NEW DELHI, April 12 (PTI): A webinar on harnessing living heritage for a sustainable future, hosted by the Culture Working Group (CWG) of the G20 under India’s presidency, is slated to be held on Thursday.
The event will bring together experts from 29 countries, including G20 members and guest nations, as well as several international organisations, culture ministry officials, said on Wednesday.
As part of the global thematic webinar series being organised by the Culture CWG of the G20 under India’s presidency, and facilitated by Paris-based UNESCO, as the knowledge partner, the second webinar on ‘Harnessing Living Heritage for a Sustainable Future’ is scheduled to be held on April 13, they said.
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The webinar will reflect on the importance of living heritage and its role towards sustainability, the ministry said in a statement.
The objective of this webinar is to foster inclusive dialogue and facilitate an in-depth discussion from an expert-driven perspective on harnessing living heritage for a sustainable future, it said.
The event seeks to promote knowledge sharing; capitalise on the best practices and experiences; identify gaps, needs, and opportunities in harnessing living heritage practices.
The webinar will also inform the reflection of the G20 membership in formulating tangible and action-oriented outcomes, the ministry said.
It will have three speaking segments and experts will be distributed across these segments based on their respective time zones.
The webinar will be moderated successively by representatives from Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), World Health Organization (WHO) and World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), officials said.
It will be live-streamed on the YouTube channel of UNESCO, the statement said.
Living heritage is an embodiment of social practices, traditions, and knowledge passed down through generations that reflect a community’s history, identity, and values, the statement said.
It serves as social capital for communities, providing a sense of shared identity, fostering social cohesion, and promoting cultural continuity across generations, it said.
Many of these practices prioritise the use and reuse of natural resources, and contribute to waste reduction and maintenance of a balance between social, economic, and environmental factors, thus promoting sustainability, it added.
“However, these traditional practices face the threat of misuse and of cultural appropriation of elements, design or knowledge of indigenous communities by transnational companies.
“Further, owing to limited research in the area, as well as due to the absence of community groups’ participation, the significance of these practices and knowledge systems has not been fully acknowledged,” the ministry said in the statement.
Global thematic webinars, focussing on other priorities, are scheduled to be held on April 19 and 20, it said.
