Living Heritage / Living the Heritage: at Mondiacult 2025

Living Heritage / Living the Heritage

At #Mondiacult2025, ICOMOS gathered communities, institutions, and heritage professionals from across the globe to reaffirm one truth: heritage is not static—it is living, resilient, and vital for our collective future.

Our side event, co-organized by ICOMOS SDGWG and Ithra, became more than a panel: it was a platform for those too often left unheard, and for cultures rarely mainstreamed. It applied the inclusivity it calls for and embodied the multilateralism it claims essential — showing that only by listening to all voices can humanity move toward sustainable peace and prosperity.

It was also a unique opportunity: people who had never met or worked together united their efforts, creating a wonderful moment of exchange, dialogue, and shared reflection with an engaged audience.

🎤 Teresa Patricio (President of ICOMOS) called for culture to be recognized as a living force.

🎤 Pamela Cnodon Yinhawangka (Pilbara, Australia), Karla Nunes Penna (ICOMOS-SDGWG) and Dr. Kirstin Møller Gray (ICOMOS Indigenous Heritage WG) shared Indigenous perspectives where heritage equals survival, dignity, and resilience.

🎤 Farah Abushullaih (Head of Museums, Ithra) and Preeti Gaonkar (Impact Lead, Ithra) showed how institutions can create ecosystems where crafts flourish as living knowledge systems.

🎤 Angela López Sabater (ICOMOS Spain) highlighted vernacular architecture revitalizing rural life.

🎤 Elena Dimitrova (ICOMOS Bulgaria) stressed the importance of intergenerational knowledge amidst change.

🎤 Moderated by Dr. Naima Benkari (ICOMOS SDGs Working Group), the discussion bridged local practice with global policy frameworks.

👉 The messages were clear:

Living heritage is survival infrastructure.
Cultural ecosystems must be enabled, not showcased.
Beyond 2030, culture must stand as a global goal—the “missing SDG.”

This event proved what it preached: inclusivity in action, voices amplified, and cultures recognized. Living heritage is humanity’s shared operating system for a sustainable, peaceful, and prosperous future.

Thank you to all ICOMOS members and other organizations who supported and attended our side event, in particular Laura Robinson, Ave Paulus, Linda Shetabi, Andris Kairišs, Tomeu Deyà, Plácido González Martínez, WHITRAP Shanghai, UNESCO WHIPIC, ICOMOS MALAYSIA, and The University of Hong Kong