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Sustainable development is a complex and adaptable concept with a rich historical backdrop intricately woven with the evolution of developmental ideologies. While its origins reach back to concerns over the consumption of natural resources in the 18th century (Du Pisani, 2006), its most referenced definition was formulated through the United Nations in 1987, when the Brundtland Commission positioned social, environmental, and economic dimensions as essential components of long-term sustainability. This understanding drizzled down through the UN system, becoming a cornerstone for the work of various UN agencies (UNESCO, ILO, WHO, etc.), and guiding the implementation of sustainability policies in their Member States. Paralleling this process, UNESCO adopted sustainable development in the 1980s and 1990s to continue its efforts to construct cultural policy as a specific sector (Alasuutari and Kangas, 2020). The final report of The World Decade for Cultural Development (1988–1997), Our Creative Diversity (1996), laid out foundations for highlighting particular roles of culture within this conceptually evolving constellation.

International efforts to integrate culture into sustainable development frameworks have emphasized the need to balance the essential role of culture with economic, social, and environmental issues. This initial consensus was, however, short-lived, as the conceptual configuration went through numerous reformulations to identify new pillars of sustainable development, as well as to critique the pillars metaphor itself. Anthropocentric views continued to remain stronger than eco-centric ones within these new …