ICCROM 33rd General Assembly Opening Statement

ICCROM 33^rd General Assembly

Opening Statement

By

Dr QU Dongyu, FAO Director-General

 

2 November 2023

 

Dear Madame Chair,

ICCROM Director-General,

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Good morning with a sunny day in Rome after a big rain shower.

 

I know, nowadays in the world, many people wake up to the heartbreaking events that surround you and your relatives.

 

Let me send my deepest condolences to those who have lost family members and loved ones during the crisis, conflict, or any type of disaster.

 

I am pleased to welcome you to FAO and to host ICCROM’s General Assembly.

 

FAO shares ICCROM’s dedication to promote the conservation, knowledge-sharing, and dissemination of best practices for the conservation of cultural heritage worldwide. 

 

The longstanding collaboration between FAO and ICCROM shows how important it is to draw upon heritage to build a better world for future generations.

 

ICCROM’s experience on diversity, indigenous knowledge, cultural expression, and the links between culture and nature are in line with FAO’s work.

 

I was fortunate 15 years ago in China, in local Government, where I was responsible for culture, tourism, film, newspapers, together with agritourism and agriculture at large.

 

I always tried to integrate culture, agriculture, and tourism, because culture originates from agriculture - all the traditional culture is based on agriculture, originally.

 

To ensure that culture continues to be part of the future, you need to go back to its roots, to the origin – to agriculture, to the rural areas and indigenous communities.

 

Then, we must work together to promote traditional culture for the coming years and generations.

 

That is why 21 years ago the FAO Council decided to establish the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) programs.

 

UNESCO lists many culture- and nature-related sites, but traditional agrifood systems are based on the regions, villages, towns, and communities; it is a comprehensive way to preserve our traditional agriculture and culture.

 

Food and environment are essential, together with many non-documented practices from villages and indigenous communities.

 

This is why I always advocate for GIAHS.

 

On the FAO Terrace on the 8^th floor, I have used the windows to promote the GIAHS sites, through photos and QR codes that provide the link with the digital FAO. This provides high visibility, while you enjoy one of the most beautiful terraces in Rome.

 

I think that culture and civilization not only depend on nationality. They also depend on the region because they depend on the natural environment. Different natural environments give you a different culture. It all started 1 million years ago, when our ancestors, from the mammal to more the modern human beings, created their own community, started their own culture, from agriculture (hunting) to sharing foods.

 

That is what our modern culture should be: working together, learning together, and sharing together. That is what our ancestors taught us – the value of sharing – no matter in which part of the world you come from, this is what unites us.

 

At FAO, our work focuses on local farming systems that are rich in local knowledge and traditional practices.

 

These practices affect global agrifood systems, nature, biodiversity, and natural resource management, which are key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

This is why FAO recognizes and safeguards agricultural heritage systems under the GIAHS Programme.

 

These systems have been shaped and maintained by generations of farmers, fishers and herders, and the local community, using locally adapted practices, for generations, for millions of years.

 

These time-tested systems have resulted in productive landscapes that protect biodiversity, promote local and traditional knowledge, maintain resilient agricultural systems, and provide thousands of farmers with food and livelihood security.

 

Heritage sites can provide answers to the main challenges arising from the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, food insecurity and others.

 

We must learn from the way these communities have been wisely managing natural resources in a sustainable manner, with local characteristics.

 

Agricultural and traditional culture are characterized by local environments, local natural resources, and local availability. That is the traditional agriculture and culture, while maintaining unique cultural and social values over time.

 

However, these systems are at risk due to the increasing pressure from external factors that alter their balance, as well as internal disturbances affecting their social and cultural structure.

 

All these rapid and drastic threats may lead to their disappearance and to an irreversible loss for humanity.    

 

Recognizing the dynamic nature of these systems and their needs, the FAO GIAHS program supports farmers on their path towards sustainable rural development.

 

In the middle of October, just two weeks ago, we held the World Food Forum 2023.

 

One of the pillars of the Forum in on the Global Youth. And this year, for the first time, and for the first time in the UN System, we had the indigenous young people gathering.

 

There were several indigenous tents erected on the front of FAO premises, to showcase to the 6000 or more participants original indigenous knowledge, foods, practices, and culture.

 

We should make culture fit-for-the purpose, not only in the small silos, but at grassroot level.

 

That is why I established the World Food Forum: to leverage youth engagement, science and innovation and investment, together.       

 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

FAO and ICCROM can provide even greater support in areas with strong cultural heritage, by combining our expertise, and by enhancing integrated management and effective monitoring and conservation strategies.

 

Our organizations have already jointly implemented projects on sites designated as both GIAHS and World Heritage Cultural Landscapes.

 

Our collaboration aims to inspire and engage a broader spectrum of policymakers, academia and research institutions, heritage practitioners and Indigenous Peoples, communities and women and youth.

 

We want them to safeguard the knowledge and practices embodied by traditional agricultural heritage systems and cultural landscapes.

 

Through our collaborative work we can strengthen the social, economic, and environmental roles of these heritage sites.

 

FAO is committed to supporting local communities in their efforts to preserve and share the traditional knowledge of agricultural systems around the world because they are key to achieving the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life - leaving no one behind.

 

I wish you a successful General Assembly and even closer cooperation with FAO.

 

Let me leave you with one more information: FAO is collaborating with the Italian government to establish a food and agriculture museum in the coming two years.

 

We want to link FAO not only to modern technology, science, and innovation, but we also want the linkage with traditional villages.

 

Without the traditional villages, how do we preserve our traditional agricultural practices?

 

That is what I intend to do, and I need your support!

 

Let us work together and make this world more harmonized, with more historical memory. Let us not forget our ancestors and our origins, our culture.

 

Thank you.