The International Academy on Sustainable Development is a capacity-building programme ideated and implemented by the Research Centre Silvia Santagata – Ebla (for the first three editions) and UNESCO through the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe (based in Venice, Italy), with the support of several local partners in the Turin and Piedmont area and Milan. The Fondazione Santagata for the Economics of Culture achieved the initiative as of 2019.
The main objective of the program is to contribute to the achievement of the UN 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals, through an effective advancement of institutional and professional capacities of managing authorities, communities and relevant operators from UNESCO designations.
BACKGROUND
Launched as a pilot programme in occasion of the 3rd International Forum on Local Economic Development in 2015, in collaboration with the United Nations System Staff College and the International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization, the Academy is based in the city of Torino (Italy), which counts three different UNESCO designations.
Besides the training activities, the Academy also promotes a Community of good management practices in UNESCO designated areas, an international cooperative network of site managers, operators and practitioners committed to disseminating sustainable practices of territorial and community management.
WORKSHOP
In accordance with the overall spirit of the Academy, the main aim of this year’s workshop is to contribute to advancing professional and institutional capacities of managing authorities, communities and relevant practitioners from UNESCO designations on the selected topic, in order to increase the benefits for the local communities and to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.
The 2019 programme will focus on the following UNESCO designations:
- World Heritage List
- Lists and Register of the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage
- Biosphere Reserves included in the Man and the Biosphere programme
- UNESCO Creative Cities Network
- Global Geoparks Network
Special attention will be paid to “multiple designated areas”, i.e. local territories with a concentration or proximity of more than one UNESCO designation, in order to analyse the potential, challenges and possible experiences related to the coordination and integration between different designations.
MAIN TOPICS
The workshop will focus on UNESCO Designations and their potential role in addressing sustainable development goals, with specific reference to the UN 2030 Agenda.
Specific topics addressed in the 2019 edition will be:
- Integrated management models for cultural and natural resources, exploring emerging approaches, tools and practices to effectively engage multiple stakeholders and to better integrate food-related cultural and natural resources within local development programmes.
- The role of creativity and innovation in community based development, to understand how the synergy between food-related heritage and cultural and creative industries can sustain inclusive social and economic growth in UNESCO designations.
- Tools and practices to facilitate the management and development of food-related sustainable tourism at UNESCO designated areas, through fostering increased awareness, capacity and balanced participation of all stakeholders.