29 October 2025
On 20 October 2025, multi-sectoral country teams specializing in intangible cultural heritage safeguarding and urban planning from nine Central American countries met online to share insights and outcomes from the ongoing project Communities for Heritage: Latin America and the Caribbean. The meeting followed a series of hands-on training workshops recently held in the target countries: Belmopan (Belize), Trinidad (Cuba), Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic), San Salvador (El Salvador), Antigua (Guatemala), Trujillo (Honduras), Colón (Panama), San José (Costa Rica), and Oaxaca (Mexico).
Experts, representatives from the participating countries’ Permanent Delegations to UNESCO, representatives from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the Educational and Cultural Coordination of the Central American Integration System (CECC/SICA) were among the participants.
Stakeholders shared approaches linking living heritage safeguarding with key urban priorities such as sustainable tourism, climate change adaptation, the protection of green spaces and ecosystems, and the revitalization of local crafts in historic centers. Discussions highlighted diverse national initiatives including the enhancement of cultural infrastructure, the creation of cultural hubs, the implementation of new regulations to safeguard cultural festivities, and innovative land-use planning mechanisms. The important role the community plays in heritage management and safeguarding policies and approaches were central to the discussions.
Alongside fostering peer exchange and collaboration among participating countries and cities, the meeting further strengthened connections between living heritage safeguarding, cultural heritage management and sustainable tourism, with a particular focus on the 1972 World Heritage Convention.
Looking ahead, the next phase of the project will focus on community-based inventorying of living heritage and its integration into the urban planning and sustainable development strategies.
The project ‘Communities for Heritage: Latin America and the Caribbean’ is part of the UNESCO Programme on Culture and Digital Technologies, generously funded by the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Regional integration of the project is facilitated by the Educational and Cultural Coordination of the Central American Integration System (CECC/SICA).
Event:
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Sharing insights and outcomes: hands-on workshops on living heritage and sustainable urban development in Latin America and the Caribbean (20 October 2025 – 20 October 2025)
