Empowering country expert teams to integrate living heritage safeguarding into sustainable urban planning

Dance of the old men
Four old men dancers wearing colorful

17 March 2025

An online Training of trainers on living heritage safeguarding and sustainable urban development will take place in March and April 2025 as part of the ongoing project Communities for Heritage: Latin America and the Caribbean (full project title: Strengthening capacities for resilient communities through Sustainable Tourism and Heritage Safeguarding Latin America and the Caribbean) in Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Belize, and El Salvador.

The online training seeks to strengthen the connection between living heritage safeguarding and urban planning, contributing to more inclusive and sustainable urban development through intersectoral collaboration. This capacity-building approach contributes to one of the three ongoing thematic initiatives of the 2003 Convention, ‘Safeguarding intangible cultural heritage in urban contexts’, offering practical insights and regional perspectives.

Bringing together country teams with expertise in both intangible cultural heritage and urban planning, the training offers a comprehensive introduction to UNESCO’s capacity-building approach and materials in this new field. Participants will not only deepen their understanding of the methodology but also exchange experiences and provide feedback to refine the approach. By enhancing the capacities of local communities in Latin America and the Caribbean, the course seeks to promote the sustainable management and safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage in urban contexts through an urban planning lens. Upon completion, the newly trained trainers will be equipped to adapt and implement workshops in their respective countries, further amplifying the impact of the project.

This project is part of the UNESCO Programme on Culture and Digital Technologies, generously financed by the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The implementation of the project is also facilitated by the Educational and Cultural Coordination of the Central American Integration System (CECC/SICA).