Professional Documents
Culture Documents
T H E U N E S CO
April-June 2019
Reinventing
Cities
Alain Mabanckou
Jorge Majfud
Thomas B. Reverdy
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Carolina Rollán Ortega
Editorial
2014 was a watershed year for humanity: greenhouse gas emissions and produce We have seen this at UNESCO, which is
for the first time in history, more than half seventy per cent of global waste. As cities home to no less than five city networks,
of the world’s population now lives in expand, they threaten biodiversity, and each of which is working to harness the
cities. By current estimates, this will rise place urban infrastructure and resources extraordinary capacity for innovation and
to seventy per cent by 2050. These cities – from water to transport to electricity – connection that is a hallmark of cities.
of tomorrow will, in many ways, mirror under enormous strain, multiplying the
For instance, cities account for seventy
their forbearers; from the early city-states impact of natural disasters and climate
per cent of the global economy, including
of Mesopotamia, to the Italian cities of change. Unchecked development and
a large portion of the creative economy,
the Renaissance, to the megacities of mass tourism place cultural heritage
which generates annual global revenues
today – cities have historically advanced sites and living heritage practices at
of $2,250 billion and employs more
human development, serving as melting risk. Rising inequality and migration –
young people than any other sector.
pots for people of diverse backgrounds to driven in many cases by conflict and
That is why the 180 cities that form the
exchange and dialogue. disaster – make cities the focal points for
UNESCO Creative Cities Network are
new social cleavages, for exclusion and
Yet the cities of today and tomorrow working to leverage the ability of cities
discrimination.
are also facing new, unprecedented to bring creative people together, to
challenges. Although occupying only Given the magnitude of these challenges, spark economic growth, to foster a sense
two per cent of the world’s landmass, cities across the globe have concluded of community and to preserve urban
they consume sixty per cent of global that new ways of thinking, citizen identities. UNESCO’s Global Network
energy, release seventy-five per cent of engagement and, crucially, city-to-city of Learning Cities is working to make
cooperation, are the only paths forward. cities sustainable by ensuring that all
urban residents can benefit from lifelong
learning. From learning to ride a bicycle
to make the urban environment cleaner,
learning to make local products using
traditional practices and knowledge or
organizing community theatre workshops
in marginalized neighbourhoods, each
new educational opportunity brings with
it the potential for social transformation
and development.
As one of the world’s foremost
laboratories of ideas, UNESCO is working
to bring these networks of cities together,
encouraging them to exchange and
collaborate on the policies and practices
that can respond to the growing needs
of urban residents. The Pulitzer-winning
journalist, Herb Caen, once said, “A city is
not gauged by its length and width, but
by the broadness of its vision and the
height of its dreams.” UNESCO believes
that when cities share these dreams, and
take inspiration from the vision of others,
they can overcome the challenges of our
new urban era.
This issue of the UNESCO Courier is full
of stories of creativity, innovation and
resilience. I hope they inspire you, and
perhaps push you to engage with these
issues in your own city or community.
Audrey Azoulay,
Director-General of UNESCO
36-43 ZOOM
Lighting up the world!
Photos:
Rubén Salgado Escudero
Text: Katerina Markelova
44-49
national projects for the rehabilitation
of single-industry cities in Russia; from
the personal initiative of a gallery
owner who revitalized the small town
of Erriadh (Tunisia) to the mobilization
of the masses against the authoritarian
IDEAS appropriation of public spaces in Warsaw
(Poland); and from solidarity movements
45
Racism does not need racists with migrants in London (United
Jorge Majfud Kingdom) to synergies that revive the
heart of Havana (Cuba) – creative forces
48
The other side of the coin are emerging and organizing themselves
Katherine Levine Einstein to give urban life new meanings and new
perspectives. We may believe these are
“tiny resistances” – to use the expression
of the French writer Thomas B. Reverdy –
but they make all the difference.
50-53
Two other writers share their views with
our readers in this issue. Our Guest,
the French-Congolese author Alain
Mabanckou, talks about “mobile
Africas” and the courage to write, while
highlighting contradictory moments in
colonial history. The Uruguayan-American
OUR GUEST writer Jorge Majfud condemns the racist
attitude towards migrants in the Ideas
The mobile Africas of Alain Mabanckou section, which also provides an analysis of
Interview by Ariane Poissonnier migration policies in the United States.
In the Current Affairs section – on
the occasion of World Africa Day,
54-61
25 May – we publish an interview with
Tshilidzi Marwala (South Africa), on
CURRENT the emergence of artificial intelligence
(AI) on the continent. To mark the
AFFAIRS International Day for Biological Diversity,
22 May, we visit Gran Pajatén, Peru, with
55 Roldán Rojas Paredes – the man who
Open books, open minds
Ghalia Khoja initiated its inscription on UNESCO’s
World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
56 Artificial intelligence, at Africa’s door We also go to Sharjah (United Arab
Tshilidzi Marwala, interviewed by Edwin Naidu Emirates), which launches its World Book
Capital programme in April 2019.
58 The Rwandan miracle
Alphonse Nkusi Finally, with Zoom, we travel to India,
Mexico, Myanmar and Uganda, to visit
60 Gran Pajatén, “our geographical fortress” places without electricity. An illuminating
Roldán Rojas Paredes, interviewed by William Navarrete trip around the world!
