The Algarve writer Lídia Jorge and the former president of the Court of Auditors and current executive director of the Gulbenkian Foundation Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins sponsor the candidacy promoted by the Algarve to the indicative list of Portuguese properties that are candidates for UNESCO World Heritage Site of the «Places of the First Globalization».
Eight municipalities in the Algarve are participating in the process, as well as the Azores, Madeira, Cape Verde (Old City) and North Africa, namely Ceuta and Alcácer Ceguer.
The application now has the personal support of personalities linked to culture and the preservation of material and immaterial heritage: Lídia Jorge and Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins. “Associating the places of the first globalization – Algarve, North Africa, Atlantic Islands and the Saharan Atlantic Coast – constitutes a fundamental example of dialogue between cultures and of future projection of a dynamic concept of a culture of peace”, declares the head of the Gulbenkian Foundation.
Lídia Jorge reveals: “I place myself with all enthusiasm on the side of this candidacy for UNESCO World Heritage. Sagres, as well as all the other referenced places, together constituting an initial route in the physical and mental paths for the construction of the so-called New World, represent a unique heritage in the European and global context, as landmarks of the beginning of what would become a new era for men. […] Contemplating, with truth, with discernment, the places that were the scene of the dawn of Modernity and learning from them the new routes for the future, fits perfectly with the aims of this UNESCO candidacy.»
"We are honored and grateful for the public support that two of the most respected personalities of Portuguese culture have just expressed for the candidacy, which corresponds to a huge ambition for the Algarve and which highlights the importance of the region's historical heritage, which we are committed to promoting" , says the president of RTA Desidério Silva.
The application integrates heritage elements, but also the history associated with the places, recognizing their universal value.
The Algarve is home to several places, symbols, myths and characters, which it is essential to safeguard in the narrative of the history of Portugal and the world. These "Places of the First Globalization", which relate to the opening period of the maritime expansion of trade routes, are at the genesis of a new way of conceiving the world and relations between peoples and thus hold a universal value to be preserved . These places star in launching European civilization on its way to the global project that would define the modern world and are considered starting points for the transformation of the world in the current global era.
O joint project of RTA, the Algarve Regional Directorate of Culture, the University of Algarve and the Algarve municipalities of Vila do Bispo, Lagos, Aljezur, Monchique, Portimão, Silves, Tavira and Castro Marim, aims to promote values of tolerance, increase knowledge about heritage and cultural diversity, promote the preservation of historical heritage, as well as foster better relations between peoples.
The RTA, whose mission is centered on the tourist development of the region, heads this proposal, taking into account the central role of tourism in the preservation of the cultural, natural, material and immaterial heritage.
The final deliberation of the UNESCO National Commission on the nomination is expected by the end of next year.
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