has historically been divided into three main geocultural subregions – Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia – but throughout history Pacific Islanders have voyaged, settled and interacted across these subregional boundaries. Among the last great regions of the world to be settled by humans, it was sophisticated knowledge of the sea and navigation, coupled with a highly adaptable resource strategy, that enabled people to successfully explore the vast ocean. All Pacific islands’ population (except Fiji) are made up of about 80% indigenous people: their cultures, languages and history connect them to their pre-historic migration. Traditional knowledge, culture and social safety networks are crucial for livelihood, although this is under pressure due to urbanization. The Melanesian sub-region in particular is among the most diverse areas in the world in terms of biodiversity (land and ocean) hotspots.Atlantic, Indian Ocean, and South China Sea (AIS) SIDS are seven island countries (Cabo Verde, São Tomé e Príncipe, Mauritius, Seychelles, Comoros, Maldives and Singapore) and one coastal country (Guinea-Bissau), dispersed between Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. They present significant differences in climate and exposure to natural hazards due to their different geographical location. Most AIS SIDS have colonial pasts marked by slavery and plantation economies. Since their independence, some have developed strong economies, albeit based on assets vulnerable to economic and ecological shocks.

Wherever in the ocean they lie, SIDS face similar stark, and intensifying, vulnerabilities. Firstly, they struggle disproportionately with the issues of increasingly severe extreme weather events as well as slow onset consequences of climate change like rising sea-levels. Tuvalu and the Maldives, for example, do not reach higher than 5 metres above sea level, making them highly susceptible to flooding. Since 1970 it is estimated that SIDS have lost US$153 million to climate-related events, according to UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), even though they are responsible for only 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, most SIDS are located in areas of tectonic activity, making them vulnerable to volcano eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis. Over 60% of countries with the highest losses from disaster events are small island states – with damages of up to 9% of GDP, according to the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery. The climate crisis compounds the ongoing biodiversity crisis caused by the overexploitation of resources, the destruction of coastal habitats and invasive alien species. Such severe biodiversity loss further degrades the ecosystem, exacerbating vulnerability to natural hazards, jeopardising the cultural heritage and food security of islanders. It also has a major impact on both tourism and fisheries, which can also be economically devastating.

SIDS are responsible for only 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions

Over 60% of countries with the highest losses from disaster events are SIDS – with damages of up to 9% of GDP (UNDESA/GFDRR)

Further compounding the challenges of resilience to external shocks, SIDS’ economies are faced with the imperative of economic diversification as a matter of economic and social growth.In that context, culture can provide a significant game changer through the creative sector notably from crafts to music, the performing arts, cuisine and food-related cultural assets. In two out of three island-states, tourism represents 20% of their GDP, and over 40% for some, including Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Cabo Verde, Grenada, Maldives, Saint Lucia and Fiji, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2019, SIDS attracted approximately 44 million visitors and the tourism sector earned USD 55 billion in export revenues. However, according to the latest data from the UN World Tourism Organization, SIDS for example, experienced a 67% fall in international tourist arrivals in 2021 compared to 2019. These vulnerabilities lead to a large unemployment rate, particularly of youth (10% in Pacific) who are increasingly leaving the islands and a bulging informal economy.

Since 1970 it is estimated that SIDS have lost US$153 million to climate-related events (UNDESA/GFDRR)

The insufficient diversification of the economic sector in the SIDS contributes to the fragility of the cultural sector, further undermining the livelihoods of communities heavily affected by environmental vulnerabilities. Not only do the adverse effects of climate change and disasters affect tangible cultural and natural properties, such as buildings, monuments or archaeological sites, but also intangible cultural heritage such as the loss of oral tradition and languages and jeopardize the investment in and development of the creative sector. Moreover, the departure of young people creates an urgent need to safeguard culture in all of its dimensions to transmit to younger generations. Such are the complex and overlapping vulnerabilities of the SIDS that the UN system is currently engaged in designing a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index for SIDS, to which UNESCO is contributing, as culture is a key dimension to be taken into consideration.

