AR&PA 2010: 7th Biennial of Heritage Restoration and Management

Content:

Since the launch of the AR&PA Fair in 1998, the organisers have constantly updated the pavilions’ contents and design and adopted an innovative attitude in terms of the approach, themes and the criteria to be discussed at the international conference. At the same time, some initiatives have been added in an effort to boost public interest in and appreciation of cultural heritage, with the AR&PA with the Family and AR&PA for Everyone events. Other new additions aim to promote discussion and theoretical thought about cultural heritage – the Technical Workshops on various cultural heritage issues, while the Technical Presentations, Demonstrations, etc., are designed to raise awareness about current procedures, methodologies and techniques used in the maintenance and management of cultural assets. The core topic of the forthcoming 2010 edition will be the “Economics of Cultural Heritage”, with various activities being organised around this theme.

Cultural Heritage has been seen for many years as a common asset with a social value, among others, reflecting the history of a specific human society, forming part of its memory and, therefore, its identity. People usually recognise the cultural values of this historical legacy and sometimes identify with them. This interrelationship between society and heritage, stemming from the historical development of the culture in which that society lives, has been analysed from different theoretical and practical perspectives and disciplines, looking at the numerous factors that characterise this relationship.

The various AR&PA initiatives will aim to analyse this relationship and to ensure that society recognises the values that make up its own culture. To do this, these initiatives will try not only to identify, study and protect movable and immovable assets, in which social groups are the major players and beneficiaries, but also to ensure individual involvement in the conservation of cultural legacy. This legacy must be seen not only as an inherent part of their memory, but also as a current and future development resource.

The task of the Department of Culture and Tourism is to implement plans and strategies to ensure this positive public perception and appreciation of cultural heritage, to conserve and protect this heritage, and to drive initiatives to promote the use and enjoyment of heritage and help to adapt it to meet new requirements, within a framework of harmony, balance and compatibility between conservation and functionality.

In order to achieve this goal, various projects will be carried out in 2009 and 2010 to continue with the plans set out in the PAHIS 2004-2012 Historical Heritage Plan to provide a practical analytical overview of cultural assets, define the policies required, ensure the involvement of numerous social stakeholders and the public at large in conserving their local heritage, within their possibilities, agree actions between different public and private institutions and bodies, and promote the concept of cultural heritage as a shared social asset that contributes to development and improves quality of life.

Within the actions set out in the PAHIS Plan to publicise cultural heritage, AR&PA has been designed as a functional platform to encourage the visibility of cultural heritage within a globalised society and to stimulate more effective actions for using newer theoretical and practical tools to manage and preserve Castilla y León’s cultural assets.