Davos
Manuscrit, non publié à l’époque. Seul le prononcé fait foi. Les notes de travail ont été retirées.
Discours prononcé en français et en anglais. Texte original, non traduit.
Mesdames, Messieurs les ministres,
Vos excellences,
Mesdames, Messieurs,
Ces deux derniers jours, nous avons eu des discussions passionnantes. Ici, tous ensemble, à la conférence, mais aussi lors d’échanges informels.
Nous nous sommes réunis dans un lieu à forte valeur symbolique pour souligner l’importance de la culture pour notre cadre de vie et pour notre société.
La culture, et avec elle la diversité culturelle, la tolérance, la curiosité pour nous et pour autrui, est l’un des fondements de notre vivre-ensemble.
Baukultur is a connecting element within Europe, both the cultural heritage and the contemporary creation.
The European Year of Cultural Heritage is a wonderful opportunity to put our Baukultur and our joint heritage at the centre of our attention.
“Cultural heritage for all!” is our motto for this year. It emphasises the element of participation, which we would like to reinforce. Wouldn’t it be great if the European Year of Cultural Heritage were the beginning of a more active dialogue with civil society, the population and all stakeholders, about the quality of our environment?
With this conference we wanted to achieve three goals.
Firstly, we intended to promote the concept of Baukultur. To show that we need to become politically active in this regard.
The adoption of the 2018 Davos Declaration was our first goal and we hope to see it followed up as actively as possible.
Secondly, we wished to create, at the beginning of the European Year of Cultural Heritage, an opportunity for personal exchange and direct dialogue – with you, dear ministers, heads of delegation and representatives of government and non-government organisations.
I think this goal has also been achieved.
And thirdly, we were hoping, at the opening of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, to join the world of culture to the world of economics.
A culture that is more than an entertaining spectacle.
Without culture, ladies and gentlemen, there is no economy.
As far as I am concerned, we have achieved these goals and I hope that you also feel that the conference has been a success.
Some of you will now take part in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. I am happy to announce that Mr Alois Zwinggi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum, will join us for lunch. He will give you a brief introduction to the WEF meeting and present to you the continuation of the programme.
Others we now have the pleasure of inviting on a field visit to St. Moritz, followed tomorrow by a train journey through the Alps, along the wonderful Albula Railway line, one of our World Heritage sites.
I hope you have enjoyed your visit with us and will have fond memories of the Davos Conference of Ministers.
I would like to thank you very much for your presence and for your important and active participation in the conference.
I would also like to thank everyone involved in the preparation work for this conference, most of whom remained behind the scenes.
My special thanks go to the interpreters, who ensured that we could maintain our linguistic diversity.
With this heartfelt thank you, ladies and gentlemen, I declare the conference closed.