The principles and key elements building the PROCULTHER initiatives merge in the Final Declaration of the G7 Culture Ministers in Naples that promotes the inclusion of cultural issues in disaster risk management and climate change policies and practices.
The adoption of the G7 Ministerial Declaration closed a series of technical preparatory meetings under Italy’s 2024 Presidency, and confirmed the importance of culture as a key driver for the achievement of the goals set out in the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which promotes the inclusion of culture as a standalone goal for sustainable development beyond 2030.
The Declaration shares principles acknowledged by the participating countries and agrees upon the actions proposed for the way forward on the topics on which the delegations focussed: the protection and promotion of cultural identities, the culture and creativity in the age of Artificial Intelligence, the global fight against illicit trafficking of cultural property, and the strengthening the resilience of cultural heritage facing climate change and natural disasters.
On June, the PROCULTHER-NET project was called to contribute to one of the preparatory meetings preceding the Ministerial: the 3rd Culture Working Group of G7 (1) that the Italian Ministry of Culture organised in Rome, at the Istituto Centrale per la Grafica.
This two-day meeting was dedicated to cultural heritage gathered experts, delegates from the Ministries of Culture of the G7 countries and UNESCO, called to take stock of the initiatives of the European Union and Italy in the various sectors specific to heritage management and to collect useful elements for the Declaration that has been adopted on the side-lines of the G7 Culture Ministerial in Naples, held on 20 and 21 September 2024.
On June 24, the Working Group addressed issues such as the protection and promotion of cultural identities, as well as culture and creativity in the era of artificial intelligence. At the end of the day, participants were informed on SyPEAH - System for the Protection and Education of Archaeological Heritage, the web platform designed for the protection of the Colosseum, developed in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, to facilitate the activities for an effective conservation and monitoring of this very famous Archaeological Park through an innovative and technological assessment method.
The morning after, 25 June, concentrated on the activities carried out by the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Cultural Heritage in the field “Global fight against illicit trafficking of cultural goods”, in particular the functioning of SWOADS - Stolen Works of Art Detection System, the database of illicitly stolen cultural goods.
Afterwards, Giovanni De Siervo, called to represent the PROCULTHER initiative, intervened in the session entitled “Strengthen the resilience of cultural heritage facing climate change and natural disasters” and provided the participating experts with further elements to be brought to the attention of the decision-makers in view of the September Ministerial that closed this intense year of exchanges in the framework of the Italian G7 Presidency.
In particular, he highlighted the core principles of the PROCULTHER initiative, emphasizing that linking cultural heritage with disaster risk management is key to protecting cultural heritage at risk. Building bridges between the two sectors allows for a common approach and shared procedures, improving the effectiveness of interventions. Indeed, lessons learnt from the past confirm that technical cooperation in the protection of cultural heritage is a valuable vehicle for dialogue between experts on a topic that can nurture enhanced cooperation. In addition, Mr De Siervo mentioned the potential of the Union Civil Protection Mechanism – UCPM which started from a response centred approach and moved toward a more risk reduction focussed strategy, broadening the scope of its action outside the traditional borders of disaster management to provide assistance in the health, agriculture, energy sectors as well as in the field of cultural heritage protection. The many tools already developed within the UCPM can offer a valid ground for scaling up processes, sharing lessons learnt and promoting learning processes so as to sustain the recognition of cultural heritage protection as a disaster risk management sector. Finally, he concluded that now innovative approaches must go beyond the response phase and encourage the adoption of sustainable risk reduction strategies related to cultural heritage, because prevention and preparedness are essential parts not only of disaster management processes but also of sustainable development.
The advocacy action for the adoption of a cross-sectoral approach for a stronger cultural heritage protection of PROCULTHER initiative contributed in shaping the principles and actions agreed in the final Declaration to strengthen the resilience of cultural heritage facing natural and man-made risks. Indeed, the Ministers recognised the pressing need and value of sharing experiences and cooperating to develop effective strategies and actions to reinforce the vulnerability of cultural heirtage. In addition, they stressed the importance of research and technological development for prevention, projecting future climate impacts and monitoring risks and damage to cultural heritage, informing planning and decision-making. The resulting priorities for action include fostering the mitigation and adaptation strategies, the promotion of culture-based climate solutions, the integration of ecological sustainability as a cross-sectorial concern and, foremost, ensuring that cultural issues are recognised in disaster risk management and climate change policies and practices. To support these achievements, decision-makers will seek to promote training and capacity building to facilitate the development of disaster preparedness and response plans.
(1) The Group of Seven (G7) is an informal forum that brings together Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. The European Union also participates in the Group and is represented at the summits by the President of the European Council and the President of the European Commission. Over the years G7 has progressively expanded its focus; from an ad-hoc gathering to discuss financial challenges, it has become a more formal, prominent venue to address major global issues. This evolution became even more evident at the beginning of the new millennium, as the G7 recognized the need for more technical and detailed discussions on these complex issues. Consequently, it initiated the first thematic Ministerial Meetings, to delve deeper into specific topics and bring more nuanced insights into the G7’s deliberation. The experts convened at the technical round-tables within the G7 are called upon to examine technical issues and draft recommendations to suggest to Ministers, Heads of State and Government the most effective lines of action on priority themes or critical issues.