#Unite4Heritage: Cultural Diversity under attack: Protecting Heritage for Peace - High-Level Meeting and Technical Conference

Attacks on cultural heritage have increased significantly in recent years, particularly in the Middle East and Africa. UNESCO is organizing a high-level event followed by a technical conference in Brussels, on the way in which culture can contribute to peacebuilding and recovery. Its outcomes will finalize the Action Plan for the UNESCO Strategy for the protection of cultural heritage and promotion of cultural pluralism.
The high-level event will be opened by Ms Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, Ms Federica Mogherini, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Mr Geert Bourgeois, Minister-President of the Flemish Government. It will seek to strengthen policy advocacy for better recognition of cultural diversity in strategies for reconstruction and peacebuilding.

The expert meeting, co-chaired by the UNESCO Assistant-Director General for Culture and a homologue from the European Commission, will deepen policy thinking on the role of culture as a factor for social cohesion and reconciliation in post-conflict recovery. It will develop recommendations to better take into account the culture dimension and its potential in the work of the humanitarian and security sectors. The results of the discussions will help to finalize the Action Plan for the UNESCO Strategy for the protection of cultural heritage and promotion of cultural pluralism.