Joanna Lasserre
Rebel city
Warsaw is not what you would call a You have to walk through the city’s Most often, the confrontation crystallizes
beautiful city. It does not offer itself in all streets to let yourself be invaded by the in front of the presidential palace. Until
its magnificence to the hurried visitor, as energy that drives it, and let yourself April 2018, this was the arrival point of
does Krakow, the former Polish capital. be drawn into its many unexpected the religious procession that left the old
A city with a hundred shades of grey, it corners, to meet at random a group that town every tenth day of the month to
was invaded by the younger generations marches here, another that parks there commemorate – with a mass, prayers,
after the fall of the communist regime in – when it’s not a human tide protesting, hymns and speeches – the Smolensk
1989. They squatted in the abandoned brandishing banners and signs. disaster of 10 April 2010. On that day,
factories and turned them into places ninety-six prominent people, including
Silent marches and noisy demonstrations
of artistic creation. They defended President Lech Kaczynski, were killed
are frequent scenes in Warsaw.
the architecture of the communist in a plane crash. A monthly ceremony,
White flowers, black clothes, candles,
period in the face of pressure from raised to the national level, was therefore
firecrackers – all these mingle under a
new real-estate developers. The Palace to be repeated ninety-six times, till April
surge of white and red flags. But while
of Culture and Science, for example, a 2018. It occupied the historic centre of
some also bear the blue flag of Europe
“gift” from Comrade Stalin, completed Warsaw and attracted crowds of citizens
with its golden stars, others wave the
in 1955, still dominates the city centre who turned up regularly to protest
black or the green flags of the nationalist
today – whether its many critics like it against what they considered to be an
patriots, nostalgic for a “Greater Poland
or not. As imposing as it is unloved by authoritarian and religious appropriation
from sea to sea”. While some proclaim:
the people of Warsaw, this immense of the public space.
“Let us not leave democracy to die in
building of more than 800,000 square
silence!”, others demand a “pure Poland”, The citizens’ opposition to the nationalist
metres was a veritable cultural multiplex
a “white Poland”. trend started mobilizing in 2015, through
before its time – housing museums,
a civic non-governmental organization,
convention halls, workshops, theatres and This is the national paradox, which in
the Committee for the Defence of
art‑house cinemas. recent years has turned into a veritable
Democracy (KOD). On 13 December,
rupture between two Polands, which defy
Over the last thirty years, a myriad of the anniversary of the traumatic day
or ignore each other. And this rupture
new meeting places – galleries, clubs, when martial law was imposed in Poland
gushes forth in the public square, both
bars – have flourished here and there by General Jaruzelski in 1981, tens of
literally and figuratively.
in post-communist Warsaw, which thousands of people march in Warsaw
continues to attract students, executives every year. The street demonstrations on
of international companies, artists and that day in 2016 saw the largest turnout
adventurers from all over the world. since the first free elections in 1989.
Since the emergence of what is commonly notes a report from the local council to Another highlight was the support of
referred to as the “migrant crisis” in the the Cabinet, dated 15 November 2016. elected officials for a motion introduced
2010s, the local authorities in Europe It was around that time that the founders by Haringey Welcome in November
have been at the forefront of ensuring the of Haringey Welcome took their first steps, 2018. This, says Nabijou, provides
integration of migrants and refugees into demanding that the neighbourhood a great opportunity “to put all the
their communities. Some act within the implement the central government’s problems on the table and to rebuild
framework of political agendas defined by voluntary resettlement scheme for Syrian local management”.
governments, others are more proactive. refugees. Claire Kober, then council leader
The Haringey Welcome campaign in
north London has chosen to adopt a
of Haringey and chair of London councils,
pledged to relocate ten Syrian families –
Threatened social
collaborative approach, while remaining to give them “a place of safety” and the relations
an activist and independent organization support they needed “in order to start
The need to rebuild local management
that takes a more antagonistic stance rebuilding their lives”.
is essential in a context of an upheaval in
when necessary. But, as Nabijou points out, the council social relations. This is because the so-
suffers from a lack of financial resources, called hostile environment policy, which
Moral obligation training and dialogue with residents and targets undocumented immigrants above
community groups, which undermines
against social injustice its effectiveness. This is why Haringey
all, and aims to deter migrants from
crossing territorial boundaries, actually
Haringey Welcome is based on the Welcome has adopted a more collaborative affects the entire population.
notion of political solidarity, defined by approach in its negotiations with the local
Migration policies involve not only
the American philosopher Sally Scholz council, emphasizing the need to create
the different ministries and local
as a positive moral obligation which new communications channels and build
representations involved in border
encourages collective action in the relationships based on trust.
control and immigration management,
face of a situation of injustice or social The programme’s purpose is not to but also the private sector and ordinary
vulnerability. Her ideology is the polar advocate that elected councillors or citizens. In practice, this means that there
opposite of a hostile environment policy, local council employees violate national are also borders within the country. All
explains Lucy Nabijou, coordinator law per se, Nabijou insists, but rather, to aspects of social life are monitored and
of the residents’ group that initiated increase transparency and accountability potentially reported, with increased risks
the campaign. “It is about solidarity and to better navigate through available of deportation. As a result, migrants and
and justice, about fighting for values, instruments to provide adequate services asylum seekers are discouraged from
contesting bad law and really trying to for migrants and refugees. accessing essential services.
work together with the local government,
seeking a real collaboration with local The Haringey council already seems to For instance, private landlords are obliged
authorities to improve services,” she adds. be moving in this direction. In September to check whether their future tenants have
2018, it launched the Connected the right to reside in the country, and to
With forty-five per cent of its population Communities programme, with funding keep proof of this, at the risk of paying a
born outside the United Kingdom and from the central government. It aims to fine or being imprisoned for a maximum
five per cent having moved there in the improve local support for migrants in the period of five years. With a more stringent
last two years, Haringey is one of London’s areas of employment, housing, learning redefinition of the “habitual residence”
most cosmopolitan boroughs. “Haringey the English language, childcare and category, access to free health care has
has a strong and proud history of community empowerment. Although been curtailed, and temporary non-
welcoming asylum seekers and refugees she welcomes this initiative, Nabijou has European immigrants have been forced
and people who have chosen to re-settle expressed her reservations about the to pay an annual surcharge for the
in London. There are generations of choice of keeping it in-house, the viability duration of their stay. Between 2016 and
people from around the world who have of the project if it is tied to the current 2018, schools were required to provide
moved here and made Haringey one of funding stream, and its ability to reach the state with information on children
the UK’s most open and diverse boroughs,” more vulnerable migrant groups. with a migrant background.
