The annual Italian Youth Forum of the Italian Youth Association for UNESCO took place in Cagliari
Proposals and themes for the safeguarding and promotion of intangible cultural heritage at the heart of a flow of meetings, performances and working groups
“Heritage is a fabric woven from the ongoing dialogue between culture and different generations. Let us not allow this heritage to be lost, and let us give greater value to young people, who play a fundamental role in it and are the foundations on which peace is built!”: with these words AIGU President Chiara Bocchio opened the annual Italian Youth Forum organised by the Italian Youth Association for UNESCO, which this year chose Cagliari as its venue.
Inside the Manifattura Tabacchi a series of distinguished guests from the institutional world and the performing arts took turns presenting their proposals and reflections for an ongoing conversation with the world of youth.
First and foremost, the President of the Italian National Commission for UNESCO, Franco Bernabé, announced the nomination of Italian opera singing for the Intangible Cultural Heritage List, a choice rooted in the tradition of our country, which will celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the UNESCO Convention on the subject — a convention that fully complements the other Convention of 1972, dedicated to World Cultural and Natural Heritage, and which currently counts no fewer than 629 types of inscribed heritage. It is a Convention of a dynamic character, outlining a progressive and constant evolution, thanks precisely to the creativity of the new generations and their engagement with the context they belong to, which therefore cannot be frozen but offers a perspective of identity and continuity, respecting cultural diversity and rejecting any logic of commercial exploitation. Significant in this regard are the two projects that have recently accompanied the process of revalorising Intangible Cultural Heritage: on the one hand, the observatory created by the Ministry of Culture to monitor its development; on the other, the EDU project launched and developed by AIGU itself, an excellent example of cultural heritage education in Italian schools.
The speech by the President of the Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Christian Solinas, read at the Forum by the Region’s representative Ferdinando Secchi, focused on Sardinia as one of the greatest expressions of cultural heritage (it holds more than a fifth of the entire peninsula’s): among these, how could one fail to mention the nuraghi, the Sardinian ziggurat, the wells and sacred altars linked to the cult of water, but also a vast intangible heritage expressed in cultural events of great charm connected to its traditions, scheduled throughout the year.
For the Mayor of Cagliari, Paolo Truzzu, a city’s capacity to be sustainable lies at the heart of civic conscience and awareness, and Cagliari is also an example of how the heritage available in an area can be maintained and preserved with an active role, starting with energy and water savings, as well as nurturing and respecting the greenery of its 11 parks, electrifying urban transport and separating waste collection in waste management.
Dario Nardella, Mayor of Florence, spoke to recall that his city will host the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention in November. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the inclusion of Florence’s historic centre in the World Heritage List, and involving young people in the UNESCO meeting in November, entitled “Next Fifty years”, represents a starting point for stimulating this joint collaboration.
“The efforts of the Government and the various Ministries are directed today more than ever towards the desire and endeavour to involve young people,” said Daniele Frongia, Deputy Chief of Staff, Ministry of Youth Policies. “Examples include universal civil service, which every year engages young men and women in commitments that also touch on intangible cultural heritage, and the issuing body for the celebration of anniversaries. The true success of any initiative comes when an institution accompanies cultural events and sees young and less young people present in the same context.”
“This wonderful land places the word encounter at its centre,” said Maria Assunta Peci, Head of Service II – UNESCO Office, General Secretariat, Ministry of Culture. “The 2003 Convention enables us to engage in dialogue, and it is the Convention that at this moment, in times of war, allows us to understand that it is up to you to interpret these traditions and give them back to us with strength through new knowledge.
We cannot do without the vision and creativity of young people in our governance, and it is absolutely necessary to involve them in every proposal, but also to establish an ongoing dialogue between the various Ministries.”
An example of concrete interaction with young people’s creative processes and practical capabilities across various cultural fields is the venue that hosted the Forum. The Director General of Sardegna Ricerche, Maria Assunta Serra, recalled how, from the theatre to the co-working spaces, from the scientific library to the digital fabrication laboratories, young people can increasingly find points of reference for approaching science and innovation, while support for young people is also strong in the fields of craftsmanship and the protection of intellectual property.
