16 September 2010

The importance of citizen participation in the preservation
 of our cultural heritage

Symposium on

“Integrated management plans in historic towns – involving the citizen”
2 October 2010, Kayseri (Turkey)

Speech by Ms Gudrun Mosler-Törnström

Mayor Özhaseki,
Ladies and Gentlemen

The theme of this symposium is highly relevant to our work at the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. 

Our historic cities face a hugely difficult task in trying to balance the needs of citizens and those of the cultural heritage.  Each player will have different priorities: our cultural heritage needs to be protected and developed, but do citizens have the financial means to repair their historic properties?  Tourists invade our cities' streets in ever-increasing numbers, but our citizens need space to live.  There needs to be a coordinated approach which aims to preserve and sustain historic sites while meeting the needs of residents in their daily lives.  All stakeholders must be involved in devising these coordinated policies.  But how do we reach out to citizens and get them involved in these processes?

There is much talk these days about the passiveness of citizens, how people’s level of trust in elected representatives and institutions is waning.  They are less and less inclined to participate.  We need to find tools which will encourage citizens to engage in the preservation of our cultural heritage.  People are a great source of untapped potential, brimming with new ideas and proposals.  However these tools must also be able to maintain people’s interest after their initial engagement, their commitment and interest will dwindle if they see that their views and ideas are not taken into account.

The Congress is well placed to foster citizens’ participation in policy making as it is at local, or grassroots level where citizens’ involvement in democratic processes begins.  Thanks to the proximity of local and regional government to citizens, it is easier to learn about what people need and expect from their local politicians. And because local level policies concern citizens directly and have an impact on their immediate surroundings, they are more motivated to get involved. 

The Congress’ European Charter of Local Self-Government, which is the touchstone for local democracy at European level, speaks of the need to engage citizens in public and political life at the local level. The Congress has done a great deal of work on participatory democracy, ranging from the participation of foreign residents and migrants to the participation of women and young people, public participation in local affairs and elections, and enhancing public participation through the use of modern communication technologies.

One important innovation of the Congress to promote and encourage citizen participation is the European Local Democracy Week which has been held every year in October since 2007.  The aim of the Local Democracy Week is to give citizens the opportunity to meet with their local and regional politicians so they can learn about how local and regional authorities operate.  This Week offers a perfect opportunity to people to learn about decision-making processes and how they themselves can commit to playing a role in what is going on in their towns and regions.  It also serves to raise local councillors’ and local civil servants’ awareness of democratic participation at local level, because citizen participation does not only rely on citizen engagement, politicians must also be open to it.

E-tools, or e-democracy, are another means for reaching out to citizens, especially those who would not normally take part in political processes.  E-democracy applications can be used to organise citizen consultations or facilitate people’s input into decision-making.  They are an excellent tool for informing citizens, ensuring they are fully aware of policies that affect them, thus guaranteeing transparency.

Our symposium today is looking at integrated management plans.  These plans are an ideal way to ensure citizen participation in the management of cultural heritage sites because they incorporate and respond to the needs of all users.  They aim to identify all relevant stakeholders who are concerned with creating attractive centres of historic value and to achieve their sustainable urban development, while taking into account their necessary socio-economic and environmental development.  These integrated management plans have to reflect on how to mobilise all stakeholders concerned, especially residents, and on which participation structures should be used to ensure everyone’s point of view is heard.

Ladies and Gentlemen

As I indicated at the start of my speech, the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe lays great store by our European cultural heritage.  We recognise that Europe’s rich and varied historical and architectural heritage is a key component of European identity which has to be both safeguarded and cultivated for today’s citizens as well as for future generations.  This is why we applaud any methods and actions that successfully help to protect and promote our cultural heritage.

In our meeting yesterday we examined the Guidelines on sustainable cultural tourism in historic towns and cities drawn up by your Association.  Cultural tourism can play an important role in increasing mutual understanding, consolidating peace and promoting European values.  It also can also provide opportunities for tourists and locals to interact and foster a greater understanding of different cultures, customs, lifestyles and beliefs.  Cultural tourism makes an important contribution to the economic and artistic regeneration of towns and cities, encouraging growth and employment, but there is also a risk of commercial over-exploitation.  This is why we in the Congress urge local and regional authorities to involve all stakeholders, in particular citizens, in planning concepts for historic cities to develop a responsible cultural tourism to preserve our common, cultural heritage.

I strongly hope that this Symposium will provide some innovative ideas and models to those responsible for the management of our historic cities, management models which will serve the needs of both our cultural heritage and of our citizens.

I look forward to hearing the presentations and taking part in the discussions.

Thank you.