© Baudoin Bikoko
A copper-smelting workshop at
After the Pikalyovo crisis, the state In 2014, the government adopted a strategy the Nornickel factory in Norilsk, Russia.
government drew up a list of these for the development of monotowns,
towns, which experts classified into based mainly on the diversification of their
three categories – towns with the most economies, investment and the creation
complex socio-economic conditions ( red of new jobs. It called on Russia’s state Once the strategy was in place, teams
zone, consisting of ninety-four towns); development bank, VEB, which finances of representatives from the monotowns
towns at risk of deterioration of their large-scale projects to develop the country’s received training in investment and
socio-economic situation (amber zone, infrastructure, industry, social activity, and entrepreneurship. This training was
with 154 towns), and towns with a stable technological potential. The bank was provided by a top private business
socio-economic situation (green zone, instructed to set up financial instruments, school, in Skolkovo, Russia’s answer to
with seventy-one towns). primarily to aid red-zone factory towns Silicon Valley.
to emerge from their crises. With this aim,
the bank created a fund specifically for the
development of monotowns.
Jasmina Šopova
Havana is finalizing
preparations for a grand
celebration of the 500th
anniversary of its founding, in
November 2019. Emblematic
buildings in the historic
centre of the Cuban capital
are being restored. An
exceptional renaissance has
been underway for the past
three decades, driven by the
© Sebastian Liste / NOOR
commitment of its inhabitants,
the determination of one
unyielding man, and a strong
political will.
A scene from everyday life in Havana,
against the backdrop of the Capitolio, 2015.
“What the heart demands, the hand About a decade later, in 1993, the state Recognized by international experts, the
performs.” This proverb, engraved in adopted a decree, making the city centre plan has won over twenty-five national
Chinese ideograms on the roof of one a priority preservation area. A Master and global awards and figures on
of the most magnificent buildings in Plan for the restoration of Old Havana UNESCO’s list of best practices in world
Havana, expresses the love that its was quickly drafted, overseen by the heritage management.
inhabitants have for their city. “A land Office of the City Historian of Havana
One feature of the plan is that it involved
of passage for so many years, people (see our interview, p. 18).
the local population in the rehabilitation
of the most diverse origins from Africa,
The effects of climate and urban growth of their quarter. Over the years, more than
Europe, China, Yucatán have met here
have taken their toll on the old quarter, 14,000 jobs, calling for different degrees
in a kaleidoscopic amalgam that has
which has suffered severe deterioration of expertise, have been created by the
produced our unique but varied ethnic,
since the beginning of the twentieth Office of the City Historian for residents of
ethical and aesthetic identity,” wrote
century. Cuba has rallied together to save the old town and nearby communities.
the Cuban author, Manuel Pereira, in his
its city. “It is impossible to rescue 465 years
article, Enchanted seashell: a portrait An education system has been set up
of stone overnight, but Old Havana will
of Old Havana, published in the Courier specifically to meet the needs of the plan.
be saved. Its splendid face will be restored
in July 1984. It integrates the University of Havana,
and be converted, not into a lifeless
founded in 1728, and three specialist
That was two years after the inscription of museum but into a museum that is living
schools, to offer training to students aged
the historic centre of the Cuban capital on and can be lived in,” wrote Pereira, thirty-
16 to 21. Twelve subjects are taught there,
UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Old Havana five years ago. Time has proved him right.
over a two-year period. To date, around
comprises of more than 3,000 buildings,
Based on a self-management strategy 1,500 young people have been trained in
housing 50,000 people today.
and adopting an approach that vocations related to the restoration and
encompasses heritage, society, education rehabilitation of cultural heritage.
and culture, the Cuban plan has
become a model for the restoration and
enhancement of historical urban centres,
particularly in Latin American countries.
Havana,
of Old Havana. This is one of many ways
to raise public awareness of heritage
values among people of all ages. The City
Historian’s office, which has established
these values, also promotes them.
mon amour
Thousands of families have benefited
from cultural tours of the city, watched
Havana Walks on television or read
the monthly series, Habana Nuestra
(Our Havana), in print and online.
Once subsidized by the state, the
restoration of the historic centre now
benefits from a system of self-financing,
with the development of a local economy. Interview by Lucía Iglesias Kuntz,
Companies and tourism agencies UNESCO
were started to create a gastronomic,
commercial and hotel network in the Unusual flooding caused by
priority protection area, compatible When you speak of Havana, you climate change threatens the
with the cultural interests of the quarter. speak of Eusebio Leal Spengler. Malecón, Havana’s famous
Museums, galleries and theatres have also Which other city has its own waterfront promenade.
been established in the most beautiful
personal historian? On the eve
buildings, attracting a large number of
national and foreign visitors – tourism of the 500th anniversary of the
is one of the most important sources of founding of the Cuban capital,
finance for the restoration of Old Havana. the City Historian of Havana –
Since the quality of life of its inhabitants is who has been in charge of the
one of the main criteria of the restoration restoration of its historic city
plan, a significant part of the resources
it generates are used to finance social
centre for over thirty years –
institutions. These include the Doña takes us on a journey through
Leonor Pérez Cabrera maternity hospital, its streets and monuments,
the Santiago Ramón y Cajal geriatric showing us its strength, its
centre, which provides specialized care
to around 15,000 elderly people, and beauty ... and its ailments.
the former Belén convent, which houses
the Office for Humanitarian Affairs.
This department focuses on the most
vulnerable members of society, including
victims of natural disasters, such as the
frequent hurricanes. Here they have access This year, Havana celebrates five centuries
to a pharmacy, a physiotherapy centre, of its existence. How is the city faring?
an ophthalmology clinic, and also a food
If I were to put myself in the city’s place,
store, a hairdresser and a barber. Socio-
I think the ailments you have are what
cultural activities and meetings for people
you feel when you’ve lived so long. Five
of all ages are organized here, including
centuries is little in comparison with
workshops on the environment, traditional
ancient cities like Athens in Greece, or
medicine, and other topics of interest.
