As the main habitat of human beings, cities play a crucial role in the building of a fairer globalisation and in extending its potential benefits to everyone, for what affects cities affects nations and their people. Cities also constitute an ideal space for creativity, cultural development, the promotion of identity and social cohesion, while also concentrating the main global challenges that we all face.

The Forum is a cultural and citizen-oriented event where dialogue, exchange and awareness set the foundations for building social cohesion. It also entails a sustainable urban renewal, meant to improve the quality of life of all citizens and to foster the city’s internationalisation and local capacity.

Designed to reflect upon the tensions and opportunities generated by globalisation through dialogue, debate, experimentation and celebration, the Forum is an international event aiming at improving social equality in the world by supporting sustainable human development and exploring new ways of solving cultural and ethnic conflicts.

The Universal Forum of Cultures thus acts as a catalyst for long term objectives regarding sustainability, peace, cultural diversity and cohabitation issues.
The Forum is designed to be an additional step in a city’s vision for future development, and the occasion to foster programmes and reforms designed to leave both tangible and intangible lasting marks on the city. As the Forum is a living project in constant evolution, the Forum Foundation gathers both good practices and difficulties encountered in each edition.

Cities and their citizens nowadays build the social, cultural, technological and economic agendas, and they constitute the main driving force behind global development. Cities jointly interact, competing and learning from one another; cities help other cities to improve their urban management, democratic practices and social cohesion, to promote and build their identities, guaranteeing fair competition, wider access to basic services and the improvement of everyone's quality of life.
The Universal Forum of Cultures was born to take part in this line of behaviour as a cultural event linked to an urban remodelling process, integrated within an initiative to improve the quality of life of all citizens and to promote dialogue as the basis for understanding among people.

The urban renovation process has great potential to help an urban community overcoming its social challenges, and to contribute to the host city’s consolidation in regards to the global economy.



What are the three main goals?

- To promote cultural diversity.
- To promote sustainable development in our globalized world.
- To develop conditions for peace and co-existence both on a local and a global scale.



Why a Universal Forum of Cultures?

- Because humanity is facing new challenges requiring everyone’s cooperation.
- Because we live in a global, increasingly interdependent world.
- Because culture fosters social cohesion and dialogue among peoples.



Where?

The Universal Forum of Cultures can be hosted in any city that actively embraces:

- The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
- The Declaration on Cultural Diversity (UNESCO)
- The Millennium Development Goals (United Nations)
- The Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
- The Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development
- The Barcelona Principles and Values of the Universal Forum of Cultures

The distinctive values of the Universal Forum of Cultures are the following

- The Forum is an event organized by and for the citizens. It targets a plural, inter-generational and family public, with a special emphasis on youth and children.
- It is an appropriate arena to debate, think and express freely different points of view.
- It is a gathering without borders and without competition, for non-commercial purposes.
- The Forum creates a network of collaborations, cooperation and alliances among public administrations, organizations and cities.
- It promotes minority languages and cultures and related activities.



Formats

The Forum event is essentially characterized by its driving values, its themes, audiences and some of its formats, which remain compulsory and are thus transmitted from one edition to the next one. There are also optional formats, which the host city may design.


Mandatory Forum Formats

- Forum Dialogues (International conferences and seminars open to the public. Dialogues must constitute the core of the Forum’s program).
- Speaker’s Corner (Open-air, public debates).
- Forum Exhibitions
- Forum Workshops
- Peace Camp
- World Music concerts
- Cultural activities such as theatre, dance, poetry reading, etc. related to the main goals of the Universal Forum.


Optional Forum Formats

- Games from the world, traditional sports
- Civil society fairs and sustainable markets (fair trade, responsible consumption, ethical banking).
- Food from the world
- Cultural urban activities
- Others, to be defined by the Host City.



Frequency

The Universal Forum of Cultures is held every three years.



Duration

The Universal Forum of Cultures is held every three years.



Time of year

The Forum must be organized at a time when the weather conditions are most suitable for using outdoor spaces and for citizens and visitors to attend the event. Whether this totally or partially coincides with school holidays will be taken into account, so that students may attend and participate to the Forum.



Budget and financing

The Universal Forum of Cultures comprises both an urban transformation and the organization of the cultural event. Each has its own budgeting process, its separate financing system and scheduling, while public works are undertaken over a broader time scale.


Public works budget

The urban investment budget will obviously depend on the foreseen amplitude of the works. These must be lasting, sustainable and strategic for the improvement of the quality of life in the territory.

In the financing and execution of the urban renewal project, the participation of different levels of government and administration as well as public-private partnerships must be taken into consideration.


Cultural event budget

The Forum budget depends on the offer, the duration of the event and attendance forecasts.

We recommend that the total cost of the event be funded by public administrations as well as sponsorship by private companies. Revenue from sold tickets should account for preferably no more than 10 to 15% of the total revenue.



Public works budget

The Forum budget depends on the offer, the duration of the event and attendance forecasts.

We recommend that the total cost of the event be funded by public administrations as well as sponsorship by private companies. Revenue from sold tickets should account for preferably no more than 10 to 15% of the total revenue.



Languages

The official languages of the Forum will necessarily include the host city’s local language as well as the Forum Foundation’s official languages (Catalan, Spanish, English and French).

The host city may add any languages it shall consider strategic to the Forum’s organization, as well as non-official minority languages spoken in the area where the Forum will be held.



Image

The organisers of the Universal Forum of Cultures must comply with the Forum’s communication and logo guidelines, which the Forum Foundation will provide. Both hands must appear on the logo, one of which must remain standard.