18 April 2008
Luanda — Angolan minister of Culture, Boaventura Cardoso, Friday in Luanda, appealed to the society to protect and conserve the country's Monuments and Sites for the preservation of the cultural identity.
Speaking on the occasion of the World Day for Monuments and Sites, April 18, the minister warned against the risk of loss of the Angolan cultural patrimony, should the process of destruction of the monuments and classified buildings continue.
"If we do not stop this state of affairs, we will not be in a position to maintain the physical testimony of our past, with the risk of us being accused of dilapidating our patrimony. It is a responsibility that concerns not only the State, the provincial and local administrations and all Angolan society," warned the minister.
According to the minister, the Ministry of Culture has outlined and is carrying out an ample plan of training and upgrading of cultural and natural patrimony managers, with the purpose of launching a work at national level, with several parties of the same area.
As to the cultural and natural patrimony indicative list that will be submitted to Unesco, Boaventura Cardoso explained that efforts are being made for some monuments and sites to be registered soon as patrimony of humanity.
He mentioned as some of those assets the Mbanza Kongo city, the International Round Table on which aimed at sensitising the international scientific community on the importance of its recognition as humanity patrimony.
The minister also announced that actions are being carried out in order to identify and stock the historical and cultural patrimony and the country's natural assets liable of being registered with the World Patrimony.
"The campaign will involve local governments in the tasks of preservation, investing in the efficacy and local awareness as a foremost factor of valorisation, ppreciation and preservation of the cultural and natural assets. This action aims at the search for new perspectives towards a practice essential to the preservation, attempt to know, evaluate and protect those that are, effectively, our potential in terms of patrimonial rich," he said.
The implementation of this task, he added, will require the participation and effective cooperation of the local administrations, the engagement of the community and media organs.
"We think that information is an important element in the formation of opinion and education within the communities, hence we expecting the usual cooperation and engagement," the official stated.
The World Day for Monuments and Sites was created on 18th April, 1982, by Icoms and later approved at the 22nd UNESCO General Conference in 1983. This special day offers an opportunity to raise public's awareness concerning the diversity of the world's heritage and the efforts that are required to protect and conserve it, as well as to draw attention to its vulnerability.
This year, the event is going under the theme "Religious Patrimony and Sacred Sites".
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