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A delegation from the European Union visits in Havana the future regional training centre for heritage restoration in the Caribbean
A European Union (EU) delegation headed by Felice Zaccheo, Head of the Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean Unit at the European’s Commission Directorate-General for International Partnerships, and Isabel Brilhante Pedrosa, Ambassador of the EU to Cuba, visited the Santa Clara Convent in Havana on 14 March 2024 to note the progress made in the rehabilitation of this 17th century heritage building. These works, carried out by the Office of the Historian of the City of Havana (OHCH), receive the support of the programme Transcultura: Integrating Cuba, the Caribbean and the European Union through Culture and Creativity, implemented by UNESCO and financed by the European Union, in the amount of 4,6 million euros for the procurement and import of materials for the rehabilitation.
The Santa Clara Convent is the oldest and largest convent located at the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage property ‘Old Havana and its Fortifications System’. Once refurbished, the building will house the Santa Clara College for Training in the Arts and Restorations Trades of Cuba and the Caribbean, aimed at training specialists from throughout the region and that will also serve as an exchange centre with Europe. The College is part of the Caribbean Cultural Training Hub promoted by Transcultura to strengthen the professionalisation of the cultural and creative sector in the region.
By funding the rehabilitation of this building, the EU and UNESCO are not only supporting the recuperation of a high-valued heritage property but turning it into a catalyst of sustainable development in Cuba and the Caribbean through its professionalization mission.
Old Havana and its Fortification System are a UNESCO World Heritage and as such aspire to turn their outstanding universal value into a stimulus for sustainable development. OHCH's commitment to deepen relations between Cuba and Europe – embodied in the Palace of the Second Cape – and between Cuba, Europe, and the Caribbean region – embodied in the Convent of Santa Clara – is notable, and the EU is proud to support this endeavour.
The OHCH team integrated by Nelys García, Director of International Relations and Cooperation, Gladys Collazo, Director of Cultural Heritage, and Norma Pérez-Trujillo, Head of Investments, welcomed the representatives of the European Union and UNESCO and guided them through the building to show them the project's state of implementation. To this date, Transcultura has facilitated the procurement of approximately 500 tons of materials.
Thanks to its restoration, the Convent of Santa Clara will be a driving force for entrepreneurship, employment and local development in Old Havana, as well as contributing to the training of specialists in heritage in the Caribbean.
Architect Norma Pérez-Trujillo explained that the works concentrate now on the church area of the convent that will host the main lecture hall of the College, which will be the biggest in Old Havana. This conference room and the adjacent classrooms and laboratories in the main cloister will be the first stage of the works to be finished and to host students.
