Today the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Antonio Tajani participates – at Castel Capuano in Naples – in the second of the UNESCO conference “Cultural Heritage in the 21st Century”, organized by the Farnesina in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and with the support of the Municipality of Naples.
The initiative is part of the path traced by the first Conference, hosted by Italy in November 2023, which relaunched the international debate on strengthening synergies between the UNESCO Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972) and the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003), crystallized in the programmatic document “The Spirit of Naples”. The Conference also aims to address some of the most pressing challenges affecting contemporary cultural heritage, including the need to pursue broader participation of local communities in decision-making processes on cultural heritage, while avoiding the negative effects resulting from the inscriptions in the UNESCO Lists, starting with overtourism.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs said: “Cultural diplomacy is at the heart of this Government’s foreign policy action.” He recalled that “Italy plays a leading role in the Organization, based on the rich cultural, artistic and natural heritage of the country, but also on the value of our human capital, recognized and appreciated throughout the world.” Italy is at the forefront to ensure the effective protection of cultural heritage, both within and outside national borders, also thanks to the work of the Carabinieri Unit for the Protection of Cultural Heritage and Italian archaeological missions abroad.
The Conference will see the participation of representatives and experts from the 194 Member States of UNESCO. In addition to Minister Tajani, the Director General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, the Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, and the Mayor of Naples, Gaetano Manfredi, as well as the Foreign Ministers invited by the Italian Government, will participate.
The event is part of the celebrations for the 2500th anniversary of the foundation of Naples.