Istanbul in Turkey. But it’s a lot for us
The development of squares, green in our Americas – with the exception
areas, pedestrian streets and recreational of the great pre-Hispanic cities like
spaces, and municipal services like street Cusco, the Inca city of Peru, the Aztec
lighting, gas supply, waste collection and Tenochtitlán in Mexico, or the Mayan
the cleaning of public spaces are all an cities of Central America. Havana was
integral part of this massive reconstruction part of the new wave that began with
plan. The most fundamental aspects – like the Spanish conquest and colonization
making sure that people living in buildings at the beginning of the sixteenth
under renovation are not rendered century. The Cuban cities were founded
homeless – have not been neglected immediately after the cities of Santo
either. Through the plan, more than Domingo, La Vega, San Pedro de Macorís
11,000 families have so far benefited from and Santiago de los Caballeros, in the
a decent roof over their heads. Dominican Republic.
© Benjamin Norman
it does
Thomas B. Reverdy
my second novel, I moved part of my
plot to Brooklyn, opposite Manhattan,
The French writer Thomas I was obeying this need to ward off my
B. Reverdy has almost always subject. I distanced it twice: first to New
chosen urban spaces as the York, which I knew well from going
setting for his novels. Obsessed there frequently, but where I did not live;
and then to Brooklyn, which is not the The ephemeral world of fairgrounds,
by the “unbearable presence of New York we imagine, from France. This as seen by French artist Cyrille Weiner.
absence” in our dehumanized decentring was certainly fundamental Untitled No. 9, from the Jour de Fêtes
cities, he imagines the for me, it gradually tipped me towards (Holiday) series, 2016.
the novel – before that, my first story was
emergence of tiny resistances.
very autobiographical.
But this shift had an unexpected
effect: it imposed a space on me. As I
“These are cities!” The words, famous, intentionally moved away from more
are from Rimbaud. This is the sentence familiar territories, I suddenly had to
that opens one of the Illuminations, in increase my documentation, verifying
which the poet describes not a city, details, the effects of reality, images.
but a circus tent, its machines and its I discovered, at the heart of fiction, at
inhabitants-acrobats, the myriad spaces, the heart of its fabrication, a complex
acts, routes and noises that populate entanglement of reality and words:
it, chaotic, blind to each other, and yet I needed the displacement that the
regulated like a music score. Around foreign city offered me, but as soon as
1872, three years after the posthumous the story was situated, I needed reality
publication of Baudelaire’s Le Spleen to feed it. Not brute reality – otherwise
de Paris [Paris Spleen], the city had thus I would have remained in Paris, at
become an image. It could be used as a home – but mediatized reality, images,
metaphor, and this metaphor did not say symbols, fragments, words. Starting from
what a city is, but what it evokes. Not the memories, but also from testimonies,
production, the commerce, but already photos, stories, novels and films, maps,
the displacements, the anonymity, the I had to recompose a space, make it
trades being lost and the poverty that “real”, give back this city its circus life.
is suddenly noticeable in the cracks of
apparent wealth. Since the island of
Thomas More, most utopias are urban.
Blind to each other
All dystopias are. The city is an imaginary I have the greatest admiration for writers
place. A show. A circus. whose imaginations unfold in the great
natural spaces, like Cormac McCarthy, but
Travelling places I had other reasons, for myself, to prefer
the space of the city to move my novels
I have almost always placed the setting in. This is because I also had the idea that
of my plots in the city. I should say I modern fiction must account for our
have moved it to the city. Cities make it blind journeys and our anonymity. Today
possible to be everywhere, both at home in Paris, I live in a building where people
and abroad, and this displacement is greet each other by lowering their heads
fundamental. It is the step sideways, the when they meet in the elevator. In the
oblique vision, it is the gap in reality, the Metro, most of the time, they scarcely
displacement that suddenly creates space dare to look each other in the face.
for the deployment of fiction. When, in
© Cyrille Weiner
Panoramic photomontage from the I finally decide they can hold on until And the city becomes a circus once
Les présences désagrégées (Disaggregated Christmas. It’s a reasonable maximum. But again, where the destinies of anonymous
attendances) series, Paris 1998-2000, that forces me to twist the whole reality. acrobats play out, without a net, sliding
by Italian artist Silvana Reggiardo. from trapeze to trapeze, brushing each
In the novel, GM is no longer GM, it
other without seeing each other, catching
becomes “the Company”. The chronology
each other in flight, in the hope of a rest,
is disrupted. I have all my documentation
But when people did not want to pay the of an encounter, like a miracle at the
in two months. And suddenly, everything
price, when they rebelled during the 1967 height of man, under the starlit tent.
is clear. The logic of fiction imposes
Detroit riots, the Pied Piper was offended.
itself on reality. If my story of dystopia,
He left for China with the jobs, and in
bankruptcy and urban jungle runs until
Detroit people fell back into poverty little
Christmas, then I go into the winter.
by little. In spite of its cruelty, this tale
It’s cold in Detroit in the winter. And
appealed to a child’s imagination. One
suddenly, this city of which I had seen a French author Thomas B. Reverdy
of the stories in the novel, therefore, is
thousand images becomes a bit more has received numerous awards for
about a group of runaway children who
than a backdrop. It comes alive in an his novels, notably for Les Derniers Feux
take advantage of the disorganization of
organic way. I mentally observe the (The Last Fires, 2008), L’Envers du monde
public transport and schools in the city, to
snow falling on the lawns, muffling the (Towards the World, 2010), Les Évaporés
live a kind of adventure, in a vacant lot, an
sound of footsteps. I see the wind rushing (The Evaporated, 2013), Il était une ville
abandoned school. Something that was
through the empty windows of vacant (There was a City, 2015) and L’Hiver
a little bit like Treasure Island6.
