The International Symposium on Cultural Heritage (Forlí, 18-19 January 2024), promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, ended with an unprecedented success. The Symposium also saw the presentation ceremony of the Heritage International Institute, an academic, cultural and artistic centre of international excellence.
More than 200 delegates from all over the world gathered in the Bertinoro Castle for the official launch of the Heritage International Institute, which has twelve departments composed of top experts in the field. It is aimed at the protection and promotion of all forms of cultural heritage, including archaeological sites, architectural heritage, landscape, music, dance, cinema, cuisine, design and fashion, with a special focus on human rights and the protection of culture in war zones. At the formal signing ceremony held in the Sala Affrescata of the Bertinoro Castle, the Institute signed a record number of agreements with centres of excellence, universities, associations and museums all over the world, thus creating the largest international network in favour of cultural heritage. Thanks to this network, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the coming months the Heritage International Institute will activate schools of higher education on cultural heritage, and carry out international awareness campaigns, concerts at UNESCO sites, itineraries for people with disabilities in Italian and foreign museums, international Michelin dinners centred on food as cultural heritage, and special cultural tourism trips all over the world. It will also promote the first international hub of heritage designers, as well as the creation of the first International Heritage Fashion Week.
The Symposium participants could travel through the beauties of Italy’s cultural heritage, thanks to the Forlì exhibition of the Virtual Museum on Cultural Heritage, conceived and directed by Sergio Iovino and promoted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and the Ministry of Culture, which continues to enjoy an international appreciation never before recorded by digital exhibitions. Following the latest stops of the Virtual Museum in Canada and Egypt, the new virtual rooms in Romagna (Ravenna, Bologna, Modena, Ferrara) add to those on cultural heritage in Rome, Venice, Florence, Benevento. The International Symposium was also an opportunity to announce the establishment of the Steering Committee of the Virtual Museum, composed of representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Culture and from the academic world, which will further enhance its value and allow for the future development of the Museum as an integral part of Italy’s foreign cultural policy and good practices at the international level, also with the aim of creating a transnational network for sharing cultural heritage, starting with the Italian one as a bridge between cultures. In 2024 the Virtual Museum will also expand to include intangible cultural heritage, with the creation of special virtual rooms on design, fashion, music, dance, cinema and cuisine.