How do we measure the true value of culture?
It’s a question that sits at the heart of a major new UNESCO initiative, with experts from around the world recently gathering in Montréal for the first meeting of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Cultural and Creative Industries Advisory Group.
Their shared goal is ambitious: to develop a new generation of internationally comparable indicators that better capture the contribution culture makes to employment, trade, community wellbeing and sustainable development.
For Adelaide, Australia’s only UNESCO City of Music, this work is particularly significant.
Music is woven into the identity of our city. It shapes our festivals, activates our streets and venues, attracts visitors from around the world, creates employment, supports businesses, strengthens communities and provides opportunities for artists to build sustainable careers. While these outcomes are experienced every day, they have not always been consistently measured.
The work now being undertaken by UNESCO aims to change that.
Building better ways to measure culture
The Advisory Group is helping transform UNESCO’s 2025 Framework for Cultural Statistics into a practical Cultural and Creative Industries Indicators Framework that can be adopted internationally.
As culture continues to evolve through digital platforms, artificial intelligence, new business models and changing patterns of participation, UNESCO recognises that the way we measure cultural activity must evolve alongside it.
The updated framework expands the way culture is understood, recognising the entire cultural and creative ecosystem and acknowledging the many ways creative activity generates value. Alongside its economic contribution, culture creates social, educational and cultural outcomes that are equally important to thriving communities.
Importantly, the framework establishes a common statistical language across diverse creative sectors including music, performing arts, festivals, visual arts, design, audiovisual production, publishing, heritage and creative services. This will enable countries and cities to better compare data while recognising the diversity of cultural expression.
Why it matters for Adelaide
Adelaide’s UNESCO City of Music designation reflects much more than artistic excellence. It recognises music as an important contributor to the city’s social, cultural and economic development.
Each year, South Australia’s music ecosystem supports thousands of artists, educators, venues, festivals, technicians, producers and creative businesses. World leading educational institutions, instrument makers, audio companies, and events such as the Adelaide Festival, the Adelaide Fringe, WOMADelaide, Illuminate Adelaide and many others generate significant economic activity while strengthening Adelaide’s reputation as a creative city with global connections.
Music also delivers benefits that extend beyond economics. It helps tell stories, preserves culture, creates opportunities for young people, strengthens community identity and brings people together across cultures and generations.
Being able to better measure these outcomes helps demonstrate the full value of investing in music and culture.
Supporting better policy through better data
One of the key objectives of UNESCO’s work is ensuring culture is more visible within national and international policy.
Without reliable data, the contribution of creative industries can be overlooked when governments make decisions about investment, planning and long-term development.
By developing internationally recognised indicators, UNESCO is helping provide governments and cultural organisations with stronger evidence to support policies that foster resilient creative ecosystems and sustainable cultural growth.
Looking ahead
Feedback from the Montréal meeting will inform the next iteration of the Cultural and Creative Industries Indicators Framework, with broader international consultation planned later this year before the framework continues to be refined through 2027.
For Adelaide City of Music, the initiative reinforces something our local music community already understands: culture is not simply an expression of identity—it is a powerful driver of social connection, economic prosperity and international engagement.
As Australia’s only UNESCO City of Music, Adelaide is proud to be part of a global network that continues to champion the role of culture in creating more sustainable, creative and connected cities.