The Minister of Universities, Science and Innovation and Culture, Migdalia Machín, participated in the session on risk management and emergencies in cultural heritage of MONDIACULT 2025, held in Barcelona and organized by the Government of Spain and UNESCO.
During the event, which focused on cultural policies and sustainable development, Machín highlighted the uniqueness of the archipelago as an island territory with a diverse heritage, but exposed to threats such as volcanic activity, extreme weather events and the effects of climate change.
In her speech, she stressed that "the protection of heritage is ensuring collective identity, because heritage is not only a material inheritance, but the living expression of who we are." She added that "there is no culture without identity and there is no identity without social cohesion," placing the Canary Islands as an example of how cultural action should be integrated into sustainable development strategies.
The councilor explained the studies promoted by the Government of the Canary Islands in collaboration with councils, city councils, universities and scientific entities, aimed at evaluating the effects of climate change on the archaeological and ethnographic heritage in islands such as Fuerteventura and El Hierro.
These works have allowed the elaboration of updated inventories of assets at risk and propose specific protection measures that place the Canary Islands as a pioneer in Spain in the integration of culture in policies against climate change.
For his part, the Deputy Minister of Culture and Cultural Heritage, Horacio Umpiérrez, said that "the participation of the Canary Islands in MONDIACULT has been very valuable because it has allowed us to know experiences from other territories and, at the same time, show the work that is being developed in the islands from the Canary Islands Agenda 2030 in its cultural dimension. We are committed to a culture with identity, capable of projecting itself into the future with cohesion and openness."
"With this contribution, the Canary Islands reaffirms in MONDIACULT that the protection of cultural heritage is not only a matter of preserving assets, but a commitment to collective identity, social cohesion and the shared future of peoples," they explain from the Ministry.