Eurasia Regional Section of the World organization "United Cities and Local Governments"
Eurasia Regional Section of the World organization "United Cities and Local Governments"
Today, September 10, has been the second day of IV UCLG Culture Summit held in Izmir (Turkey). The event is organized by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and the World Organization "United Cities and Local Governments" (UCLG).
The main topics of the second day were the role of cities and local governments in international cooperation in the field of culture, as well as the establishment of a balance between the need to study foreign experience in the field of culture and the preservation of local identity and well-being.
Leonid Kondrashev, Deputy Head of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the City of Moscow – Chief Archaeologist of of Moscow, delivered a speech at the plenary session on "Public Spaces, Urban Planning and Design" organized in cooperation with the Political Council “The New Urban Agenda”. The Chief Archaeologist of Moscow presented ancient and modern features of Moscow life, the expeditions that were specially held in the city, and what was preserved and restored in modern Moscow.
"The city improvement works were carried out in the very heart of the capital: in Gostiny Dvor and Zaryadye, on the Boulevard Ring and Lubyanka, in Petrovka, Prechistenka, Arbat streets. And this is not a complete list of those iconic places that have been thoroughly studied by archaeologists. Among the findings are the foundations of walls and churches, the "hearing " of the Kitaygorodskaya Wall, the bridge to the gate of the Barbarian Tower of the Kremlin, the remains of log bridges, collectors and wells, ancient treasures", Leonid Kondrashev noted.
The final plenary session of the Summit was devoted to the topic "Towards the Culture Goal". Ilsur Metshin, President of UCLG-Eurasia, Mayor of Kazan, welcomed the participants of the plenary session and noted that the UCLG Culture Summit has become a unique event on a world scale. Global challenges of recent years have demonstrated the need for personal and collective well-being. The pandemic has become a catalyst for the development of the sphere of culture and creative industries, accelerating emerging trends and opening up new directions for cities.
"We all have treated changes as an opportunity to gain unique experience, launched new cultural projects, and expanded the geography of participants for the old ones. It is gratifying that the Culture Summit has gathered a large audience and touched upon relevant issues", Ilsur Metshin said.
The President of UCLG-Eurasia also reminded that the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee will be held in Kazan in 2022. A unifying theme of the planned events is "The Intercultural Dialogue as an Imperative for the World Heritage Preservation".
Jean-Pierre-Elong Mbassi, Secretary General of UCLG-Africa, Jyoti Hosagrahar, Deputy Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Center, Gerald Leitner, Secretary General of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Mohamed Saadieh, President of UCLG-MEWA, Enrique Avogardo, Minister of Culture of Buenos Aires and many others also shared their experience in the field of culture with the participants.
10.09.2021