Also present at the meeting was Tim Curtis, Secretary of the 2003 UNESCO Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage, who recalled how the strength and resilience of young people found their fullest expression during the last two years of the pandemic, the hardest to overcome, precisely through a conscious use of the cultural heritage at their disposal.
“Fostering a network of international relations among young people, starting precisely from the Convention,” he said, “has led to an increase in the interlocutors engaged in this project, and this has been possible by guaranteeing the viability of living traditions through groups and communities, by respect and mutual appreciation of living traditions, by growing awareness of their importance at every level, and by strengthening international cooperation capable of providing assistance. Passing these traditions on from generation to generation within their own socio-cultural context has then made it possible to develop and continue building and expressing an identity of one’s own, always with respect for the cultural diversity that is in any case recreated over time.”
“On our website https://ich.unesco.org/dive/ ” Curtis concluded, “it is possible to navigate a dynamic and interactive space dedicated to vibrant Intangible Cultural Heritage, described in its specific features in every geographical area involved, also in relation to education, the environment and other sectors. Communities, political parties, civil society and public institutions are the stakeholders involved in achieving the objectives, but at the centre of everything are young people and the intergenerational transmission that starts from and returns to them, concerning the values of the intangible cultural heritage they hold. Also fundamental, alongside communication among young people, are the transformation and creative reinterpretation of that same heritage. Support for this act of retransmission and regeneration must, however, come from a network of international assistance that can make ongoing projects practicable. School is one of the main places involved in making both learning and the stimulus to recreation possible.”
Performing on the Forum stage were three important folk groups, expressions of Sardinia at its most alive: the Tenores Mamujadinu of Mamoiada and Usùsule of Siniscola, the group Flamenco Soul and the Maschere di Ottana.
Complementing the talks, on the second day a number of working groups were held, coordinated by Elena Sinibaldi, National Focal Point for the 2003 UNESCO Convention – Ministry of Culture (MiC), focused respectively on PERFORMING ARTS, RITUAL AND FESTIVE EVENTS AND TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP, with the aim of deepening knowledge of Intangible Cultural Heritage in relation to traditional craft practices, ritual and festive events and the performing arts, highlighting the risks and good practices for safeguarding these community expressions; FOOD, BETWEEN INTANGIBLE HERITAGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY, addressing food both as intangible heritage and as a lever for promoting environmental, economic and social sustainability, in order to mitigate the impacts of climate change; SAFEGUARDING HERITAGE AND THE ROLE OF YOUNG PEOPLE, in order to examine the issue of declining youth interest in Intangible Cultural Heritage and to discuss possible actions for its safeguarding and transmission to future generations; 50 YEARS OF THE WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION, to stimulate reflections on the future of heritage, on the relationship that the younger generations have with it and on the link between the 1972 UNESCO Convention and the 2003 Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritage
AIGU’s Italian Youth Forum 2022 received the patronage of: the Italian National Commission for UNESCO (CNIU), the Ministry of Culture (MiC), the Autonomous Region of Sardinia (RAS), the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, the Municipality of Cagliari, the Municipality of Sassari and Rai per il Sociale, with the media partnership of Rai Cultura.
IYF 2022 was supported by: the Italian National Commission for UNESCO, Fondazione di Sardegna, Parco Geominerario Storico ed Ambientale della Sardegna, Sardegna Ricerche, Banco di Sardegna Gruppo BPER, Gruppo Fratelli Cellino, Agenzia Regionale Fo. Re. STAS, ISRE Istituto Superiore Regionale Etnografico, Fondazione Barumini Sistema Cultura, Cantina Argiolas, Gruppo Casadei, Moleskine Foundation, Gift Campaign, Opificio Innova, Prima Idea srl, Associazione Abbicultura, Is Mascareddas, Fab Lab – Sardegna Ricerche, l’Associazione per la Commissione Nazionale per l’UNESCO – Italia (ONLUS), Slow Food Cagliari, Sa Manifattura and Rete delle Grandi Macchine a Spalla.
The talks and performances of the first day can be watched again on AIGU’s social media channels:
https://www.facebook.com/aigu.official
