Professor Ana Filipa Vrdoljak as UNESCO Chairholder was invited by UNESCO and the Government of India, the co-hosts, to participate in the Regional Consultation for the Asia Pacific in the lead-up to the UNESCO World Conference on Cultural Policies and Sustainable Development – MONDIACULT 2025 held on 5 and 6 February 2025.
Professor Vrdoljak’s intervention for the session on economy of culture, culture and climate action, and culture, heritage and crisis outlined how the work of the UNESCO Chair on Cultural Heritage and International Law and UNESCO-UNITWIN Network on Culture in Emergencies was elaborating and disseminating our knowledge on the role of culture, heritage and diversity in emergencies to foster peace and sustainable development using legal and non-legal tools. Reference was made to the Cultural Property Preparedness Practice Guide and Toolkit on sustainable protection of cultural heritage in the event of armed conflict and belligerent occupation, and disasters for national authorities and cultural institutions including the use of new technologies being prepared by the UNITWIN Network.
Professor Vrdoljak stressed that the UNESCO Chair and UNITWIN Network actively supported efforts towards the realisation of a standalone sustainable development goal on culture in the post-2030 development agenda; and the preparation and adoption of declaration on culture in emergencies covering principles fostering the centrality of culture and heritage for the promotion of resilience, peace and human rights during and post conflict and post-disaster, and the protection of cultural rights defenders.
