Celebrating the legacy of Walter Santagata, ten years after his passing (and five years since the birth of our Foundation)

Ten years have passed since we lost Walter Santagata, a great teacher for all of us both in academia and in life. Walter was the professor who taught us how to do research, who created our working group, who put us in touch with many scholars and practioners from around the world and who also took an interest in our personal lives, offering attention, advice and support.

Ten years after his passing – and exactly five years since the birth of Fondazione Santagata for the Economics of Culture – we want to not only celebrate his memory, but also carry on his legacy through a series of initiatives that will be part of a year-long scientific programme.

CULTURE AS A TOOL FOR DIPLOMACY

Walter Santagata always believed in the importance of an open dialogue between nations and people and was deeply aware of the role that culture can play as an instrument for diplomacy to encourage this dialogue.

This is why we built the EBLA Fund in 2021: a fund that aims to participate in building peace and development thanks to training and work with and for people living in emergency contexts. Through the action of the EBLA Fund we have been able to provide scholarships to deserving students and professionals who attended the international Master’s Degree in World Heritage and Cultural Projects for Development, promoted by the University of Turin, with whicch our Foundation has been collaborating for a long time.

With the same purpose in mind, we have organised an event in the forthcoming months focusing on cultural diplomacy and the role it can play in the context of globalisation.

WORKING WITH AND FOR THE YOUTH

Another cornerstone of Walter Santagata’s vision was working with and for young people, giving them opportunities and tools to grow professionally. We continue in these footsteps with training projects and through our own choices in the Foundation’s workforce, whose team is mostly composed of people under 30: capable, competent and with a passion for the work they have undertaken.

With the aim of working with the younger generations, we have organised an event to be held as part of the World Tourism Event in September 2023: a training programme conceived as a satellite event of the “Academy on UNESCO Designations and Sustainable Development” programme and aimed at young professionals working in the management of UNESCO World Heritage Sites, with the objective of discussing common management challenges, encouraging the exchange of good practices and the elaboration of possible creative and sustainable solutions, and bringing together young professionals with those who have been involved in heritage management for some time.

ADVANCING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF THE ECONOMICS OF CULTURE

To pursue Walter Santagata’s commitment to advancing research on the Economics of Culture, we have long collaborated with the University of Turin and other educational institutions. Walter’s interest saw culture in a broad sense and included heritage, contemporary production, and the governance of cultural systems. In line with Walter’s scientific production, we are involved in the organisation of the 2023 edition of “Rethinking Culture and Creativity“, together with the University of Turin, the University of Florence, the University of Macerata, the University of Catania, the University of Chieti-Pescara and the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli. Within the conference, which will take place on 19 and 20 October in Turin, there will be a special session open to all with three key lectures dedicated to the main themes of Walter Santagata’s research.

Finally, we plan to make available to everyone the reflections that Walter has carried out over the years, not only through his many books and essays, but also through his articles. In fact, Walter Santagata’s ideas and research are still of great relevance in the context of research on the Economics of Culture. With the precious collaboration of the Giornale dell’Arte, which made its archives available, we will repropose the most important articles in a single volume, in order not only to celebrate this tenth anniversary but also, and above all, to make available his contribution, so important and still so topical, to the debate.