In two out of three SIDS, tourism represents 20% of their GDP (OECD)

As early as 1994 the international community recognized the importance of culture in the sustainable development of SIDS, as “the protection of the former is an important condition for the protection of the latter”. It was during same UN Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of SIDS, at which the Barbados Programme of Action was adopted. The Mauritius Strategy (2005) further specified that island culture and heritage, including intangible cultural heritage, provide important pathways to sustainable development. In 2014, the SAMOA Pathway called on the international community to support SIDS in strengthening heritage and creativity through four priorities: culture for sustainable development; cultural and natural heritage; living heritage and cultural industries; and sustainable tourism. It further reaffirmed that “indigenous bio-cultural heritage recognizes the deep connections among people, culture, knowledge and the natural environment, and can meaningfully advance sustainable development”.

One of the five priorities of the UNESCO SIDS Action Plan, adopted two years later, is enhancing capacities for the safeguarding of cultural and natural heritage, including marine and underwater heritage, as well as living heritage and the creative and sustainable tourism. This priority focuses on implementing normative instruments, including the UNESCO Culture Conventions, as well as adopting national laws and policies. To support the Action Plan, UNESCO runs a World Heritage Small Island Developing States Programme, which supports the strengthening of site management practices, as well as assisting with new nominations to the World Heritage List.

The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was a milestone for many SIDS that opened the way to an even more strategic approach to culture and development. Despite culture being entwined in the daily life in SIDS, cultural policies have not always been a priority due to the size and economic capacity of the countries but the interlinkages inherent in the 2030 Agenda are conducive to a transversal vision of public policies in SIDS. Whilst not all SIDS have a cultural policy, most are currently developing such policies—either as stand-alone legislation or integrated within other sectoral policies. Recent examples include, for instance, the National Cultural Policy of Barbados (2010), Samoa (2019) and Belize (2016) or the Cayman Islands’ National Culture and Heritage Policy and Strategic Plan (2017) or the establishment of the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage And The Arts (2021). Moreover, the Cook Islands have adopted national strategies following the adoption of the SDGs, which include culture as one of the national development goals. Kiribati and Fiji seek to elaborate a national cultural policy.

Given the need for greater capacity-building at national level, inter-governmental organizations at the regional level often greatly influence cultural policies. The shared sense of Caribbean sub-regional cultural identity has been used as a platform for regional integration through organizations like The Caribbean Community (CARICOM), which adopted its first sub-regional cultural policy in 1995, focusing primarily on culture’s role in development in the broadest sense. CARICOM also aims to facilitate the mobility of artists and cultural workers through the Caribbean Single Market and Economy, even if implementation remains complex. A distinctive feature of the cultural policies in the Pacific sub-region is that they are more closely aligned with sustainable development policies than in other regions of the world, largely thanks to the strong regional frameworks, such as the Pacific Community (SPC) that have guided multisectoral development strategies and plans in much of the Pacific over the last two decades and is currently reviewing its Regional Culture Strategy.

Culture is not only the fruit but the root of development and must be considered in every phase and aspect of the development process.”

Regional Cultural Policy of the Caribbean Community (1994)

SIDS are also gradually ratifying UNESCO’s Culture Conventions, which are important tools both for safeguarding cultural diversity as a source of resilience and rooting culture in broader public policy frameworks. Almost all SIDS are parties to the 1972 World Heritage Convention, and ratification also stands at over 90% for the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, reflecting the high priority placed on living heritage. Niue and Cabo Verde ratified the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage in 2019, taking the total to 15 states. Just over half of all SIDS are party to the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The Conventions offer tools for countries to reinforce their policy frameworks across the different cultural domains, while also expanding international cooperation and capacity building opportunities.

