Japan: cooperation between the Italian Consulate and the Polytechnic University of Turin

(ANSA) - TOKYO, 12 SET - Collaborations between Italy and Japan on the issues of design and enhancement of architectural and urban heritage were the focus of the "International Conference on Heritage-led development, sharing vision between Italy and Japan", held in Kobe and Kyoto from 10 to 11 September. The event is part of a series of activities promoted by the Consulate General of Italy in Osaka to support the consolidation of academic and scientific partnerships between Italy and Japan. The conference, organised in close collaboration with the Politecnico di Torino and Kobe Design University, promoted a wide-ranging dialogue around the cultural and scientific skills and know-how between Italy and Japan, comparing principles, methodologies and concrete experiences of knowledge, design and enhancement of the architectural and urban heritage in the two countries. The Conference also featured speakers from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Waseda University, Nagoya University, Tokyo University, Hosei University and La Venaria Reale Conservation and Restoration Centre. In his speech, the Consul General of Italy in Osaka, Marco Prencipe, emphasised that the conference was the result of a consolidated and growing partnership between Italian and Japanese universities. "Cooperation in the academic and scientific sectors is one of the pillars of the Italy-Japan Action Plan 2024-2027, a bilateral action plan approved on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Puglia," Prencipe added, recalling in this regard the recent mission to Japan with stops in Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto by the CRUI - Conference of Italian University Rectors. Speaking in a video message, Turin Polytechnic Vice Chancellor Alberto Sapora highlighted how Italy and Japan, countries with great cultural traditions and a millennial urban history, are now facing the challenges brought about by ongoing global changes, particularly those related to sustainability and the enhancement of their architectural and cultural heritage.