The 2022/2023 edition was developed through a new format aimed at giving participants numerous opportunities for exchange and discussion and it was structured in a blended format.

The first phase, held online from January to March 2023, was kick-off through a warm-up meeting, followed by five preparatory talks that introduced the main topics and issues. The second phase foresaw ae three-day workshop held in Ivrea in March 2023.
The talks served as a moment of familiarisation with the themes of the 2030 Agenda through experiences from UNESCO programmes. During the talks, an attempt was made to answer questions related to 5 selected themes – attractiveness, branding, engagement, innovation and education – and to stimulate reflection, exchange and cross-fertilisation of ideas. The themes were transversal to the five main UNESCO designations (World Heritage List, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Creative Cities Network, Biosphere Reserves included in the Man and Biosphere programme, Global Geoparks Network) to encourage the exchange of proposals and projects, regardless of the typology of UNESCO designations, lists and programmes.

During the three-day on-site workshop, participants had the opportunity to work on this year’s case study: The UNESCO World Heritage Site of ‘Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century’.

 


CONCEPT

​The programme aims to share experiences, define good practices and discuss creative solutions in order to ensure an appropriate and equitable balance between conservation, sustainability and development by implementing a holistic approach to UNESCO programmes and designations and the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development.​

Basing on these principles, the first three workshops of the Academy took place in October 2015, December 2016, October 2017, October 2018 and October 2019, in Turin, the Piedmont Region, and in the Lombardy Region. Since its foundation, the Academy has gathered over 172 professionals from 57 different UNESCO designated areas, who are now connected by a Community of good practices and knowledge exchange.

In response to the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, an in-depth survey was launched to assess the impact of previous years’ activities. The research findings were analysed and presented in a technical report, which offers evidence of the Academy’s positive impact especially in terms of knowledge development, networking and international cooperation.


ONLINE TALKS

The first phase involved five online talks in preparation for the on-site workshops to be held in March in Ivrea (Piedmont).

Talk 1 #SUSTAINABILITY (10 January 2023)

Moderated by Fondazione Santagata and UNESCO
> How can UNESCO designated sites and communities foster sustainable development?

​Talk 2 #ATTRACTIVENESS (24 January 2023)

Moderated by Fondazione Santagata and UNESCO
> How can UNESCO designated sites generate attractiveness and positive impacts?

​Talk 3 #ENGAGEMENT ​(7 February 2023)

Moderated by Fondazione Santagata and UNESCO
> How can local and non-local communities be involved in the management and valorisation of UNESCO designations?

Talk 4 #INNOVATION (​21 February 2023)

Moderated by Fondazione Santagata and UNESCO
> What innovative solutions towards sustainability can be adopted in the context of UNESCO designations?

Talk 5 #EDUCATION AND INTERPRETATION (​7 March 2023)

Moderated by Fondazione Santagata and UNESCO
> How can UNESCO designations foster learning and education activities?


ON-SITE WORKSHOP

21, 22, 23, 24 March 2023
The on-site workshop took place in the city of Ivrea, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage list as ‘Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century’.

The city, which is located in an area with high environmental features, embarked in recent years on a significant journey towards local development based on its history, tradition and cultural heritage and last year was nominated Italian Book Capital of 2022.


ORGANISATION

SPEAKERS
Amilcar Vargas, Casa Batlló World Heritage Site, Spain
Mariola Andonegui, San Millan de la Cogolla, Spain
Carla Silva, Regional Directorate of Environment and Climate Change, Azores
Carlo Francini, Historic Centre of Florence UNESCO WHS and Associazione Beni Italiani Patrimonio Mondiale, Italy
Claudia Molinari, WAM We Are Muesli – an unconventional game design studio, Italy
Cristian Ciobanu, Hateg Global Geopark, Romania
Dimitris Michelogiannis, Region of Crete, Greece
Donatella Murtas, International Terraced Landscape Alliance ITALIA ICH, Italy
Elena Sinibaldi, Ministry of Culture Italian Focal Point for the UNESCO Convention 2003, Italy
Evrim Ulusan, Conservation and Development of City Values Association of İzmir, Turkey
Juliana Strogan, Rjukan-Notodden World Heritage Site, Norway
Giacomo Montanari, University of Genova and Rolli Days, Italy
Gert-Jan Burgers, Ilaria Ricci, Christian Napolitano, Archaeological Park of Muro Tenente and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Italy
Matthew Rabagliati, Research and Communications UK National Commission for UNESCO, UK
Monica Abbiati, Lombardy region, Italy
Pierre J.Doumet, Association for the Protection of Jabal Moussa – APJM, Lebanon
Rubah Saleh, ICHEC Brussels Management School, Belgium
Serena Codeglia, Genoa Municipality, Italy
Špela Spanžel, Ministry of Culture, Slovenia
Thorsten Ludwig, Heritage interpretation at Interpret Europe, Germany.
SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE
Coordinator: Alessio Re, Fondazione Santagata for the Economics of Culture

Jonathan Baker, UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe
Enrico Eraldo Bertacchini, University of Turin
Paola Borrione, Fondazione Santagata for the Economics of Culture
Martha Mary Friel, IULM University
Matteo Rosati, UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe
Giovanna Segre, UNESCO Chair in Economics of Culture
TEAM
Elena Abbate
Lorenzo Attardo
Giulia Avanza
Serena Meloni

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