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Palermo Declaration

Palermo Principles towards a Charter of Cultural Rights of Development

One of the most important results at European level has been a Cultural Local Agenda 21, named Palermo Principles towards a Charter of Cultural Rights of Development (April 1999), which offered themselves as an action plan deriving from the items of Aalborg (1994) and Lisbona (1996). The Palermo Principles are:

  1. Re-thinking the cultural governance: we will enhance the role of European cities and towns in diffusing the notion and principles of cultural sustainability, we will therefore adopt local strategies towards a culture-oriented sustainability. The principles of culture appreciation must be brought to the core of public administration, building up as many multiple interactions as possible between culture and aspects of economic, social and educational development. Local authorities must introduce in their statutes and internal regulations the rule of Cultural Evaluation of city administration's acts.
  2. Enhancing the cultural government: the local self-governance is a pre-condition for a more cultural-centred development based on specific instruments and tools for cities and towns management towards sustainability. Local authorities should review their decision-making processes with regards to heritage and culture regularly so as to ensure the effectiveness of actions. Local authorities must enhance the capacity to extract some specific cultural indicators that are able to represent a specific way towards a culture-based development.
  3. Promoting and diffusing the cultural education and animation: sustainability has to been considered as a creative, local, balance-seeking process. A more holistic approach to education is needed by transforming schools into culture-centred environments and enabling them to become foci of cultural life in their local communities.
  4. Building a culture-based empowerment: social equity has to be an aim for cultural sustainability and citizens have to be considered as key actors for the involvement of the community. We shall gain strength through inter-authority local and interregional alliances: associations, networks and campaigns. A new social ethic obliging cultural organisations and authorities to adopt inclusive rather than exclusive policies in order to ensure access to – and participation in – culture for all.
  5. Enhancing the cultural economics: economy has to go towards the cultural sustainability of decision and investments. The aim is to make effective use of public sector finance to stimulate a weak market and to release a greater volume of private sector investment oriented by the cultural rights. The culture-based cities have to attract a cluster of creative businesses involved in cultural heritage and innovation and to develop some centres of excellence which will in turn be able to form a culture-based network.
  6. Improving the cultural management: local authorities need to elaborate some more sustainable "culturscape" patterns. We shall integrate cultural with social and economic development so as to improve the identity and the quality of life for our citizens. The culture-based projects for cultural sustainability are able to provide a store of information for future cultural development practitioners.

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