Public hearings strengthen the nomination of the Amazon Theaters as UNESCO World Heritage
The workshops are part of the listening and exchange process with society to strengthen the nomination
On this Tuesday (5), the National Institute of Historical and Artistic Heritage (Iphan) held, in Belém, six workshops that are part of the nomination process of the Amazon Theaters: Theatro da Paz (PA) and Teatro Amazonas (AM) — for UNESCO World Heritage. The event took place at the Higher Education Center of Pará (Cesupa).
The social hearings are part of the process of developing the Management Plan for the Amazon Theaters and were coordinated by Iphan's superintendencies in Pará and Amazonas, in partnership with the state and municipal cultural secretariats.
In the morning, three workshops were held: on heritage education and training; on tourism, creative economy, cultural perception and appropriation; and on performance. In the afternoon, three more: on conservation; on archives, museums and history; and on city, landscape and the surrounding square complex.
During the program, the superintendent of Iphan in Pará, Cristina Vasconcelos, highlighted the importance of public participation in this stage of the nomination. “We are in the phase of public listening. These are the workshops for building the management program of the Amazon Theaters, and listening to people is essential. We had over 250 registrations. It has been a very good construction, and many people came to help us with all this structuring. I am sure that we will leave here with one of the best management programs to submit to UNESCO,” evaluated the superintendent.
In the afternoon, the conservation workshop was the most sought after. “When we talk about conservation, there is the physical aspect, but there is also what we understand as conservation through planning. So, the management and maintenance plan of the theater. Everything that was discussed and addressed in this workshop will contribute to, later on, effectively implementing the management plan of Theatro da Paz, which will encompass everything that emerged from these dialogues,” emphasized Rebeca Ribeiro, one of the workshop instructors and director of the Department of Historical, Artistic and Cultural Heritage (DPHAC), linked to the State Secretariat of Culture (Secult).
Wesley Rodrigues, a student in the Conservation and Restoration course at the Federal University of Pará (UFPA), participated in two workshops — in the morning, the heritage education and training one, and in the afternoon, the conservation one. “I thought it was well conducted, from the division to the initial explanation, so that everyone understood the current situation, the foundation of the process, and then the direction of the workshops for each group that would act and how the debates would be conducted,” said the student.
Wesley concluded by talking about his interest in the topic. “I participated because of my area of expertise, conservation and restoration, but also because I think that, as a resident of Belém, as a person concerned with this heritage issue, I could also contribute to the rest of the nomination and, possibly, to the actual recognition as World Heritage.”
In addition to Belém, Manaus (AM) also held workshops on July 28 and 29.
The nomination of the Amazon Theaters is still in the evaluation phase. The next step will be the technical visit of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (Icomos), the advisory body of UNESCO, which will conduct on-site inspections of the two nominated theaters.
Text: Juliana Amaral / Ascom Secult
