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UNESCO: Sereni, cultural heritage basis for future growth and innovation

‘In recent months UNESCO’s action to deal with the health emergency has been hallmarked by timeliness and effectiveness, especially in the field of Education’, stated Marina Sereni, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, at the opening of the Italian National Commission meeting for UNESCO. Vice Minister Sereni added: ‘Italy is the leading financial contributor to this organisation and, as is well known, the leading country in terms of the number of sites included in the World Heritage List, 55, like China’.
‘The Italian candidacy as a member of the World Heritage Committee,’ Sereni explained, ‘represents a challenge for the entire country system, which we have accepted as a means of recognising our extraordinary contribution to the various activities of protection, safeguarding and enhancement of the entire world heritage. Moreover, this organisation’s transversal competences are today more than ever a significant added value for achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. They are at the heart of the various initiatives in which the Italian Presidency of the G20 will be articulated’.
‘For Italy, continuing to play a leading role in UNESCO and reaffirming its values is not only a matter of prestige but also of constitutional patriotism,’ the Vice Minister added. I am referring to Article 9 of our Charter, which promotes the development of culture and scientific and technical research and protects the landscape and the nation’s historical and artistic heritage. Article 9 is as relevant as ever, especially in the difficult times we are currently experiencing. Training, research, culture, and the environment must be the starting points, including through targeted use of Next Generation EU funds. ‘We are addressing fundamental issues, and I firmly believe’, Sereni concluded, ‘that also thanks to the renewed impetus of our action within the UNESCO framework, we will be able to combine better our extraordinary historical heritage with a future of growth, innovation and creativity’.