Young People from 8 countries of the SICA Region adopt a Youth Cultural Declaration for Central America

32 young people from the 8 countries that make up the Central American Integration System adopted a Declaration that brings together the diverse perspectives, proposals and demands of the youth of the SICA Region on cultural heritage in the framework of the first Cultural Meeting of Youth of the SICA Region, held between 1 and 3 October 2021. This Declaration will be presented to the Council of Ministers of Culture of CECC-SICA in November of this year.

This meeting also led to the creation of the CECC-SICA Youth Cultural Network, aimed at consolidating the process of youth participation in the field of culture, guided by the Cultural Policy for Central American Integration and the Strategy for Culture as a Lever for Integration towards 2030.

This space has been organized by the Educational and Cultural Coordination of SICA (CECC/SICA – composed of Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Dominican Republic), with the collaboration of UNESCO and the Central American Youth Network PREVIOS, in order to promote learning and networking to strengthen the impact of youth in the management, protection and promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage of the region.

UNESCO facilitated presentations by experts in the various fields of culture and cultural heritage. Mr. Mauro Rossi, Head of Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, focused on tangible cultural heritage. Mr. Leandro Peredo, Regional Officer for Latin America and the Caribbean of UNESCO’s Living Heritage Unit, presented the main notions of intangible cultural heritage. Ms. Ulrike Guérin, responsible officer of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, spoke about the importance of submerged heritage. In addition, Ms. Caroline Munier, Culture Programme Specialist at the UNESCO Cluster Office in San José, presented the links between culture, youth, and sustainable development, in light of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

For UNESCO, youth engagement is a crucial factor that allows Member States to harness the potential of culture to achieve inclusive social, economic, and environmental development, in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Therefore, through its Operational Strategy for Youth (2014-2021), UNESCO seeks to strengthen youth-inclusive policy formulation and review, build capacities for the transition to adulthood, and foster civic engagement, democratic participation and social innovation for and by youth.