UNESCO's Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity, a decade‑long global benchmark, calls for renewed and strengthened support for artists and cultural professionals as AI and digital transformations reshape the creative industries, offering a blueprint of over 8,100 policy measures.
Khaled El-EnanyUNESCO Director-General
Diversity of cultural expressions remains undervalued
The report underscores that while cultural and creative industries are increasingly recognized as drivers of economic growth, social cohesion and sustainable development, the systems supporting them remain fragile and uneven.
Although 85% of reporting countries include cultural and creative industries in national development plans, only 56% set specific cultural objectives - revealing a gap between general commitments and actions.
Global trade in cultural goods doubled to US$254 billion in 2023, with 46% of exports originating in developing countries. However, developing countries account for just over 20% of global trade in cultural services, reflecting growing disparities as markets shift toward digital formats.
Direct public funding for culture remains critically low at under 0.6% of GDP globally and continues to decline.
A persistent "visa wall" limits artistic mobility, with 96% of developed countries supporting outward mobility but only 38% facilitating inward mobility from developing nations.
A digital divide impacting creative economies
While digital technologies have broadened access to creative tools and audiences, they have also intensified inequalities and economic precarity.
Digital revenues now represent 35% of creators' income, up from 17% in 2018, marking a structural shift accompanied by income instability and increased exposure to intellectual property infringements.
By 2028, the impact of Generative AI outputs is projected to result in global revenue losses of 24% for music creators and 21% for audiovisual creators.
Essential digital skills are held by 67% of people in developed countries compared to just 28% in developing countries, reinforcing North-South divides.
Market concentration among a small number of streaming platforms and opaque content curation systems marginalize lesser-known creators.
Only 48% of countries are developing statistics to monitor digital cultural consumption, limiting effective policy responses.
Rising threats to artistic freedom
The report highlights growing concerns over artistic freedom and the safety of creators:
Only 61% of countries maintain independent monitoring bodies for artistic freedom.
Political instability, conflict and displacement place cultural professionals at heightened risk, yet only 37% of countries report initiatives to protect them.
Support mechanisms for artists at risk remain fragmented and under-resourced, while digital surveillance and algorithmic bias pose new challenges.
Persistent gender and inclusion gaps
Progress toward gender equality remains uneven. While women's leadership of national cultural institutions has increased globally - from 31% in 2017 to 46% in 2024 - significant disparities persist: women represent 64% of leaders in developed countries but only 30% in developing countries. Policy frameworks often continue to position women primarily as cultural consumers rather than supporting them as creators and leaders within the cultural and creative sectors.
UNESCO supports creativity
UNESCO has spent more than two decades positioning culture and the creative industries at the heart of global policy, development planning and crisis response through the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. The 2026 Re|Shaping Policies for Creativity report is the fourth edition in the series which monitors the implementation of this UNESCO Convention. The report is published with the support of the Government of Sweden and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.
The Organization has helped more than 100 countries design or reform cultural policies, focusing on areas such as strengthening socio-economic protections for artists, supporting the digital transition of the creative sectors and empowering vulnerable communities to create, express and share their diverse cultural expressions. UNESCO has also equipped thousands of cultural professionals, artist and civil society groups with training and tools to navigate today's complex challenges. Over 8,100 cultural policies and measures have been adopted by Parties to the 2005 Convention to boost the cultural and creative industry's role in sustainable development. Through the International Fund for Cultural Diversity (IFCD), UNESCO has supported 164 projects within the fields of cinema, performing arts, visual arts, and media arts, as well as design, music and publishing in 76 countries in the Global South.
About UNESCO
With 194 Member States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization contributes to peace and security by leading multilateral cooperation on education, science, culture, communication and information. Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 54 countries and employs over 2300 people. UNESCO oversees more than 2000 World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks; networks of Creative, Learning, Inclusive and Sustainable Cities; and over 13,000 associated schools, university chairs, training and research institutions, with a global network of 200 National Commissions. Its Director-General is Khaled El-Enany.
"Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed" - UNESCO Constitution, 1945.