Today, many of the SIDS are self-identifying as “large ocean states” to include the massive ocean areas and resources within their jurisdiction, as their ocean territories are some 20.7 times greater than their land area. In other words, 3.5% of SIDS is land, while 96.5% is ocean, according to the UN Development Programme. These ocean territories, called exclusive economic zones (EEZs), mean that SIDS control about 30% of all oceans and seas, representing enormous opportunities as part of the “blue economy”. This is also crucially important for the future of the planet in preserving biodiversity and combating climate change, as well as supporting food security,which is intrinsically rooted in traditional know-how and practices. An estimated 50–80 per cent of all life on Earth is found under the ocean surface so a considerable amount of our heritage is located in marine areas.

Reflecting this unique relationship 50 World Heritage sites are marine heritage sites, eight of which are in the territories of SIDS, and UNESCO has a dedicated World Heritage Marine Programme. The Aldabra Atoll World Heritage site in Seychelles is a true conservation success, primarily for its rising giant tortoise population that faced extinction prior to its inscription in 1982. Indigenous observations and interpretations of meteorological and oceanic phenomena have guided local communities for millennia. For example, in Palau, the no-fishing area or bul can be enforced to close an area of reef to harvesting during periods of fish spawning.

Coral reefs are particularly important ecosystems for the planet, including for climate change mitigation, and several important reef systems are World Heritage listed sites. The Pacific region holds more than a quarter of the world’s coral reef whilst the Caribbean region includes about 10 percent of the world’s coral reefs. The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System site, for example is the second largest reef system in the world and is significant for marine diversity in the region. Occupying less than one percent of the ocean floor, reefs support 25% of all marine life. According to a recent UNESCO report, UNESCO Marine World Heritage: Custodians of the globe’s blue carbon assets, 15% of global blue carbon assets are found at World Heritage marine sites (many of which are SIDS). Currently, three quarters of the planet’s coral reefs are under threat from local stresses and climate change, leading to grave concerns about the state of conservation of many sites and potentially resulting in major consequences for communities around the world. UNESCO is also supporting the Resilient Reefs global initiative to support coral reefs and the communities that depend on them to adapt to climate change and local threats, including in the Belize Barrier Reef and Rock Island South Lagoon, (Palau) World Heritage sites.

In addition to climate change mitigation, the SIDS bring vital information and practice about climate change adaptation strategies through cultural heritage and the related environment, including livelihoods. For example, the East Rennell World Heritage site of the Solomon Islands World Heritage Property is a true natural laboratory of expertise and scientific research due to the strong climatic effects of frequent cyclones. Archaeological sites for example, the remains of villages in the Palau Rock Islands South Lagoon testify to the consequences of population growth and climate change on subsistence in a marginal environment. Underwater cultural heritage sites in the SIDS, such as submerged human settlements, stone fish traps, ancient ports also hold great potential for reconstructing past cultures, advancing climate knowledge. The UNESCO 2001 Convention on the Underwater Cultural Heritage supports scientific knowledge and exploration of sites and routes, such as the maritime and underwater archaeology along the South-American Pacific, as well as around East and South-East Asia, among others.In 2021, UNESCO published a Training Manual for the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean to support the protection of the region’s vast array of sub-merged heritage. This manual offers a practical resource to heritage professionals, national authorities and universities to enable them to train underwater archeologists in line with the UNESCO 2001 Convention.

Furthermore, living heritage in the form of indigenous and local knowledge in SIDS provides time-tested avenues to build community resilience to environmental disasters and foster innovation for survival. The vernacular architecture of Vanuatu in the form of “nakamal” traditional chief’s housing embodies values,skills and practicesthat playa critical role in maintaining social cohesion and support community resilience whilst the traditional Samoan “fale tele” meeting houses, mounted on a high stone foundation, has disaster resilience built into its architecture. Customary practices such as the traditional inati system in Tokelau, which ensures the fair distribution of fish following a collective fishing expedition has maintained social harmony in precarious social and economic conditions. In Cabo Verde traditional knowledge of the lunar calendar provides local artisanal fishermen information as to where to fish and Tongan farmers have their own calendar around which farming activities revolved.

