"Sustainable management of cultural heritage can bring Europeans together, while celebrating their diversity," said Barbara Toce (Italy, SOC/G/PD), Rapporteur of the Congress on Cultural Heritage Management, at the opening of the Conference of Ministers of Culture in Strasbourg, France, on 1 April 2022.
Ms Toce mentioned the recent Congress report, entitled "Culture without borders", which highlights the role of cultural heritage as a bridge between peoples and communities. This report highlights that municipalities and regions can use cultural heritage as a means to promote the values that are essential for democracy: solidarity, dialogue, mutual acceptance and respect for human rights and the rule of law. It also gives them tools for developing sustainable cultural heritage management, for example by protecting intangible cultural heritage and combating over-tourism.
However, the Congress rapporteur stressed the fragility of cultural heritage, especially in times of crisis, such as the Covid-19 pandemic or more recently in the context of the war in Ukraine: destruction of cultural sites, drop in the number of visitors and lack of resources are all challenges that require measures to preserve cultural heritage. "As a large part of the population has to flee and is separated from their communities, war is also a threat to intangible heritage such as local customs and minority languages," she warned.
According to the Congress rapporteur, cultural heritage can contribute to post-crisis and post-conflict reconstruction, through sustainable and inclusive management at all levels and from the bottom up, with the support of central governments.
The Conference was organised in the framework of the Italian Chairmanship of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe under the theme "Creating our future: creativity and cultural heritage as strategic resources for a diverse and democratic Europe".
