International Relations: CNAPPC’s Global Initiatives

November 2024 marked a month rich in international engagements for the CNAPPC, which was prominently involved in several key events abroad.
At the beginning of the month, the “Exploring Proximity – for the Future of Urban and Territorial Development” event, held in Cairo during the 12th World Urban Forum organized by UN-Habitat – where President Massimo Crusi and Councillor Giuseppe Cappochin participated – provided an opportunity for the presentation of the “Italy in Proximity: The Future of Urban and Territorial Planning” publication.
The publication, developed by the CNAPPC’s Scientific Committee under the scientific direction of Professor Carlos Moreno — creator of the “15-minute city” model — was presented to an international audience as a declaration of the Architects PPC’s commitment to realise a vision of urban regeneration in our cities, imagining other ways of living, moving and working, based on innovative paradigms of territorial governance centred on the principle of “sustainable proximity”.
Participating in the UIA International Forum held in Kuala Lumpur, which focused on the theme “DIVERSECITY” allowed President Massimo Crusi, along with Councillors Lilia Cannarella, Marcello Rossi, and Diego Zoppi, to take part in a global collective dialogue on the role of architects within current economic, social, and environmental contexts, emphasizing the importance of architecture, urban planning, and design perspectives.
Taking Kuala Lumpur as a starting point, as a multicultural Asian city through the lens of cultural identity, the Forum examined an updated interpretation of the notion of cultural identity in cities, that has gained visibility and expression with the rise of modernism and the beginning of a globalized architectural communication culture throughout the 20th century.
After the Forum, the two-day UIA General Assembly brought many issues relating to the new governance of this important international body to the attention of the Delegates’ Assembly.
The CNAPPC also contributed to the “New European Bauhaus: Heritage & Transformation” European Conference, organized by ACE-CAE in collaboration with Europa Nostra, the European Heritage Hub, and other associations.
In Kraków, Councillor Diego Zoppi delivered a talk on “Innovation for the City and Historical Building: the relationship between technology and historic cities, and between new technologies and the restoration of historic buildings.” This topic is particularly sensitive, as, on an urban level, historic urban centres are often subject to mono-functional uses oriented toward tourism and leisure — the result of mass communication tools that reduce the urban dimension to a commercial one. At the same time, historic building heritage — realised with techniques and principles vastly different from those used today — risks being seriously altered or simplified when approached through contemporary methods rooted in digital tools, increasingly industrialized interventions, and standardized procedures.
It is worth emphasizing that our country is universally recognized as a cultural reference point for its approach to the conservation and enhancement of historic buildings, and their integration into the fabric of contemporary cities, preserving not only their testimonial value, but also the identity of our cities.