The World in Florence 2024
TWIF PAST EDITIONS
Discover all editions
The World in Florence 2024 – Community and Heritage
Introduction
The 2024 edition of The World in Florence – International Festival of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions focused on the theme “Community and Heritage”, exploring how cultural and natural heritage shape, connect, and empower local and global communities.
From 11 to 13 November 2024, at the Auditorium al Duomo and Palazzo Coppini in Florence, the Festival hosted an international dialogue among scholars, cultural operators, institutions, and communities, addressing crucial issues such as accessibility, sustainability, and the social impact of heritage.
Aligned with the UNESCO Conventions of 2003 and 2005 and the Council of Europe’s Faro Convention (2005), the Festival reaffirmed the role of heritage as a living instrument for dialogue and peacebuilding, not merely as a legacy to preserve.
Theme of the Edition
Community and Heritage highlighted the dynamic relationship between people and their cultural and natural environments.
It invited participants to rethink accessibility, inclusion, and participation — recognizing communities not only as custodians but as co-creators of heritage.
Through conferences, exhibitions, and storytelling sessions, the Festival encouraged a vision of heritage as a shared resource for coexistence, identity, and sustainable development.
Highlights
The Festival opened with institutional greetings by Carlotta Del Bianco, President of the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco, alongside representatives from the Tuscany Region, the City of Florence, and the Florence Consular Corps.
Special contributions came from international figures including:
Aruna Francesca Maria Gujral, Director General, ICCROM
Teresa Patricio, President, ICOMOS International
Mounir Bouchenaki, Honorary President of the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco, UNESCO Special Advisor
Ahmed Skounti, UNESCO Expert in Intangible Cultural Heritage
Fergus Maclaren, President, ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Cultural Tourism
Hang Peou, Director General, APSARA National Authority, Cambodia
Henk van Schaik, ICOMOS Water and Heritage Ambassador
Roberta Alberotanza, Conference Coordinator, ECHE Lab, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria
Liliana Comitini, CEO, B&B Hotels Italy
Alessandra Cattoi, Director, RAM Film Festival
Vladimiro Boselli, Global Network of Water Museums (WAMU-NET / UNESCO-IHP)
Isber Sabrine, President, Heritage for Peace Association, Syria
Carlo Francini, UNESCO Office, City of Florence
Program Overview
Across three days, the Festival featured:
Conferences and focus sessions on local and foreign communities, accessibility, and economic impacts of heritage.
The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe in Tuscany preparatory meeting toward TWIF2025.
Film screenings curated by RAM Film Festival and exhibitions such as Connected Views: Community and Heritage Through the Lens and Life Beyond Tourism Exhibition.
Over 40 cultural storytelling presentations in pecha-kucha format, with participants from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas.
The closing event “Baci e Abbracci”, an evening of dance performances celebrating intercultural friendship.
Participating Countries
Participants came from more than 30 countries, including Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Taiwan, Japan, Cambodia, USA, Georgia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Democratic Republic of Congo, Benin, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Australia, and others — representing a rich mosaic of heritage experiences and community stories.
Discover More
🎬 Screenings curated by RAM Film Festival – Rovereto Archeologia Memorie
🎥 Watch highlights on the Life Beyond Tourism YouTube channel
