Never before has the World Economic Forum focused only on finance, economics and geopolitics. But also on culture. Buildings, specifically. On the eve of the Davos Forum, the Davos Alliance for Building Culture, the Davos Baukultur Alliance, was launched during the second conference of European Culture Ministers. Switzerland will assume the presidency for five years while the WEF will manage the secretariat. The goal is to “promote a sustainable and quality-oriented approach in the management of buildings, infrastructures, public spaces and landscapes, for the benefit of all”. Another step forward towards safer, more human-friendly and better quality cities.
A new construction culture. This is what the Davos Baukultur Alliance wants to propose, responding «to the global challenges of design and construction with a culture of high quality construction». The Alliance is committed to achieving “the objectives of the Davos Declaration ‘Towards a culture of quality construction for Europe’, adopted in 2018”. Many countries, in addition to the European Commission, “have integrated the Alliance’s objectives into their policies for the culture of construction, architectural strategies or urban development agendas”, explains a note. «Today, a culture of quality construction is more important than ever. Without this element, sustainable development is not possible,” said the President of the Confederation Alain Berset in his opening speech. According to the new body, “promoting a culture of quality construction is essential also in view of a rapid energy transition”. This is because “it helps to counter the increasingly disorderly expansion of settlements and allows for the development of cities and villages suited to the needs of an inclusive society that respects diversity”.
To understand what it is about, and the importance of this year’s passage, we need to take a step back. The Davos Declaration “Towards a high quality Baukultur for Europe” was adopted in January 2018 by the ministers of culture and the heads of delegation of the signatories of the European Cultural Convention and the observer states of the Council of Europe, for a total of 33 countries and representatives of intergovernmental organizations: the Council of Europe, the European Commission, the International Center for the Study of the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Heritage (ICCROM) and UNESCO; international non-governmental organizations (NGOs): the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE-ECA), Europa Nostra, the European Council of Spatial Planners (ECTP-CEU) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).
It was precisely with the general secretary of Europa Nostra, Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, that he signed the founding act of the new alliance in the Swiss town. Meeting her during a break from the WEF’s work, Quaedvlieg-Mihailović expressed her satisfaction with the step forward. «It’s positive to be here for the first time, and to observe that even a world that might seem so distant as that of big finance is actively moving in terms of quality of life and culture», she explains. After this step, she says, “everything will be simpler”.
Meanwhile, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the “7 Most Endangered in 2023” programme, Europa Nostra – the European voice of civil society committed to cultural and natural heritage – and the European Investment Bank Institute will soon announce the 11 sites of the most threatened heritage in Europe selected for this year’s edition of the programme. Which are: the Kortrijk railway station (Belgium), the Domain and Royal Museum of Mariemont, in Morlanwelz (Belgium), the Partisan Memorial Cemetery of Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina), the Tchakvinji Fortress of Zugdidi (Georgia), the Sisters ‘ House Ensemble, former Moravian settlement in Kleinwelka (Germany), the Mansion (“Konaki”) of Gidas in Alexandria (Greece), the Herman Ottó Museum in Miskolc (Hungary), Memento Park in Budapest (Hungary), the Cultural Landscape of Paštrovska Gora (Montenegro), the Cultural Landscape of Sveti Stefan in Paštrovići (Montenegro) and the Bistrica Watermills in Petrovac na Mlavi (Serbia).
The final list of the 7 most endangered heritage sites in Europe for 2023 will be unveiled in April. And the executive president of Europa Nostra, Prof. Dr. Hermann Parzinger, said: “This shortlist covers a wide variety of monuments and heritage sites that are facing different types of serious threats. Local communities and civil society organizations are deeply committed to preserving these outstanding examples of our common heritage, but they need wider support.” Parzinger, in light of this, therefore calls “local, regional, national and European stakeholders, both public and private, to join forces with Europa Nostra and our network of members and partners to ensure a sustainable future for these selected sites ». See you next April.