Local and indigenous knowledge complements climate science by offering observations at a much finer spatial scale and with considerable temporal depth. Such knowledge of SIDS islanders can make a significant contribution to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030. Only 20% of the ocean floor has been fully explored and the ocean decade – spearheaded by UNESCO in cooperation with other UN agencies – aims to address this shortfall. The ancestral voyaging knowledge of the Pacific, for example, encompasses islanders knowledge of navigation, marine biodiversity, technical knowledge of waves, tides and currents, as well as coastal and reef conservation is a vital resource. Such intangible cultural heritage is fragile, however, with examples like the Carolinian wayfinding and canoe-making techniques of the Federated States of Micronesia on the List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding. Efforts to preserve indigenous languages, particularly as part of the UN International Decade of Indigenous Languages, led by UNESCO, are vital to conserve such local knowledge.

"Science for understanding the earth, nature and oceans is not just about the graphs and data. It’s also about understanding the stories, human connection and emotions for why these places are so important. This is what we can learn from indigenous peoples, whether they be navigators, hunters or trackers.” Lehua Kamalu, Voyaging Director, Polynesian Voyaging Society

Also at the global level, SIDS have been leading the way in disaster risk reduction planning, placing culture at the centrestage of its strategic advocacy. In 2012, Samoa was one of the first countries to include culture in the multi-sectoral Post-Disaster Needs Assessment (PDNA) following Cyclone Evan, embedding it in longer term recovery policies. This methodology has since been replicated, including in the aftermath of Cyclone Winston in Fiji (2016), which helped secure funding to restore UNESCO World Heritage-listed historical port, Levuka, as well as strengthening risk preparedness planning and environmental awareness policies. The SIDS were also instrumental in establishing and implementing effective preventive measures to assess tsunami risks through the UNESCO-Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) - coordinated tsunami the Early Warning System (EWS), and in educating communities at risk about preparedness measures.

UNESCO works to support the SIDS also through satellite imagery of cultural heritage sites. After tropical cyclone Harold hit in April 2020, the Heritage Emergency Fund, in cooperation with UNOSAT-UNITAR, supported analysis via satellite imagery of cultural heritage sitesin Fiji and Vanuatu. Following the 2020 workshop, Disaster Resilience in the Caribbean’s Culture Sector, organized by UNESCO in partnership with the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA), CARICOM members have been developing a sub-regional Caribbean Plan of Action for Disaster Resilience and Recovery of the Culture sector. Furthermore, disaster risk reduction and climate change strategies have been implemented at several World Heritage properties, including the Blue and John Crow Mountains National Park (Jamaica), Pitons volcanos (Saint Lucia), Historic Area of Willemstad (Curaçao) and Brimstone Hill Fortress (Saint Kitts and Nevis).

Intangible cultural heritage plays a particularly important role in recovery and reconstruction processes, particularly through local knowledge and practices. In 2020, UNESCO launched the ‘Operational principles and modalities for safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in emergencies’, which provide guidance on how best to ensure that living heritage is most effectively engaged and safeguarded in emergencies, in line with the principles of the 2003 Convention. UNESCO is supporting capacity-building work for the safeguarding of living heritage in emergencies in Belize, The Bahamas, Fiji, Tonga and Vanuatu.

As tourism represents a large portion of SIDS economies, investment in cultural tourism will make the sector more robust. UNESCO encourages the development of culturally-sensitive and responsible sustainable tourism for post-COVID-19 recovery. By valorising natural and cultural heritage, as well as intangible cultural heritage practices, SIDS can diversify the tourism offer beyond beach tourism and create employment opportunities, particularly for young people. Suriname and Grenada, for example, have done precisely this by investing in the revitalisation of their historic urban centres – Paramaribo (a World Heritage site) and the capital, Saint George, respectively – in line with the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historical Urban Landscape. Underwater cultural heritage also presents opportunities for sustainable tourism in the SIDS, the numerous submerged caves and sites that are the key attractions of the marine eco-tourism. For example, in Federated States of Micronesia dive tourism at the Chuuk Lagoon protected site with its sunken World War II ships and aircraft continues to attract visitors. Furthermore, the Indigenous double hull canoe “Drua” is not only put on display at the Fiji Museum, but also is used to provide tourists with a trip on board crewed by traditional wayfinders, showcasing the intangible aspect of underwater cultural heritage.