buildings, whistling as it turns around du mécontentement (The Winter of
But I had a problem with reality. My the abandoned houses. I can feel the Discontent, 2018).
story was set between two bankruptcies: cold with its metallic taste creeping into
that of Lehman Brothers, 15 September humid clothes that nothing can warm up
2008, and that of General Motors7, 1 June again. I see the halos of street lighting go Names mentioned
2009. These were historical and objective out, replaced by the mysterious glitter
milestones. However, the kids couldn’t of the snow under the silvery moon. • Baudelaire, Charles (1821-1867),
survive all that time. I started following And this Detroit of phantasmagoria, of French poet
them on the eve of All Saints’ Day, on fiction, is no more real than the real one • LeDuff, Charlie (1966-),
Devil’s Night8: they were setting fire to – in the real Detroit at that time, people American journalist
an abandoned house. A few days later, were dying every day. But it becomes
• Libeskind, Daniel (1946-),
they run away. It’s early November. communicable, representable. In the
Polish-American architect
machine city, we can once again imagine
human destinies. Tiny resistances. If the • McCarthy, Cormac (1933-),
6. Treasure Island (1883) is an adventure novel by the American writer
Scottish writer Robert Louis Stevenson. story runs until Christmas, it’s because
7. Lehman Brothers was a multinational investment it’s a tale, which doesn’t have to be cruel. • More, Thomas (1478-1535),
bank that collapsed, in its 158th year, in September Maybe the kids will make it. English philosopher, theologian,
2008, triggering a global financial crisis. General jurist and politician, author of Utopia
Motors is a US carmaker, which was placed under US
bankruptcy protection in June 2009. • Rimbaud, Arthur (1854-1891),
8. Devil’s Night, 30 October, is the night before French poet
Halloween.
Learning in cities
Along the same lines, the inventory Two projects will aim to ensure that The UNESCO Global Network
of religious sites damaged by ISIL has the primary schools in the Old City of of Learning Cities (GNLC) is an
resulted in a publication that will serve Mosul are safe places where students international policy-oriented network
as a support for interfaith dialogue can flourish, learn and interact with that provides inspiration, know-how
workshops, permitting the recreation others with respect, thus contributing and best practice. Based on the sharing
of links between communities. An to tolerance and peaceful coexistence in of ideas and solutions between cities,
emergency plan for the safeguarding of the long term. the network has a two-fold objective
intangible heritage in danger and the – to ensure quality education that is
These projects, supported by Japan and inclusive and equitable, with lifelong
creation of “cultural mobile spaces” for
the Netherlands, are based on a holistic learning opportunities for all; and to
displaced persons and host communities
approach that involves children, but make cities open to all, safe, resilient
is being prepared.
also teachers, communities, parents and sustainable.
At the same time, the Iraqi government and educational staff in the prevention
has called on UNESCO to develop a of extremism. The upgrading of higher An international conference on
national education strategy for the education will also be a key action in Learning Cities is held every two years,
period 2020-2030, in order to rebuild rebuilding the country and its system of providing a platform for policy dialogue
the foundations of an education system production. Beyond a purely economic and the exchange of best practices.
that meets the needs of its population. approach, it is a matter of enabling The UNESCO Learning City Awards
Simultaneously, educational projects are institutions such as Mosul’s university are presented on this occasion. At the
being implemented with the purpose of library to once again become the fourth International Conference on
preventing the resurgence of extremism cultural and intellectual epicentres they Learning Cities in Medellín, Colombia,
and recreating the conditions for used to be. in 2019, ten cities are being awarded
living together. for their exemplary commitment.
These different projects pursue the same They include Aswan (Egypt), Chengdu
goals: to protect, rebuild and educate. (China), Heraklion (Greece), Ibadan
Because culture and education are (Nigeria), Medellín (Colombia),
the only long-term responses against Melitopol (Ukraine), Petaling Jaya
Iraqi cellist Karim Wasfi performs with the violence of extremism and its (Malaysia), Santiago (Mexico),
an orchestra in Mosul’s war-ravaged destructiveness. This approach is aligned Seodaemun-gu (Republic of Korea),
Old City, on 10 November 2018. with the vision of the Iraqi government, and Sønderborg (Denmark).
as it is up to the Iraqi authorities to
conduct this initiative locally, while To highlight just a few examples:
UNESCO continues its coordinating role. Chengdu has combined learning with
thematic city walks; Medellín has
reintegrated over 4,500 school drop-outs
into the education system by focusing on
Stefania Giannini and Ernesto Ottone each individual; Petaling Jaya provides
Ramirez, Assistant Directors-General for free bus services on four city routes,
Education and for Culture, UNESCO. which also disseminate information
through onboard screens.
have been around the world. Meanwhile, far from the commotion in Paris, six cameras
closely follow the daily lives of a father and his daughter in Bologna, Italy; a
family in Seville, Spain; a couple in love in Riga, Latvia; a lonely young man
city has been Their story is told in 13.11, a six-episode TV mini-series (fiction), produced in
2017 by Elenfant Film, an Italian video and film production company. It aims to
shattered show the human face of migration, and to prompt us not to forget that every
minute, twenty people are displaced from their homes in our world today.
The city of Bologna was the driving force behind this project. The city is leader
of the European Coalition of Cities Against Racism (ECCAR), launched at the end
of the fourth European Conference of Cities for Human Rights in 2004.
Illustrated with photos of the city and its
buildings before and after the conflict The same year, UNESCO created a vast global network of cities united around
began, and providing QR codes with the fight against racism, discrimination, xenophobia and exclusion in urban
which to access satellite images and 3D areas. The International Coalition of Inclusive and Sustainable Cities (ICCAR)
documentation, the study offers a solid brings together the regional coalitions created in Europe (2004), Africa (2006),
technical basis for the planning of the Latin America and the Caribbean (2006), Asia and the Pacific (2007), Canada
restoration and rehabilitation of Aleppo. (2007), Arab States (2008) and North America (2013).
