UCLG-MEWA Committee on Culture and Tourism
The UCLG-MEWA Committee on Culture, which was initially carrying out its activities as a working group, was established with the decision taken during the UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting held in December 2013 in Konya. UCLG-MEWA Committee on Tourism was established during the UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting on November 13, 2015. During the UCLG-MEWA Congress to be held on 9-10 July 2019 in Amman, Jordan, these two committees were merged.
UCLG-MEWA and Cultural Policies
At the Bilbao Meeting of 18-20 March 2015, representatives of cities and local governments from all over the world were invited to the meeting by the UCLG World Organization adopted “Culture 21: Actions” at the first Cultural Summit.
The UCLG-MEWA Committee on Culture and Tourism, as a platform for its members in the initiation and implementation of programs and policies highlighting the role of culture in sustainable development; works to put forward the importance of the integral relationship between culture, tourism and sustainable development. It aims to promote culture, cultural diversity and tourism, which is one of the basic steps of sustainable development in spreading “Agenda 21 for Culture”, locally and internationally.
Priorities of the UCLG-MEWA Committee on Culture and Tourism
The priorities of the UCLG-MEWA Culture and Tourism Committee are as follows;
• Sustainable Development Goals; Making cities and human settlements embracing everyone, safe, strong and sustainable (Goal 11); Increasing efforts to preserve and protect the cultural and natural heritage of the world (Goal 11.4); It supports the promotion of peaceful and inclusive communities for sustainable development (Goal 16).
• To advocate for all committed areas of “Agenda 21 for Culture” and monitor the implementation by local authorities.
• To support the protection of and defense cultural diversity, which is the main heritage of humanity.
• To emphasize the importance of historical centers and their environment in the development of the region in the protection of cultural heritage in their programs and projects.
• To promote and defense cultural rights.
• To advocate the need for the development of Sustainable Tourism, which interacts with cultural ecosystems.
• To understand the roles and duties of local administrations in tourism, to develop common tourism policies and to establish common standards and collaborate.
• Travel and tourism is an advocate of the Global Ethics Principles in Tourism, which covers the economic, social, cultural and environmental components and is the main framework of sustainable tourism.
• To support the active participation of local people in the formulation, implementation and evaluation of public cultural policies.
• To encourage the culture of peace among its members by considering a peaceful solution to the internal and external conflicts of cities.
• To encourage committee members to refer national and international special days for the establishment of culture and peace in their activity programs.
• Since culture is in close interaction with the environment, social inclusion and governance; to develop policies and strategies in cooperation with the Committees on Environment, Local Governance and Social Inclusion.
President: Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality - Türkiye
Co-Presidents:
- Beit Sahour Municipality - Palestine
- Kyrenia Municipality - TRNC
- Mersin Metropolitan Municipality - Türkiye
- Şanlıurfa Metropolitan Municipality Türkiye
- Tehran Municipality - Iran