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According to the Convention for the Protection of the World, Cultural and Natural Heritage – Paris 1972, cultural and natural heritage is at high risk of threats of destruction caused by various factors, not only of a physical nature but also by human action, thus causing impoverishment of heritage around the world.
Thus, in order to counter this situation, one of the measures adopted by UNESCO is to encourage the Member States present at the convention to make an effort “to make available appropriate means for their protection. It is to this extent that the Constitution of the Republic of Cabo Verde, in subparagraph c) of paragraph 3 of its article 79, challenges all Cabo Verdeans to the need to “Promote the safeguarding and enhancement of cultural, historical and architectural heritage” , an idea reinforced by the IPC statute approved by Regulatory Decree nº 26/2014.
As responsible for heritage protection, the IPC created, under the coordination of the President's Office, the Heritage Education Office (GEP) with the purpose of raising awareness among the population, through formal and non-formal educational processes, about the historical, patrimonial, cultural legacy of Cabo Verde, and the consequent enhancement and safeguarding of an entire collective and identity memory.
The GEP works in close and dynamic constant dialogue with the three directorates of the IPC – Directorate of Museums (DM), Directorate of Monuments and Sites (DMS) and Directorate of Intangible Heritage (DPI).
This Office is responsible for:
Cooperation, protocols and partnerships bring institutions and people together, but above all they serve to leverage resources and share mutually enriching experiences. Thus, the IPC's relations with other institutions, public, private and civil society organizations must be privileged and streamlined in order to create synergies to achieve results and objectives that, individually, the IPC will hardly be able to achieve.
The Cooperation Service works with the:
City Councils
Ensuring that the institute has an active and concerted participation through protocols and partnerships with regard to raising awareness, valuing and conserving the local Cultural Heritage.
Churches
Ensure better cooperation and partnership in the defense and enhancement of the built heritage, based on the principle that most of this heritage is of a religious nature.
Schools/Universities/Embassies/Diaspora
Reinforce and improve the country's image through cultural heritage. Since this can be elements of foreign policy with partners, as it is closely allied to Political, Economic and Social interests.
Communication
In the context of promoting the institute's image and safeguarding the cultural heritage; of the network of museums and historic centers, the Office of Cooperation, Communication and Image was created, organically under the tutelage of the President, with the objective of:
Cidade Velha was declared a World Heritage Site in June 2009 by UNESCO. The inscription of the site in the list of places with exceptional historical and cultural value Heritage of Humanity represents a great challenge for a management that manages to promote the preservation and valorization of the historical legacy and at the same time the local development and projection of Cabo Verdeand of the City in the tourist context.
The recovery of the Heritage of Cidade Velha is a very old process that dates back to the 1980s, when a support office for the actions to be carried out on this site was created. From Cabinet of the Cidade Velha it became Curatorship of the Cidade Velha in 2012, although it was never regulated. Currently, the office is made up of technicians from the Institute of Cultural Heritage, assigned to the Directorate of Monuments and Sites who travel daily to Cidade Velha to collaborate in the management of the World Heritage Site.
This structure promotes greater involvement and interaction among the different stakeholders (Ministry of Culture and Creative Industries and other State bodies, City Council, NGOs, the local population, among others), materializing the policies outlined for the site, in line with the UNESCO guidelines for classified sites.
The implementation of a management structure is in line with UNESCO's requirements for Cabo Verde and its heritage, and can also be interpreted as a clear sign of the importance that the state of Cabo Verde attaches to the Cidade Velha World Heritage Site in the context of the country's governance.
According to the guidelines of the Government's programme for the 9th legislature, actions in the areas of cultural heritage should be based on the need to "promote cultural tourism through the integration of the two sectors, with the aim of mobilising nationals and foreigners to get to know the traditions and the tangible and intangible heritage of the country, promoting the historic sites, with emphasis on Cidade Velha and domestic tourism along with cultural promotion in the international market.
The legal office provides legal assistance with decisions taken by the institute's bodies, and may also develop other functions in the following areas: protection of heritage, foreign relations, cooperation, human resources and administration.
In defence of heritage:
Human resources and administration: