The first day of the IV UCLG Summit on Culture - 2021

Today, September 9, has been the first day of IV UCLG Culture Summit hosted by Izmir (Turkey). The event is organized by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and the World Organization "United Cities and Local Governments" (UCLG).

The UCLG Culture Summit is a main meeting point at the global level of representatives of cities, local governments and other stakeholders committed to the effective implementation of policies on culture and sustainable development.

The first day of the Summit began with an opening ceremony dedicated to how culture is shaping the future of our communities in the post-COVID era. In their presentations the participants reflected the ideas of a significant role of culture in sustainable development at the local level based on specific examples of programs and projects.

The Summit was opened by Secretary General of UCLG-MEWA Mehmet Duman who highlighted: "The first meeting makes a great contribution to the success of our Summit. Our topic is very important ‒ local governments and cultural heritage in the context of the future. Especially in the era of COVID-19".

"Dynamic planning and management are necessary to ensure the sustainable development in modern conditions caused by new disasters. We know that individual efforts of countries and organizations should promote the sustainable development and existence in these conditions", said Zeynep-Gul-Unal, Vice-President of ICOMOS.

The session "Local Government and Cultural Heritage" addressed the problems that arose during the COVID-19 pandemic and provided opportunities for future development and cooperation between local and regional governments and stakeholders in the field of culture.

"An important point of our work is not only the heritage preservation, but also its popularization. We have managed to develop a model of cultural tourism, which on the one hand allows to avoid extra pressure on cultural heritage sites, and on the other hand, aims to organize special types of routes, create new tourist centers", said Evgeniya Lodvigova, Vice-Mayor of Kazan.

Evgeniya Lodvigova presented the pearl of Kazan – the Kremlin, a property of the world community, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2000. The recently completed large-scale project on restoring the Cathedral of the Kazan Lady of God with a cave temple was mentioned during the speech as well. “We respect the history, culture and traditions of all peoples. Representatives of 115 nationalities live in peace and harmony in multiconfessional Kazan, we have a constant dialogue of cultures and religions,” Evgenia Lodvigova reminded.

The first session of the Summit concluded with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between UCLG and ICOMOS.

Rasikh Sagitov, Secretary General of UCLG-Eurasia, made a report on the role of heritage in local development and presented the section's projects in this area.

"Next year, the 45^th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will be held in Kazan. As part of this event, we are also planning to organize a meeting for municipalities. The work on preserving and raising awareness of heritage of cities is one of the key priorities of Eurasia", Rasikh Sagitov shared in his speech.

Dmitry Polyanin, Chairman of the Committee on Culture of the Volgograd Administration, spoke about the role of cultural heritage in local development and shared information about local attractions: "A must-visit for guests of the city is the Central Embankment of Volgograd, which, thanks to the reconstruction, has turned into a favorite vacation spot. A rotunda, colonnades, the Arts fountain, a staircase with eight-column propylaea, numerous monuments delight the eye of those who come to the Volga shore and serve as a decoration of the coastline".

This year, the Eurasia delegation has included representatives of Bishkek, Kazan, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sviyazhsk, Shaki and Shymkent.

09.09.2021

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