The purpose of the anniversary was and remains to inform and raise the awareness of the global public about the multifaceted and timeless value and importance of cultural heritage, as well as to actively mobilize it for issues of preservation, protection and ensuring the long-term sustainability and accessibility of material and immaterial cultural capital, for the good of society.
THE SPECIFIC day, events of all kinds are organized throughout the world and citizens are given the opportunity to freely access and tour the monuments and archaeological sites, so that they become known and familiar to the wider public, to encourage their “socialization”, their organic integration into the modern social, cultural and economic life. Every year ICOMOS chooses a common theme for all the events.
AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, in 2023, in Sydney, the theme “Disaster and conflict-resilient heritage – Preparedness, response and recovery” was put at the center of the scientific planning and development of the organization’s action road map for the period 2024-2027, based on the needs and challenges faced by the field of cultural management in the modern world. In May 2024, ICOMOS is preparing to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the adoption of the Venice Charter, an internationally recognized, fundamental and timeless framework of guiding principles governing the theory and practice of the restoration and conservation of monuments. For this reason, this year’s International Day of Monuments and Sites is dedicated to her.
THE MAP of Venice for the Restoration and Maintenance of Monuments and Monuments was drawn up during the second ICOMOS International Congress of Architects and Technicians of Historic Monuments, in Venice, in May 1964. It sets the framework of principles and rules, which should inspire and regulate the complex, interdisciplinary, theoretical and applied work of researchers and professionals in the field of conservation and restoration of cultural heritage, the fields, methods and limits of their activity, the theoretical principles and the code of ethics, which should be a foundation and cornerstone of all their interventions, in order to ensure not only the physical, but also the conceptual integrity and authenticity of the material carriers of culture, regardless of whether they are independent works of high artistic value, monumental complexes or humbler remnants of everyday human activity .
THE INSURANCE the right of all citizens, present and future generations, to free, direct and permanent access to the cultural stock of cultural heritage is internationally recognized as a capital issue and always extremely topical. An issue, of course, which is inextricably linked to the preservation of the material and immaterial evidence of this heritage. Its protection and preservation by the competent state agencies and special cultural organizations, national and international, which bear the relevant institutional responsibility, its study for research or educational purposes, but also its promotion and promotion for entertainment and tourism purposes in today’s era they require and presuppose broad and organized interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral partnerships and collaborations from all parties involved. Partnerships that will ensure, in addition to theoretical knowledge, know-how and technology, the principles and values necessary to build an integrated and efficient policy for the sustainable management of cultural capital on solid and secure foundations.
THE MAP of Venice was drawn up two decades after the Second World War, at a time that promised unlimited progress and economic growth, without yet becoming clear the side effects and risks that this growth might entail for the sustainability of the complex and interdependent natural and socio-cultural environment. Six decades later, both our tangible and intangible cultural heritage are faced with direct and indirect impacts and risks from natural, environmental and anthropogenic factors, which are increasing and intensifying at an alarming rate, both due to intensifying international geopolitical instability, of war conflicts and large-scale displacement of populations as well as due to the environmental emergency exacerbated by climate change.
INEVITABLY, issues of long-term viability and sustainability are now at the center of the policy-making debate in all sectors, which are seen as crucial for social cohesion and development at national and international levels. Culture in all its aspects, as a fundamental human right and a basic public good with a multifaceted and high spiritual, scientific, educational, aesthetic, symbolic and psychological value, but at the same time with an extremely strong socio-economic dynamic, which permeates and affects all aspects of social life and productive activity, is considered a basic and valuable resource for human development. As in the case of the natural environment, the adaptability, resilience and sustainability of the cultural environment in the face of existing and future challenges are considered fundamental principles that must govern our strategic choices and implemented policies. Only in this way can the protection, preservation and safeguarding of tangible and intangible cultural capital, which is valuable for social cohesion, prosperity and progress, be achieved from natural and man-made threats.
UNDER THIS in light of this, the protection of cultural heritage is placed under the care and responsibility of the State, however, it neither stops nor is limited to it. It begins with the identification, research, recording, documentation and study of its elements – movable and immovable monuments, archaeological sites, historical places. It proceeds to prevent destruction, wear and tear from any direct or indirect harm. It includes all the necessary maintenance and restoration actions, as well as highlighting, promotion, accessibility and utilization through inclusion in modern social life, education and the aesthetic cultivation of citizens. It requires and presupposes the awareness of the latter as to its value and importance for maintaining and promoting social cohesion and development.
IN THAT CASE, the notions of the participation and partnership of all citizens and not just the State and experts become crucial, as cultural heritage is closely linked to the concept of group and community, within the guise of which it functions as an integral component and cohesive element of the common memory and the distinct and distinctive identity of its members. It is, therefore, a dynamic entity, constantly re-engaged, re-interpreted and re-conceptualised. It is enriched, adapted, evolved and passed on to the next generations following the social and cultural transformations.
FOR HIM the reason, celebrations like that of the International Day of Monuments and Sites, as well as related anniversary tributes in the press and other Mass Media, are not formal and procedural, but essential in nature, since they offer citizens the possibility and the opportunity to get to know better and to appreciate the importance of monuments as evidence of the past and as bearers of material and immaterial values and meanings, which continue to be relevant for today’s and tomorrow’s generations.
ESPECIALLY FOR the younger generations, the realization that cultural heritage is the common property of the whole society, and therefore its protection is not only the responsibility of the state and its agencies, but is the overall responsibility and obligation of all citizens regardless of status and age, and therefore it is also their own business, it is of decisive importance for a sustainable future.
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