Culture and Cultural Heritage Secretariat participated on 16th June in the Reflection Group organized by the Current Affairs Committee of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities to discuss the Report “Culture without borders: Cultural heritage management for local and regional development”, prepared by Ms. Maria Gravari-Barbas, that will serve as basis for a forthcoming Congress Recommendation on that subject.

The discussion was enriched with the contributions by the Chair of the Steering Committee for Culture, Heritage and Landscape (CDCPP), experts and members of the Faro Convention Network, Culture and Cultural Heritage Secretariat, colleagues from the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes and Youth Delegates.

The Culture and Cultural Heritage Secretariat especially emphasized the importance of co-operation with the members of the Congress in the implementation of the Faro Convention on the Value of Cultural Heritage for Society at local and regional levels, always in close collaboration with the national governments. The interest of a bottom-up approach in managing cultural heritage was particularly emphasized, favoring participative governance models, where civil society can play an effective role in defining heritage policies.

After considering contributions from the Reflection Group, the Current Affairs Committee will discuss the final Report and the associated Recommendation on its meeting in September, in order to present them at a subsequent Congress Session for their adoption.