GENEVA, MARCH 10 – The Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations and other International Organizations in Geneva, Marie Sol Fulci, took the floor today at the Interactive dialogue with the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Alexandra Xanthaki, in the framework of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council.
“Italy is deeply committed to the safeguarding of tangible and intangible cultural heritage and has recently finalized the ratification process for the Faro Convention of the Council of Europe”, the Deputy Permanent Representative said, recalling that Italy is a member of the core group of the resolution on cultural rights and the protection of cultural heritage.
DPR Fulci underlined that cultural participation should be accessible for everyone, without any discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, religion or belief, economic, social, ethnic, or any other status. In this regard, she added that during the COVID-19 pandemic, Italy has been engaged in improving online accessibility of cultural content and digital services, to support people in most vulnerable situations, suffering from illness and isolation, and with a view to tackle gaps and inequalities.
Through its National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Italy will also invest 300 million euros to further reduce inequalities and gaps and to strengthen the effective, meaningful and inclusive participation in cultural life for all, including persons with disabilities, also by removing architectural barriers in at least 80% of cultural facilities and sites.
In the Italian intervention was finally highlighted that, with the aim to foster sustainability, Italy has implemented specific initiatives to promote cultural participation in remote environments, such as in small Italian historic towns. The example given by DPR Fulci was the “Attrattività dei Borghi” project, aimed at enhancing the upside potential of urban environments through cultural tourism and the development of services networks. Read the full statement here. (@OnuItalia)
