With the participation of Syria, activities of World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development  kick off

With the participation of Syria, the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development “Mondiacult 2022” kicked off on Wednesday in Mexico, which will run from 28 to 30 September, with the participation of 140 ministers of culture around the world.

The conference calls for the need for culture in all its forms, expressions and meanings to be at the core of any transformational path of human development. The conference also seeks to create a global dialogue on the role of culture in sustainable development.

During the work of the first day of the conference, the Minister of Culture, Dr. Lubana Mshaweh, delivered a video speech in which she stressed that cultural diversity is the distinguishing feature of the comprehensive Syrian national identity. The constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic guarantees in form and content the protection of this diversity for the Syrian society and confirms that there is no discrimination on account of gender, origin, religion, language and belief, and all people have equal opportunities.

Dr. Mshaweh added: “Syria, throughout its history, which dates back to the seventh millennium BC, is a meeting place of civilizations, and the terrorist war aimed at undermining its geographical unity and cultural diversity. Therefore, our keenness to protect our cultural diversity parallels our concern for the unity of our homeland.”

The Minister of Culture emphasized that the national cultural strategy in Syria is based on protecting, preserving and ensuring the sustainability of the tangible and intangible cultural heritage and preserving its great diversity, as it is an important pillar of the inclusive national identity and the axis of sustainable development, and a decisive factor in establishing cohesion, security and peace.

Dr. Mshaweh concluded her speech by saying: “Syria, a founding member of UNESCO, whose contribution was effective in its work, and ratified most of the international conventions that were approved under its umbrella, gave the world its first alphabet and the first musical note known to mankind. Syria, which is the cradle of civilizations and a meeting place for Cultures, calls upon all people to support their efforts to preserve this great heritage which is not ours alone, but it is the property of humanity, so all of humanity shoulders the task of preserving and safeguarding it.”

It is noteworthy that the conference was launched forty years after the first World Mondiacult Conference on Cultural Policies held in Mexico in 1982, and 24 years after the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies for Development held in Stockholm-Sweden in 1998.

Inas Abdulkareem