It reveals that more than ten per cent of Mobilizing cities to adopt a culture of solidarity and cooperation takes
Aleppo’s historic buildings have been place through a variety of channels, including regular meetings of mayors,
destroyed and that more than half the international conferences, and publications. In May 2016, for example, UNESCO
buildings assessed showed moderate to and the foundation of its Goodwill Ambassador, Marianna V. Vardinoyannis,
severe damage. launched the Welcoming Cities for Refugees: Promoting Inclusion and
But it is not just the stones that have been Protecting Rights initiative. Conducted in partnership with ECCAR, the initiative
destroyed. The soul of the city has been resulted in the 2016 publication of the same name. It provides the first thorough
shattered. The restoration of memory is as, international mapping and analysis of city and migration issues, with a focus on
if not more, important, than reconstructing Europe. The publication also reviews perspectives of international networks on
buildings. The Great Mosque of Aleppo, for cities and migration, and identifies a set of common principles, guidelines and
example, was a jewel of Seljuk civilization. actions to be carried out in the field of urban governance.
It was unique not only for its minaret and
exceptional decoration, but also for its
social role. This place of worship has been
a fundamental element of Syrian culture,
with generations of Syrians gathering here
over the course of nine hundred years. Its
devastation strikes at the very essence of Towards smart cities
this community.
Water security, sanitation, urban violence, inequality, discrimination, pollution,
The inhabitants of Aleppo are the unemployment. In a world where urbanization is burgeoning, these are some
custodians of the history and memory of of the critical challenges that cities will have to face. Home to half the world’s
their city. It will be up to them to revive population today, cities are expected to shelter two-thirds of it by 2050.
its cultural, social and economic life. The
authors have dedicated this book to them, Born in the early 2000s, the concept of the smart city seeks to provide answers
to help them overcome the trauma of war. to these challenges by combining new technologies with humanist ideals.
Through innovative urban systems, smart cities promote socio-economic
development while enhancing the quality of life.
Huge opportunities are opening up with smart cities. But to be effective, this
Chantal Connaughton, British writer, “smartness” must adopt a humanistic approach, and leave no one behind. This is
editor and communications specialist. the key message of the new publication Smart Cities: Shaping Societies for 2030,
co-edited by UNESCO and the Netexplo Observatory, and presented at the 12th
* Five Years of Conflict: The State of Cultural Heritage in Annual Netexplo Forum, 17 to 19 April 2019, at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
the Ancient City of Aleppo, published by UNESCO and
the United Nations Institute for Training and Research To evaluate the contribution of smart cities to sustainable growth, UNESCO
(UNITAR). The study was conducted in partnership
with the Syrian government’s Directorate-General
and the World Technopolis Association (WTA) jointly organized the 15th WTA
for Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) and EAMENA H-Tech Fair and the 2018 Global Innovation Forum in Binh Duong New City, Viet
(Endangered Archaeology in the Middle East & North Nam, in October 2018. Under the theme “Towards a better place to live: Smart
Africa), based in the United Kingdom. It was funded
by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
City”, sustainable development strategies and policies were discussed, and
the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund. 143 pages, technological solutions to various urban problems were proposed.
December 2018.
Yazd:
Living in symbiosis with the desert
Saving urban
landscapes: the Island of
Mozambique
Ilha de Moçambique, which gives the of paradise is a cultural melting pot of Bantu,
country its name, is a crescent-shaped Swahili, Arab, Persian, Indian and European
coral island four kilometres from the coast influences. The island’s rich architecture
of the northern Mozambique mainland, reflects its dramatic and colourful history.
at the entrance to the Indian Ocean’s Inhabited by Bantu speakers in the year 200
Mossuril Bay. and recorded on navigation routes of the
Indian Ocean since the first millennium, the
Barely three kilometres long and 200 to Island of Mozambique was dominated by
Beyond the decay of its built heritage,
500 metres wide, with an urban area of Arabian trading between the eighth and
the town of Macuti faces the challenges
of overpopulation and poverty. about one square kilometre, this little slice sixteenth centuries.
© Peter Hess
“Do I even have a right to be here?” On forty-three per cent of the population can achievement of many of the Sustainable
more than one occasion, Rubén Salgado light their homes at nightfall. Development Goals (SDGs) set out by the
Escudero asked himself this question as United Nations in its 2030 Sustainable
Once his mission was completed, Salgado
he travelled through rural Myanmar with Development Agenda, which includes
his expensive photographic equipment. continued on his path as a freelance poverty eradication (SDG1), universal
The Spanish photographer, who visited photographer. He decided that he would access to quality education (SDG4)
this country in 2014 on behalf of a earn the right to be there. He didn’t know and gender equality (SDG5). Clean and
humanitarian organization, was amazed how yet, but he wanted to draw attention affordable energy for all is, in itself, one
by the glaring lack of access to electricity. to the problem. The idea of Solar Portraits of these objectives (SDG7). This is the
“Most of the villages I went to, didn’t have came to mind when he met villagers first time that the fundamental role of
electricity,” he explains. equipped with solar panels. “The quality energy has been recognized on this scale,
of life of these people was so vastly according to the report.
Out of more than 53 million people in different from everyone else’s around
Myanmar, 22 million are deprived of them,” he recalls. Yet, “having access to electricity is
this commodity, which until now had still a privilege in many countries
been so commonplace in his eyes. While Energy is indeed “essential for humanity and not a right,” the photographer
seventy-nine per cent of urban dwellers to develop and thrive”, as highlighted says indignantly. In 2017, there were
are supplied with power, this rate drops in the 2017 Report of the International nearly one billion people in the world
dramatically in rural areas – where only Energy Agency (IEA). It is essential for the without electricity.
Faustina Flores Carranza and Juan Astudillo Jesus in their home in Guerrero,
Mexico, recently lit by solar energy. This is the first time the couple,
married forty‑eight years, have been able to look into each others’ eyes after dark.
