The year 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions. In response to the Convention's ongoing focus on the coordinated development of digital environments and cultural diversity, the International Centre for Creativity and Sustainable Development under the auspices of UNESCO (ICCSD) launched the "Typical Cases for Protecting and Promoting Cultural Diversity in the Digital Environment" global case collection initiative in 2025. Through a broader perspective and a more systematic approach, the initiative aims to showcase innovative practices worldwide that use digital technologies to empower cultural diversity. The project has also been officially included in UNESCO's global celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the Convention.
Closely aligned with the core priorities of UNESCO's Monitoring Framework for the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions, the initiative focused on three major themes: technology empowering the development of cultural industries, technology supporting cultural heritage preservation, and technology enabling the inheritance and innovation of intangible cultural heritage.
Supported by nine partner organizations—including the International Trade Network Alliance, the UNESCO Category II Centre, and the Cultural and Creative Industries Committee of the Tsinghua Alumni Association—as well as multiple universities and research institutes, the call for submissions reached cultural innovation communities around the world.
A total of 146 cases were collected from 13 countries and 23 provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, and special administrative regions across China. Following a rigorous selection process—including preliminary review, expert evaluation, verification, and final assessment—12 experts from diverse cultural and creative fields jointly selected 40 demonstration cases based on criteria such as innovation, impact, sustainability, international applicability and balance, and replicability.
These cases vividly confirm the forward-looking assessment outlined in the Monitoring Framework: digital technologies have evolved far beyond serving merely as tools for cultural presentation. They are now deeply integrated throughout the entire cultural value chain—including creation, production, dissemination, trade, and preservation—generating systemic impacts on cultural resource protection, industrial upgrading, and the development of new productive forces.
At the same time, the rapid adoption of frontier technologies such as the metaverse and generative artificial intelligence is reshaping the landscape of cultural diversity, giving rise to a new generation of innovative practices with strong international vision and creative vitality.
Through the compilation and sharing of this casebook, ICCSD hopes to provide forward-looking and practical references for global efforts to protect and promote cultural diversity in the digital environment, while fostering greater international exchange and mutual learning in the integration of culture and technology.
By embracing new challenges with a spirit of development, openness, and inclusiveness, the initiative seeks to inject sustained momentum into building a more sustainable future for cultural diversity worldwide.
