Upcoming Event I UNESCO Symposium International

Heritage encompasses more than monuments and traditions; it represents humanity’s living memory and a guide for building resilient futures. Under the theme Heritage Futures: Preserving Our Shared Past for a Sustainable World, the UNESCO Symposium highlights the need to reconsider how cultural and natural heritage is protected, used, and transmitted in times of global change. A symposium aimed at researchers and professors as well as master’s and PhD students. Both tangible and intangible heritage shape identities and foster social cohesion, yet they face unprecedented threats from climate change, urbanization, and social transformation. Safeguarding them requires innovation, dialogue, and a balance between local needs and global responsibilities. Heritage is also a driver of sustainability. In connection with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, it supports climate adaptation, energy efficiency, and environmental stewardship. Traditional practices and cultural landscapes provide ecological knowledge essential for modern societies, demonstrating how preservation contributes directly to sustainability. Urban heritage also represents a critical dimension. Rapid urban growth often endangers historic centers and cultural practices. To ensure their continuity, cities must integrate heritage into resilience strategies so that past and present coexist productively, and historic environments remain inclusive and livable. Looking ahead, Heritage Futures raises key questions: How can heritage remain vital in a globalized and rapidly transforming world? In what ways can preservation advance sustainability and respond to climate change? How can urban resilience and heritage conservation be aligned to keep historic cities adaptable and inclusive? These questions frame an urgent debate: preserving our shared past is not only about memory, but also about shaping pathways toward a sustainable future.

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