Friday 19 and Saturday 20 September 2025
Italy, Verona – Polo Universitario Santa Marta
The International Forum of Ludic Culture with the Symposium “Tocatì, a shared heritage”, celebrates this year an exceptional edition of the Festival, dedicated to the Māori of New Zealand!
In the history of Tocatì this is the first edition that welcomes a people arriving from the other side of the planet: an indigenous people, whose presence in New Zealand was sanctioned by the Treaty of Waitangi, signed in 1840. A fundamental document in the history of New Zealand, marking the beginning of British colonization establishing the relationship between the New Zealand government and the Maori people.
Indigenous peoples are mentioned thus in the preamble of the 2024 edition of the fundamental texts of the Convention, by Audrey Azouley:
More than two decades after the adoption of the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2003, an ecosystem of actors – States, NGOs, communities and experts – have united in their commitment to safeguard and promote the living heritage of humanity. (…) While the Convention now enjoys near universal ratification with 183 State Parties, the twentieth anniversary also affirmed the ongoing need to broaden our outreach. We must pay particular attention to Indigenous Peoples and marginalized and minority communities — those communities whose rich heritage has often been overlooked or is at risk of being lost. (https://ich.unesco.org/doc/src/2003_Convention_Basic_Texts_2024_version_EN.pdf)
What do the Maori bring to Verona, and well beyond the walls of Verona, to the wide civil society movement that Tocatì embodies and represents? What is their message for Europe, Italy, and for the Convention?
In the preamble letter of the Director of UNESCO, indigenous peoples are associated with communities: those communities whose rich heritage is a powerful instrument of change, in our hands and in the hands of our public policies.
Those communities that Tocatì represents, brings together, connects in a great network that dream to embrace the planet.
For further information visit the website of Tocatì.
