The establishment of “joint protocols” is encouraged, along with the pursuit of “approaches” that provide a “robust” answer.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Abra. (Press Europa) –
This week, the City Council of La Laguna participated in events focused on vandalism and its impact on cultural heritage, organised by the group of heritage cities, aiming to develop municipal strategies to combat and manage the repercussions of such acts and their prevalence.
Drawing from the experiences of the 15 cities within the group, the event took place at the Torre de los Anaya de Salamanca Cultural Centre, under the theme ‘from a deep cultural tradition… to a profound tradition of inculture’, as detailed in a statement by the Consistory.
Representing the City Council of La Laguna were the technical architect from the Office of Historic District, Luciano Santos Acosta, and the deputy inspector of the Local Police, Tinguaro Méndez Medina, who presented preventive measures, sanctions, and public awareness initiatives aimed at tackling this issue.
“This issue is not foreign to our historic centre. We must allocate significant public resources each year,” remarked the Councillor for Cultural Heritage, Adolfo Cordobés.
Throughout various presentations, the issue of vandalism in heritage sites was examined from legal, normative, and police investigation perspectives, as well as the restoration and cleaning of material damages, municipal management of the issue, social initiatives, education, and public awareness.
Following two days of presentations, the conclusions document highlighted that vandalism impacts the historical landscape of cities and hence must prompt “increased efforts” in the preservation of monumental heritage, noting that “the intangible heritage and civic value of urban spaces are also in decline.”
In this context, the necessity to create “collaborative work protocols” has been identified to prevent the destruction of heritage. This implies a duty to standardise criteria in order to evaluate the consequences of vandalism regarding replacement or repair costs.
Additionally, there is a push to seek ways to provide a “robust” response, both through administrative and penal channels, while also developing alternative social initiatives and raising awareness among those who threaten heritage.
“We believe it essential to eliminate legal uncertainty and inconsistencies concerning fines related to replacement value. More flexible criteria are vital, as we observe that the same act can be treated as a crime or a minor offence in different courts, and likewise, the administrative results and penalties vary greatly,” they noted.