Moreover, cultural tourism related to intangible cultural heritage has great potential to diversify its products and services to tourists through respectful types of accommodation, gastronomy and experiences, festivals and exposure to local cultural heritage, in contrast to the mass tourism development model. Furthermore, it nourishes a sense of pride in the communities. Many of the elements of the SIDS inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Culture Heritage of Humanity are related to festive events and performing arts, which already boost sustainable cultural tourism and the creative industries – particularly in the Caribbean – such as the Festivity of Las Parrandas in the centre of Cuba. Events, such as the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival attracts more than 30,000 foreign visitors for a two-day event, representing a significant local economic impact. In 2015, when the annual edition of the pan-Caribbean Festival of Arts, CARIFESTA, was organized in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, bringing spectators and artists from all over the region, it was not only an opportunity for cultural exchange but also stimulated the renovation of cultural venues throughout the country that had been badly affected by the 2010 earthquake, and whose cultural vibrancy was still struggling to recover.

The Trinidad and Tobago Carnival attracts more than 30,000 foreign visitors for a two-day event.

Investing in heritage development strategies that depart from the historical legacy builds a thread towards the future and encourages youth participation and engagement. There are innovative examples of Word Heritage sites shifting the narrative and contributing to social inclusion. The Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison World Heritage site in Barbados, often the first port of call for those who made it through the gruelling trans-Atlantic journey is an important example of how the safeguarding of heritage – including the painful chapters of history – can be conscientiously linked with sustainable tourism development. Since inscription, public information – particularly in collaboration with schools and the Barbados Museum – has been key to shifting the narrative about the site, for example the critical role of their ancestors as the craftspeople who built the property. By fostering this sense of inclusion in the history of the place, it has opened opportunities for Barbadians to see themselves in the development of their heritage. Being among the first monuments to be constructed by enslaved persons who had gained their freedom, the Citadel in Haiti, part of the World Heritage site, serves as a universal symbol of liberty.

Investing in the creative economy alongside the “blue economy” is also a priority. The copyright industries in Saint Lucia and Saint Kitts and Nevis, for example, contribute 8% and 6.6% of GDP respectively - are above the global average (5%) - according to World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) data. Intangible cultural heritage is often a source of inspiration for the cultural and creative industries, particularly thanks to performing arts in the Caribbean and crafts in the Pacific also providing enhanced opportunities for exports of cultural goods and services. Jamaica, for example, is finalising a Cultural and Creative Industries Act, which aims to unleash the potential of the country’s distinctive cultural expressions, including reggae that was inscribed as intangible cultural heritage in 2018. Niue’s national strategy aims to harness the economic potential of the creative sector to empower women and youth. Other countries are intending to revise and strengthen their strategies, such as the Seychelles.

Cities are key spaces for creative industry development and the Dominican Republic has also completed a large-scale revitalization project of the Colonial City of Santo Domingo – a World Heritage property – that also focused on bringing creative businesses to the area, together with a public art and meeting space. Digital exports can also become a significant revenue earner for these small states if strategies and policies can be put in place to create the education, skills and ecosystems to allow them to flourish.

