Claire Edwina Smith

Cultural Heritage Symposium: A Driver for Meeting Sustainable Development Goals The Cultural Heritage Symposium: A Driver for Meeting Sustainable Development Goals was held on 1-3 February, 2021 hosted by the Instituto Tecnológico de Cancún, Mexico. The United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals came into effect in January 2016 and the symposium addressed the challenges highlighted by UNESCO of: 1) To identify the measures needed to promote the safeguarding of the cultural heritage in the global development agenda; and 2) To identify the concrete actions that need to be taken in order to integrate cultural heritage conservation and promotion into the sustainable development debate. This symposium bought together an international panel of experts with local stake-holders in Cancun, Mexico, to develop a list of recommendations and craft a new model for using cultural heritage to drive sustainable development. Originally scheduled for April 2020, it was postponed due to Covid-19 pivoted to an on-line event from 1-3 February 2021. This three-day event had 33 participants from 12 countries, ranging from Mexico, Nigeria, USA and Japan. The Keynote Address was by Arlene Fleming, a Cultural Heritage Advisor to the World Bank. 29 papers were scheduled to be presented with 25 presented as 4 were unable to be presented due to technical issues. In addition, six discussions were attended by all participants. The link for the website is at https://www.culturalheritagesymp.com/