UNESCO, GENDER, AND CULTURE Gender equality is a global priority for UNESCO. Gender issues have been addressed in numerous UNESCO reports and conferences – many in relation to (equal rights) education, but even as a key priority of the organization’s interventions, particularly under the 2005 Convention for the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression, where Culture and Communication and Information sectors have come together to consistently present a gender-sensitive and empowering discourse. The organization has developed a Priority Gender Equality Action Plan32 which – amongst others – offers to assist the Member States in the development of legislative and policy frameworks in support of women’s equal right to access, participate in. and contribute to cultural life. According to UNESCO, actions under the programme will focus on “mainstreaming gender concerns in the statutory work of the culture conventions and in the delivery of its programmes and projects.” 32 What is gender equality? For UNESCO, gender equality is a fundamental human right, a necessary precondition for sustainable, people-centered development and a goal in and of itself. Gender equality has been a global priority for UNESCO since 2007. UNESCO's Action Plan for Gender Equality (2014-2021) refers to gender equality as the equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men, and girls and boys. It implies that the interests, needs and priorities of women and men are taken into consideration, recognising the diversity of different groups of women and men. For example, women and men belonging to ethnic minorities, with different sexual orientations and/or identities, from indigenous communities or with disabilities. The Action Plan acknowledges that equality does not mean that women and men are the same but that their rights, responsibilities and opportunities do not depend on whether they are born male or female. Gender equality is not just a "women's issue" but concerns all men, women, girls and boys. It means that women and men enjoy the same status and have equal opportunity to realize their full human rights and potential to contribute to national, political, economic, social and cultural development, and to benefit from the results. It is the equal valuing by society of both the similarities and the differences between women and men and the different roles they play. As global priority, UNESCO mainstreams gender equality across its five major programmes (Education, Social and Human Sciences, Natural Sciences, Communication and Information and Culture) and implements targeted programmes that can produce development outcomes in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action and other international or regional standard setting agreements. In the field of culture, the 2005 Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions is a unique contribution to this normative environment with a specific obligation for Parties to put in place policies and measures to support women in the cultural and creative industries. Source: UNESCO, "Priority Gender Equality Action Plan (2014/2021)", 2014, p.11, available at https://unesdoc. unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000227222/PDF/227222eng. pdf.multi https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000370905 29