[Historic Mosque City of Bagerhat © OUR PLACE The World Heritage Collection] The 2021 edition of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes is open for online nominations until 31 May 2021 (midnight Paris time, UTC+1). The UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes was established in 1995 to reward outstanding examples of actions to safeguard and enhance the world's cultural landscapes, a category of World Heritage. The winner of the prize will receive the sum of US $30,000. 1. WHO MAY SUBMIT NOMINATIONS FOR THE PRIZE? • Governmental agencies from UNESCO Member States, in consultation with their National Commissions for UNESCO; • NGOs that have official partnerships with UNESCO; and • International, regional and national professional, academic and non-governmental organizations active in the field of cultural landscapes. 2. WHO IS ELIGIBLE? Individuals, site managers, institutions, other entities, communities or non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have made a significant contribution to the safeguarding, management and enhancement of the world’s major cultural landscapes. 3. HOW TO APPLY? The deadline for submitting a nomination form online, in English or French, is 31 May 2021 (midnight Paris time) at: http://whc.unesco.org/en/culturallandscapesprize Timeline: 31 May 2021: Deadline for the submission of nominations Autumn 2021: Award ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France Link to online nomination form: https://survey.unesco.org/3/index.php?r=survey/index&sid=586... For more information of the Prize, please click here: https://whc.unesco.org/en/culturallandscapesprize/ Click here to download the Melina Mercouri International Prize leaflet

Confronted with the pandemic, the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region has faced challenges on several fronts. COVID-19 has revealed structural gaps and vulnerabilities in the region, and has exasperated pre-existing inequalities, exclusion and insecurity. When the pandemic hit, these issues were compounded by additional risk factors, such as overcrowding, lack of access to basic services, and high levels of labour informality. The challenges of exclusion and inequalities were underlined as key issues for the region during the 53 UNESCO Resiliart debates that took place in Latin America and the Caribbean over the past year. Certain groups — Afro-descendent artists, indigenous creators, women and youth — have been particularly vulnerable to the shocks of the pandemic. In five countries that account for 80% of the region’s indigenous peoples (Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru), more than eight million indigenous people lack access to drinking water in their homes, which has made it difficult to practice hygiene measures. The pandemic’s impact on tourism-related industries has been particularly felt in the Caribbean where tourism employs some 2.4 million people and makes up 15.5% of GDP. Despite these challenges, the region has introduced many powerful response measures to combat the impact of the pandemic and ensure the continuity of cultural life. The Governments of Colombia, Guatemala and Peru prepared health-related materials in various indigenous languages that were adapted to cultural contexts. Soon into the pandemic, ministries of culture in the region began to engage in impact assessment processes – at times partnering with regional and civil society organizations, and drawing on existing regional data sets. The Ministry of Culture of Panama, for instance, conducted a survey on the country’s cultural and creative industry to establish baseline data. In Brazil, researchers and partner institutions joined with civil society organizations to assess the impacts of COVID-19 on the value chains of the cultural and creative sectors. A regional assessment on the impact of COVID-19 on the cultural and creative industries was launched last year by MERCOSUR, UNESCO, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Ibero-American General Secretariat (SEGIB) and the Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI). The results showed that, by November 2020, ten countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay) have implemented a total of 218 national public policies to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cultural workers and cultural and creative industries. Similarly, the results provided insight into the most impacted workers in the cultural sector and what are the most needed public policy measures for companies operating in culture. UNESCO also supported the survey “Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Cultural and Creative Sectors in Brazil”, carried out from July to September, and supported by the Social Service of Commerce (SESC), University of São Paulo (USP), the National Forum of State Secretaries and Directors of Culture and 13 State Secretaries of Culture. The findings reveal heavy implications for employment. Between March and April, 44% of organizations dismissed all their employees and there was a 49% drop in third-party service contracts. A government survey carried out in Costa Rica last year estimated that 12% of art workers surveyed live in a state of poverty or extreme poverty, making them especially vulnerable to the effects of the pandemic. Such patterns in cultural employment echo the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimates that the crisis in 2020 added 22 million more people living in poverty and extreme poverty in the region. Strengthening the nexus between culture and education has emerged as a policy priority across the region. From the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020, eight member countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA) jointly adopted a Contingency Plan agreed by their governments. UNESCO worked together with the Educational and Cultural Coordination of SICA (CECC-SICA) to include specific guidelines on education and culture into this Plan. As part of this joint effort, a digital platform “Culture in Times of COVID-19” also highlighted governmental actions to broaden access to cultural content during the crisis. The Organization has also collaborated with CECC-SICA in recommendations for a Collaborative Response Strategy for culture in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in view of strengthening institutional capacity-building to formalize the sector and its access to social security. Greg/Flickr  

