Latin America and the Caribbean: Strengthening capacities for resilient communities though Sustainable Tourism and Heritage Safeguarding

  • Project budget:
    • US$ 2,300,000
  • Source:
    • Saudi Arabia Funds-in-Trust
  • Dates of implementation:
    • 01/06/2023 - 01/06/2026

Benefitting country(ies): Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama

Overview:

The project aims to enhance the role communities play in managing and safeguarding the region’s cultural and natural heritage and is designed to strengthen synergies between tangible and intangible cultural heritage safeguarding. It will support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through integrating heritage safeguarding into urban planning while enhancing sustainable tourism in the region.

The project is being implemented during 2023-2026 in collaboration with the following countries: Belize, Cuba, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama. It aims to strengthen synergies between living heritage safeguarding, cultural heritage management, urban planning and sustainable tourism.

The project has two outcomes:
A/ Supporting sustainable tourism development in World Heritage destinations
The first outcome focuses on sustainable tourism activities with the following key actions:
• Capacity building programmes to enhance visitor management in World Heritage properties, including the use of the Visitor Management Assessment Strategy Tool (VMAST)
• Cash for work’ programmes targeting local women and youth to enhance skills in tourism and heritage safeguarding
• Implementation of sustainable tourism approaches through community engagement and intangible cultural heritage safeguarding

B/ Safeguarding living heritage in urban contexts
The second outcome focuses on integrating the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage into urban plans, policies, and programs through community-based approaches, and has four components:
• Capacity building to integrate the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage into urban planning
• Training and pilot activities for community-based identification and inventories of intangible cultural heritage in urban contexts
• Development of a roadmap and policy guidance for the safeguarding of living heritage in urban contexts
• Dissemination of project results and awareness-raising activities

This project is part of the UNESCO Programme on Culture and Digital Technologies supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Educational and Cultural Coordination of the Central American Integration System (CECC/SICA) facilitates the regional integration of the project.

Learn more on the Culture and Digital Technologies programme:

https://www.unesco.org/en/culture-and-digital-technologies/communities-heritage-latin-america-and-caribbean?hub=169336

News and activities:

26/06/2023 - 15/07/2026 – Safeguarding of ludodiversity in Malawi through formal and non-formal education07/11/2024 - 06/05/2026 – Ancestral and traditional techniques for the elaboration of the 'Poncho Para'i de 60 Listas', from the city of Piribebuy, Republic of Paraguay

Top