A year ago the Algerian archaeologist Mounir Bouchenaki (former director general of Culture of Unesco and honorary citizen of Capaccio Paestum) was nominated as honorary president of the Mediterranean Exchange of Archaeological Tourism. In the sign of that red thread of memory and of the confrontation between the millenary cultures of the two countries, the BMTA (Paestum from 30 September to 3 October the 23rd edition) strengthens its ties with Algeria with two meetings in Salerno and Cetara on the 3rd and 4 June which will see the protagonists, among others, the minister advisor Kamal Chir, the ambassador to Italy Ahmed Boutache, entrepreneurs and the highest authorities in Italy and Campania. Theme of the meetings, migration, fishing and intercultural dialogue between the two countries.
Trying immediately to identify elements that could unite the Salerno territory to the North African country, also linked since ancient times to the events of the city of Rome and the Mediterranean, the founder and director of the BMTA, Ugo Picarelli (in the photo), came across two scientific publications of the University of Salerno that illustrate the economic and social value of the half-yearly migrations of the citizens of Cetara from the 1930s to the 1960s to the town of Nemours, today Ghazaouet, in order to find sustenance through the fishing on the Algerian coast.
“Keeping the memory of our identities alive in the name of the cultural and economic activities that mark our territory is fundamental, since in addition to archeology, the BMTA is fully part of the attention to intercultural dialogue since its first edition of 1998 ”, says Picarelli.
“We are convinced that, beyond religious or political affiliations, every citizen of the world must be aware that cultural heritage is an asset that must be defended by all countries that make democracy their bulwark. For this reason, the Exchange is recognized best practice for the commitment in favor of intercultural dialogue. Not only for the participation in the exhibition hall of over thirty foreign countries, but also to dedicate significant moments as part of the program to remember that culture is a representation of the national identity of a people ”, underlines Picarelli.