Cultural Management in Transition: Analytical and Foresight Perspectives Based on UNESCO, UNCTAD, and Creative Europe Frameworks

This paper redefines cultural management in the Creator Economy, transitioning from institutional administration to the strategic and tactical design of inclusive cultural ecosystems. Drawing on UNESCO (2005, 2022), UNCTAD (2023), and Creative Europe (2021–2027) frameworks, it positions culture as a global public good driving economic, social, and civic transformation. Cultural managers, as both strategists and tacticians, orchestrate ecosystems where creativity thrives as a universal right and a sustainable economic resource, moving beyond the binary of democratic access versus market-driven privilege. The Cultural Assets-Based Cultural Project Management (CAB-CPM®) framework (Benamara, 2025) operationalizes this vision through a five-phase project lifecycle and tactical tools like the Cultural Grafting Canvas and Local Legitimity Index. Emphasizing decolonial perspectives, the paper integrates case studies from the Global South (e.g., Tunis, Nairobi) to highlight community-led innovation and cultural sovereignty (Cultural Tactics, 2023). It proposes policy recommendations for ethical platform governance and metrics for cultural vitality, alongside research directions exploring decolonial management, platform cooperativism, and AI’s role in cultural production. This work offers a scalable model for fostering creative citizenship and countering platform colonialism, ensuring creativity remains a public good in the digital age.