But how do we attract the attention of The funds collected were used to equip In 2017, the photographer travelled all
the public, who are increasingly jaded three villages with solar panels in 2016, over Mexico. In 2019, he plans to visit the
by the negative news that reaches them benefiting 400 inhabitants. Navajo in New Mexico (United States),
every day? “By finding new creative Since then, the project has continued Guatemala, Colombia and the Philippines.
ways to tell stories, to capture people’s to expand. The novice photographer Nowadays, Salgado organizes workshops
attention,” Salgado responds. was noticed by the American magazine in the schools of each community he
He takes his photos with only the light National Geographic, which sent him to encounters in the course of his work.
of LED bulbs powered by solar panels. Uganda in sub-Saharan Africa in 2015, Through practical experiments with
This light, which gives them an air of to complete the series. It is estimated solar bulbs, students are introduced to
Rembrandt portraits – and undoubtedly that by 2030, this region will be home the concept of renewable energy, which
the positive energy that emanates to 600 million of the world’s 674 million is, according to the IEA, the cheapest
from it – aroused an interest that the people living without electricity. solution for three-quarters of the new
photographer did not anticipate. In the same year, Salgado visited India, connections needed in the world. “The
Published in Time, the American weekly, which is currently performing one sooner we can make children conscious
and the German monthly, GEO, the of the greatest feats in the history of of the importance of this issue, the more
Myanmar portraits were enthusiastically electrification. Half a billion Indians have leaders we will have in future who will
received by the public. So much so that been connected to the power grid since care, and take us in the right direction,”
the photographer, with the help of an 2000, giving the country hope that it he explains.
Austrian reader, launched a crowdfunding will reach its goal of universal access to
campaign, Let there be light Myanmar. electricity by the early 2020s.
After a day of fishing on Lake Victoria, Ugandan Lukwago Kaliste spends the evening breaking rocks into small pieces,
which he sells for use in building foundations. It takes him three hours to fill a small truck with rocks,
which earns him $10. Only nineteen per cent of Uganda’s population had access to electricity in 2016.
Too Lei, an oozie or elephant handler, poses on his elephant in Myanmar’s Bago region.
For 300 years, oozies have worked with elephants to ensure sustainable logging.
The debate on what we call In my classes, I always try to make clear For some reason, students tend to be
a “migration crisis” has a racial the difference between opinions and more interested in opinions than facts.
facts. It is a fundamental rule, a very simple Maybe because of the superstitious idea
component. It is a pattern which intellectual exercise that we owe ourselves that an informed opinion is derived from
consistently repeats itself in laws, to undertake in the post-Enlightenment the synthesis of thousands of facts. This is
narratives and practices, like it has era. I started becoming obsessed with a dangerous idea, but we can’t run away
done over centuries, according such obvious matters when I found out, from our responsibility to give our opinion
in 2005, that some students were arguing when it’s required. All that we can and
to Uruguayan-American writer that something “is true because I believe should do is take note that an informed
Jorge Majfud. Taking us on it”, and they weren’t joking. Since then, opinion continues to be an opinion which
an instructive detour through I’ve suspected that such intellectual must be tested or challenged.
conditioning, such a conflation of physics
history, he points out the total
absence – in this same heated
with metaphysics (cleared up by Averroes
almost a thousand years ago) – which year
An opinion
debate – of any mention of half a by year becomes increasingly dominant On a certain day, students discussed
million European immigrants who (faith as the supreme criterion, regardless the caravan of 5,000 Central Americans
of all evidence to the contrary) – has its (at least 1,000 of whom were children)
live illegally in the United States origins in the majestic churches of the fleeing violence and heading for the
and another million Americans southern United States. Mexican border with the US. President
living illegally in Mexico. But critical thinking involves so much Donald Trump had ordered the border
more than just distinguishing facts from closed and called those looking for
opinions. Trying to define what a fact is refuge “invaders”. On 29 October 2018,
On the occasion of World Refugee Day, would suffice. The very idea of objectivity he tweeted: “This is an invasion of our
June 20, we dedicate the Ideas section itself paradoxically originates from a Country and our Military is waiting
to displaced people around the single perspective, from one lens. And for you!”. The military deployment to
world. According to the latest figures anyone knows that with the lens of one the border alone cost the US about
published by the United Nations photographic or video camera, only one $200 million.
Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the number part of reality is captured, which quite
of forcibly displaced people worldwide often is subjective or used to distort reality
reached a record 68.5 million in 2017. in the supposed interest of objectivity.
Alain Mabanckou,
French-Congolese writer.
© Nico Therin
The mobile Africas of Alain
Mabanckou
Alain Mabanckou, interviewed by
Ariane Poissonnier, French journalist
You divide your time between three So, it’s a kind of tri-continental attic that And who would question the universality
countries – the Congo, France, and the I sneak into, to retrieve whatever might of Return To My Native Land by
United States. How does this arrangement help to explain tomorrow’s world. The Martinique’s Aimé Césaire? Who can
work out for you? world of tomorrow is the sum of different doubt the power of analyses of another
cultures. Martinican, Frantz Fanon, in Black Skin,
As an advantage! This tri-continental
White Masks? These writers have attacked
culture has allowed me to encounter Some say that today the neo-liberal system
the colonial system and its corollaries
the variety of the world and to discover is such a hegemony that we no longer even
from within, using the tools that the
what I call mobile Africas. First of all, a have the words to criticize it…
system provided them.
mobile Africa within the continent. When
Frankly, I can’t identify with that! That
I lived in the Congo, I came across West “The Belgians are trying to recount
would mean that all the tools for criticism
Africans, and that made me aware of their colonial history”, you commented
have been corrupted by the neo-liberal
Africa’s diversity. When I came to France, recently on Instagram, after visiting the
system – I am not that pessimistic.
