18 April has been established as International Day for Monuments and Sites for the year 2023 under the theme Heritage and Change.
The Directorate-General for Cultural Heritage (DGPC), in collaboration with ICOMOS Portugal (International Council on Monuments and Sites), encourages the dissemination of this theme in order to follow up on the concern expressed by ICOMOS and expressed in the Climate Emergency statement in 2020, thus continuing to promote the potential of heritage on the path to inclusive, transformative and fair climate action.
The theme ‘Heritage and Change’ is intended to disseminate the presentation of strategies that demonstrate the full potential of heritage research and practices as an element of resilience and stability in a world under constant transformation, outlining plans for resistance and adaptation to climate change, stimulating the reconciliation of communities with their habitats, promoting the dissemination of the diversity of built and immaterial heritage and its concern as an integral part of an ecosystem, supporting the creation and implementation of innovative ideas, geared to global citizenship and entrepreneurship with an impact on the green economy. Reflecting the challenges and threats of the times we live in, Heritage and Change reflects the opportunity to reinforce the issues of safeguarding, innovation and commitment with the common heritage that unites us as factors of identity and hope
(https://www.patrimoniocultural.gov.pt/pt/agenda/atividades-diversas/dims23/ ).
The actions to be developed in this context by the Mértola-Cláudio Torres Museum and by the Mértola Archaeological Site, on 17th and 18th April, reflect the ever-evident concerns with the surrounding landscape and with environmental issues, which are clearly evident in the research and dissemination projects, which contribute to a global knowledge of the territory and help outline intervention strategies in the most diverse areas.
More information at https://w3.patrimoniocultural.pt/dims2023/digital/ and at
www.museudemertola.pt.