The heritage cities meet again

The Palacio del Segundo Cabo, one of the buildings that adorn the Plaza de Armas of the Historic Center of Havana and headquarters of the Center for the Interpretation of Cultural Relations Cuba-Europe, hosted on Friday 3  the press conference that leaves inagurated the activities of the XVII International Meeting on Management of Heritage Cities, which from May 14 to 17 will take place in the former Convent of San Francisco de Asís as the main space, where interventions by recognized national and international experts will take place, as well as visits. specialized in various works restored by the Office of the City Historian, presided by Dr. Eusebio Leal Spengler, who was present at the meeting with the press, chaired by Patricia Rodríguez Alomá, director of the Master Plan and president of the organizing committee of the event; Niurka Cruz Sosa, deputy director of the Master Plan and coordinator of the Scientific Committee; and the engineer Arsenio Sánchez Pantoja, coordinator of the Network of Offices of the Historian and the Curator of the Patrimonial Cities of Cuba.

The meeting is held a few months after the fifth centenary of the Cuban capital and in a very complex economic context. Nevertheless, as Dr. Patricia points out, Havana "will receive a series of very useful interventions: dozens of iconic buildings will be restored and new ones will be built; large emblematic parks will be recovered and also small neighborhood public spaces; urban axes and nodes will be rehabilitated and, in a special way, the various cultural manifestations of the neighborhoods will be addressed; a wide and promising programming of recreational and cultural activities has been launched. All these actions, the fruit of the efforts of many, will be a source of joy, first of all for the people of Havana, of birth or adoption, who are longing for the rebirth of their city. "

The XVII International Meeting on Management of Heritage Cities includes six keynote addresses, the first one of which was held at the opening session on Tuesday the 14th, given by the City Historian. The other five will aim to "frame Havana in the five strategic dimensions that the integral urban development approach requires (institutional, cultural, environmental, economic and social), under the perspective of sustainability".

Prior to the event, there will be the regular meeting of the Network of Offices of the Historian and the Curator of the Heritage Cities of Cuba, which already includes eleven cities of the Island.

The panels will be organized around the following discussion forums: "Challenges 1: Safeguarding" (Communication strategies, articulation with academia and citizen co-responsibility), "Challenges 2: Adaptation and resilience" (New urban concepts, climate change and new instruments of planning and urban management), "Challenges 3: Culture and development" (Creative economies, tourism and cultural heritage, social and solidarity economies in cultural environments), "Challenges 4: Proactive citizenship" (led by citizens who have developed experiences related to the social and solidarity economies), "News 1: Havana 500" (information on the main projects for the anniversary of the city), "News 2: Let's talk about Havana II" and a concluding panel where "we intend to update the Havana Agreement, a strategic document that summarizes a doctrine of action in the heritage cities, fruit of the intelligence collective activity built during the first ten international meetings."