I discovered the Western world, but AfricaMuseum in Belgium. Why did you
There are always ways to thwart a
also the Africans who had settled there say that?
system, and it is sometimes by entering
through migration, travel, the history of
into the vocabulary of that system, by A museum is like an individual, who
slavery and colonization – a mobile Africa
deconstructing it and demonstrating how sends out a message by the choice of his
in Europe. And then, when I am in the
empty it is, that a new way of thinking clothes, which can be honest or biased.
United States, I perceive my continent
can emerge. Just because the peanut has Some wear a wig. You may fall in love
through a distant magnifying glass that
a shell doesn’t mean I won’t break it to with this beautiful hair and be deeply
allows me to discern the floating shadows
see what’s inside, and eat it! disappointed when you discover it’s fake!
of yet another mobile Africa, deported by
Similarly, when you enter this museum,
slavery and the slave trade. Take the example of African civilizations.
you say to yourself that it’s very beautiful
They have used Western thought to
I got acquainted with this African- and finally... nothing. I went around in
establish African thought. The Negritude
American world in New York, through circles, but I didn’t see the arms that were
movement was born in Europe, in
Richard Wright, Chester Himes and James cut off during the time of Léopold II.
the minds of the Black and Caribbean
Baldwin, writers of the Harlem Renaissance
students who came to study in France.
– a movement they launched in the
One of them, the Senegalese [poet and
first half of the twentieth century, that
statesman] Léopold Sédar Senghor,
revolutionized so-called Black thinking.
entered the Académie Française.
© Selçuk Demirel
Ghalia Khoja
open minds
The city of Sharjah in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) became the
World Book Capital for the year,
starting in April 2019. It invites
the public to embark on the
bridge of knowledge to discover
the diversity of the world’s
cultures and peoples.
RTIFICIAL
role through public-private partnerships for companies participating in 4IR; we
(PPPs) with governments on 4IR? need to do that as we move forward.
Creating special economic zones with 4IR
Absolutely, corporations must play a
in mind is a good idea, with governments
big role. What I have observed, and this
providing companies with tax incentives
is a controversial view, is that there is a
that would promote production, job
culture that does not consider Africa as
creation and help grow the economy.
INTELLIGENCE
a place to produce. For example, there is
In Kenya, the number of 4IR startups and
no plant in Africa making Apple products. These incentives should not just be for
the launching of digital currency makes
Companies that have production in foreign companies, but local businesses
it clear that President Uhuru Kenyatta
nations they operate in, are much easier should be able to benefit from them too.
understands technology.
to partner with than those merely
This means that political leaders need
bringing their products manufactured In South Africa, President Cyril
to play an essential role in the process of
elsewhere into the country. Ramaphosa is the first leader who
introducing new technologies.
How would you describe the Gran Pajatén I see this reserve as our geographical we have developed mixed agroforestry,
Biosphere Reserve to someone who has fortress, offering us ideal conditions for a which is particularly well adapted to the
never heard of it? better quality of life and providing great production of cocoa, because cacao trees
opportunities for future generations. flourish in the shade of other trees.
It is an extraordinary place, characterized
by a great natural and cultural diversity, Personally, I have always been attached The inscription of our region in UNESCO’s
because it brings together two totally to working on the land, to our primary World Network of Biosphere Reserves
different habitats – the Andes and forests, to their impressive greenery and (WNBR) in 2016 gave us a tremendous
the Amazon. Spread over some 2.5 the direct energy you receive from them boost. We saw it as a sign of recognition
million hectares, the reserve is home to when you live here. My life has always of the efforts we have put into becoming
5,000 plant species and more than 900 been intimately linked to the cultural the leading organic cocoa-producing
animal species, about thirty of which richness, legends, imagination, music and region in Peru.
are endemic. It also encompasses the gastronomy of this place. This is why I left
This international recognition has
Río Abiseo National Park, inscribed to study in Lima, the capital, with every
opened up new opportunities for the
on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in intention of returning to devote myself
Amazonia Viva Foundation (FUNDAVI),
1990, which has an abundance of to promoting this exceptional heritage.
which works to conserve the Gran Pajatén
archaeological remains. Since the mid- Which is what I have done.
ecosystem. Now, companies that were
1980s, thirty-six pre-Columbian sites
What does the designation of Gran Pajatén once sceptical and snubbed us are taking
have been discovered here, at altitudes
as a UNESCO biosphere reserve mean for an interest in us. Poderosa, the precious
ranging from 2,500 to 4,000 metres.
the region’s 170,000 inhabitants? metal mining company, for example,
For those of us who were born here, all is investing in archaeological research
The local population has suffered greatly
this constitutes a unique legacy, for which (it has just published an excellent
in the past, plagued by rubber and
we feel responsible and which obliges us handbook), agricultural research (it has
drug cartels, and even guerrillas. But
to think in the long term. launched a study on potatoes) and has
in the early 2000s, the revival of cacao
provided us with teaching materials for
farming enabled thousands of people to
primary schools.
escape poverty and exclusion. Over time,
The goal of the World Heritage This publication takes up the challenge This resource book is designed for
Convention is the conservation of places of educating learners to resist managers of sites and itineraries of
of Outstanding Universal Value. Since contemporary anti-Semitism at a time memory related to the slave trade and
1978, the World Heritage List has grown when the issue is becoming ever more slavery. It provides a comparative analysis
enormously, with new sites added every crucial around the world. of experiences in the preservation and
year, and the implementation of the promotion of such sites across the world,
It suggests concrete ways to address
1972 World Heritage Convention has and proposes practical guidance for their
anti-Semitism, counter prejudice and
greatly evolved. management and development.
promote tolerance through education,
This issue focuses on cases illustrating by designing programmes based on It is the first resource book on this specific
how appropriate action leads to a human rights framework, global issue to be published by a United Nations
improvements – and sometimes, citizenship education, inclusiveness agency, and provides guidelines on how
powerful transformation – both for the and gender equality. best to preserve, promote and manage
site and the people living on or near it. sites of memory, taking into account the
sensitivity of these painful memories.
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