UNESCO is supporting the SIDS to develop their creative sectors, through the 2005 Convention, for example through strengthening capacities to monitor measures that protect and promote the diversity of cultural expressions in Mauritius, whose capital, Port Louis became a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in 2021 thanks to its vibrant music scene. In the Pacific, over 200 professionals of the creative sector in Fiji, Tonga, Palau and Vanuatu, have been involved in the revival of the Master-Apprentice scheme through the Joint UN project on Inclusive Economic Recovery. Under the same COVID-19 Response and Recovery project, UNESCO in partnership with the International Labour Organization supported the establishment of associations that were instrumental in giving creative professionals a voice as part of policy discussions. Since 2010, the International Fund for Cultural Diversity has devoted over 10% to SIDS, for 11 projects and over $700,000 have been granted to 8 SIDS to foster dynamic national cultural sectors, including developing a cultural policy in Grenada, carrying out a cultural policy reform in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and measuring the economic contribution of the cultural industries in Antigua and Barbuda’s national development. This year it is supporting projects in Timor Leste and Seychelles.

Strengthening the nexus between culture and education is vital in terms of transmitting the intangible cultural heritage of the SIDS to future generations, as well as unleashing the potential of the creative sector. The transmission of intangible cultural heritage in SIDS usually is a form of informal education within the community. However, the enhancement of intangible cultural heritage through formal or non-formal learning bolsters its safeguarding. UNESCO has supported the development of Guidelines for Educators in the Asia-Pacific Region to integrate ICH into curricula. As a huge source of inspiration for the creative industries, safeguarding this heritage would also open up economic opportunities, especially for youth curbing the current brain drain. Enhancing technical and vocational education and training (TVET) in the creative sector is also a critical priority. The major “Transcultura” programme in the Caribbean also seeks to strengthen exchange with the EU through cultural and creative industries.It has created Caribbean Cultural Training Hub, offering online and presential courses in relation to the cultural and creative industries, and sustainable tourism while strengthening the linkages between culture and education as well as training young cultural professionals on grant proposal writing for cultural projects.

SIDS's particular contribution to climate action – through natural World Heritage sites, intangible cultural heritage and indigenous knowledge systems – benefit the whole planet and require cooperation with the entire international community. The potential of SIDS cultures is increasingly being harnessed in other policy areas such as disaster risk reduction, food security economic diversification and tackling social inequalities. Although some of the SIDS countries have only recently developed fully-fledged cultural policies, there is a growing aspiration to better anchor culture across their public policies, many are exemplary in harnessing culture and embedding it into broader public policy frameworks.

The trend towards cultural policy review, adaptation and development in the SIDS is an encouraging sign of the effectiveness and implementation of UNESCO Culture Conventions dynamizing the cultural sector as a whole,particularly given low public spending on culture and institutional capacity to promote and protect cultural heritage and creativity. The strengthening of sub-regional policy mechanisms - especially, CARICOM and SPC – is a positive step to pool expertise related to data production, the development of regional cultural markets and exchanges, the expansion of the creative economy and sustainable tourism, as well as the mobility of artists and cultural professionals, among others. Whilst these regional processes are an important step forward, their operationalization and integration in national policies should be further supported. Ratifying UNESCO Culture Conventions also unlocks opportunities for policy-assistance, funding and training, and should be a priority for SIDS who have not joined them

Supporting SIDS in strengthening the role of culture across the public policy spectrum is critical. Building on their singularity, SIDS have a substantial contribution to make in promoting more integrated and transversal cultural policies – a vision which will be at the core of the MONDIACULT 2022 Conference. Looking forward, there is an important opportunity to reinstate and encourage tourism in an environmentally sustainable and culturally responsible way. Cultural heritage protection must be addressed holistically and contextually, taking into account communities’ relationship to the land and sea, and the intangible cultural practices. Local and indigenous knowledge must be harnessed to ensure sustainable policies and practices. Furthermore, the cultural and creative industries represent an underexplored avenue for capitalizing on the spirit of innovation of SIDS islanders. The 17th century poet, John Donne, remarked that “no man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main.” So too are SIDS a vital ‘part of the main’ in the global quest for a more sustainable future for Planet Earth and all its inhabitants.