G20 Culture Track

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Hampi, Khajuraho on list for G20 culture track.

• As part of India’s G20 Presidency between December 2022 and November 2023, the Government is planning to host five key meetings focusing on the “culture track” at Khajuraho, Bhubaneswar, Hampi and Agra.
• These cities have been chosen mainly for well-known monuments and UNESCO World Heritage Sites such as Taj Mahal and Agra Fort (UP), the Hindu and Jain temples of Khajuraho (Madhya Pradesh), the Konark Sun Temple around 65 km from Bhubaneswar (Odisha), and the sites at Hampi (Karnataka). 
• For the culture track, a G20 Secretariat has been set up in the Ministry of Culture, which will hire a professional agency “for research, documentation and coordination work for the G20 work-stream of culture.

G20 presidency also provides a fantastic opportunity for India to shape the global agenda on culture across multiple work streams and engagement areas. These include:

• Protection and restitution of cultural property
• Advancement of traditional cultural practices for sustainable living
• Promotion of cultural and creative industries for livelihood generation
• Preservation and dissemination of culture by leveraging technology.

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) that was outlined in a constitution signed November 16, 1945. It promotes international collaboration in education, science, and culture to promote peace. 

UNESCO World Heritage Site

• A World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by UNESCO for its special cultural or physical significance.
• The list of World Heritage Sites is maintained by the international ‘World Heritage Programme’, administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
• There are 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India.
• Dholavira and Ramappa Temple are the latest addition to the list under the ‘Cultural’ category. There are two more categories Natural and Mixed.