Asia and the Pacific was affected in the early stages of COVID-19. Most countries in the region responded by rapidly closing borders, restricting movement and shutting down cultural institutions, venues, heritage sites and activities. Several countries in the region had restrictions in place before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global pandemic last March. One year into the pandemic, measures to curb the pandemic have resulted in serious social, economic and environmental costs in the region, especially in countries highly dependent on trade and tourism. Small businesses and workers in the culture sector have been hit hard by the pandemic’s economic toll, particularly those in informal labour markets. The region’s diverse and thriving cultural and creative industries — from cutting edge innovation and global cultural industries to more informal sub-sectors, such as crafts — have been heavily impacted. The continued practice and transmission of intangible cultural heritage, which is a long-standing priority for cultural policies in the region, has also come under threat. Festivals, rituals and ceremonies have been cancelled, from Buddhist Vesak celebrations in Southeast Asia to the annual March celebrations of Nowruz, celebrated by more than 300 million people across parts of Asia, the Arab States and Europe. Last June, the Asian Development Bank warned of the rise in nature-based crime due to unguarded protected areas, and that rural areas are increasingly under pressure from changes in land use, biodiversity loss and illegal poaching. International tourist arrivals plummeted as widespread border closures and travel restrictions were introduced. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Asia and the Pacific has suffered the largest drop in tourism of all regions in the world. This contrasts with the pre-pandemic context where tourism was one of the fastest growing sectors in Asia. Cultural tourism ranked high in regional and national development plans for its growth potential, particularly for smaller countries with limited exports. The pandemic has resulted in job losses and has wiped out many SMEs dependent on cultural tourism and its related industries. Pacific Island nations, whose economies are heavily reliant on tourism, have seen their GDPs diminish as tourism plunged by 99%. Other island nations in the region, such as Maldives, whose tourism industry directly accounts for a quarter of its GDP, have also particularly vulnerable to external shocks. In Q1 2020 its economy contracted by 5% and in Q2 by 52% — a decline primarily driven by the slump in tourism. Restarting cultural tourism was underlined as a priority for governments in UNESCO’s Online Meeting of Ministers of Culture held in April last year. Countries in the Asia and the Pacific region were quick to introduce strategies to stimulate domestic tourism as lockdown measures eased. Last May, the Asian Development Bank released an assessment of the economic impact of the pandemic and recommended that "for many destinations, encouraging domestic tourism should be a priority".

Significant human, economic and environmental costs to Africa threaten to have mid- and long-term consequences on the region’s recovery from COVID-19. For the first time in 25 years, economic growth in Africa shrunk, dropping by 2% in 2020. Despite reports that suggest that the first wave of COVID-19 progressed relatively slowly in Africa, by December a second wave of infections triggered an estimated 40% surge in cases across the region. Travel restrictions, closures and physical distancing measures have impacted World Heritage sites and the continuity of living heritage practices. Amidst heritage site closures, reports of poaching and looting have also increased. Meanwhile, informal sector workers, women and youth have suffered disproportionately from reduced opportunities and unequal access to social support. Across Africa, community mobilization and sensitization, and locally-led campaigns of information dissemination have been prevalent and effective, many of which have mobilized artists. Drawing on their experience with the Ebola outbreak in 2014 — notably in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia — local healthcare systems have also been adept at communicating effective response strategies to local populations. In Ghana, for instance, UNESCO and the Economic Commission of West African States (ECOWAS) joined forces to launch a local media health campaign using music and mobilizing Ghanian artists in partnership with the National Commission on Culture (NCC), the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) and the Creative Arts Council. Throughout 2020, 22% of UNESCO’s Resiliart debates were held in Africa; an initiative that has rallied support for artists during and beyond the crisis. Zimbabwe alone conducted six Resiliart debates in collaboration with the National Arts Council, resulting in strong advocacy efforts from artists to establish a COVID-19 relief fund. Two of these debates were held on Radio Mozambique, demonstrating the importance of adapting to local contexts and needs. Despite under-resourced public social support in many African countries, innovative practices have shown preventative and mitigation strategies that are suited to local realities.   Kureng Workx/Pexels   Harnessing digital technologies has been highlighted as an important area to develop in post-COVID-19 recovery strategies and for socio-economic transformation. Throughout the first year of the pandemic, the extent of inequalities in access to digital technologies across the region has become glaringly evident, highlighting pre-existing gaps and needs in infrastructure. For instance, while some museums and cultural institutions were able to explore online options to continue functioning and ensure the public’s access to culture, only 5% of museums in Africa have an online presence. Despite these setbacks, Africa’s youth have been instrumental in pushing the boundaries of the Internet and digital spaces. Of all regions, Africa is home to the largest youth demographic, which by UN estimates will increase by 89% in 2050. The region has an entrepreneurial energy, with many creative and cultural workers based in the informal economy. Africa’s youth population is recognized as a powerful accelerator of economic growth and innovation, and a key element in supporting the region’s recovery from the pandemic. Similarly, this demographic has also pointed to certain potential economic and social challenges in long-term recovery strategies, including implications for peace and security. Supporting the contribution of culture to social cohesion and peace-building, therefore, remains a strong priority in UNESCO’s work across the region. The African Union’s 2021 Year of Arts, Culture and Heritage came into being during the pandemic. As underlined by the AU, the crisis provides an opportunity to re-evaluate the role of culture in Africa’s socio-economic priorities through equality, inclusion, social cohesion and African Renaissance. Last month, the AU’s Roadmap for the Year of Arts, Culture and Heritage was launched at the AU 2nd Virtual Forum of Minsters responsible for Arts, Culture and Heritage. Member States reiterated their commitment to combat the impact of the pandemic through innovative methods, and cultural and heritage policies that support cultural workers to produce cultural goods and services. In building a recovery strategy for Africa, Member States encouraged governments to dedicate 1% of their national budgets to culture. Culture was highlighted as a lever for economic growth; a role that is even more important in the context of crisis recovery.