International Heritage News
01 Registration Opens for the 45th World Heritage Committee Youth Forum
The Youth Forum of the extended 45th session of the World Heritage Committee will be held from September 3 to 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and at the World Heritage site of Al-Ahsa Oasis. The theme is "Looking Forward: The Next 50 Years for the Protection of Natural and Cultural Heritage." The forum aims to enhance young people's knowledge and skills in protecting and promoting natural and cultural heritage over the next 50 years. Under the guidance of local and international experts, through presentations, roundtable discussions, and field visits, participants will explore the many challenges of managing heritage ecosystems today.
Topics include:
·World Heritage and Climate Change
·World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism
·Diversity and Representation in World Heritage
·Digital Dimensions of World Heritage
Forum Schedule:
·Sep 2 – Arrival
·Sep 3 – Forum opening
·Sep 4–8 – Thematic seminars and visit to Al-Ahsa Oasis
·Sep 9 – Youth mock committee
·Sep 10 – Drafting the Youth Declaration
·Sep 11 – Presentation of forum outcomes to the 45th World Heritage Committee
·Sep 12 – Interaction with the site managers' forum representatives; forum closing
Registration opens immediately, limited to 30 participants, and closes on June 4. Transportation, accommodation, and meals during the forum are provided by the host country. Registration information link: https://whc.unesco.org/en/youth-forum/
Source: whc.unesco.org
02 World Heritage Online Map Platform to be Officially Launched at the 45th World Heritage Committee
With the support of the Belgian government, the World Heritage Online Map Platform will be officially launched at the 45th World Heritage Committee in Riyadh this September. To protect the Outstanding Universal Value of over a thousand World Heritage sites, the platform will provide clear, consistent, and geo-referenced maps of the boundaries of properties and buffer zones, as well as the attribute features within them, to support effective protection, monitoring, analysis, and decision-making.
As an open-access World Heritage online GIS "single map", the pilot version for Europe and North America has entered the final stage of development, integrated with the third cycle of Periodic Reporting, and has been linked to UNESCO's existing databases.
Source: International Heritage Observation
03 African World Heritage Day 2023
May 5 is African World Heritage Day. UNESCO notes that although Africa is underrepresented on the World Heritage List (African heritage accounts for approximately 12% of the total), a high proportion of these properties (39%) are on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Due to various contemporary threats such as climate change, uncontrolled development, poaching, social unrest and instability, many of Africa's wonders risk losing their Outstanding Universal Value. Therefore, the protection and preservation of these irreplaceable heritages is more urgent than ever to ensure that future generations can continue to enjoy them.
UNESCO is committed to leading international efforts to harness the enormous potential of Africa's cultural and natural heritage to reduce poverty, unite communities, and promote sustainable development and innovation. Through this International Day, UNESCO aims to raise global awareness of African heritage, particularly among young people, and to strengthen cooperation at local, regional and global levels.
Source: whc.unesco.org
04 UNESCO to Hold First Symposium on Architectural Conservation and Innovation in Hong Kong
UNESCO Bangkok, in collaboration with New World Development Company, will hold the first "Symposium on Architectural Conservation and Innovation" on June 15 at the University of Hong Kong's Cheng Yu Tung Tower. The theme is "Creative Interpretation of Transformation and Rebirth of Historic Buildings." This cultural exchange event will bring together conservation experts, policymakers, innovators, and researchers from around the world to share and discuss projects from various countries (including Hong Kong's Grade 1 historic building, the State Theatre) and to explore innovative management and future trends.
Detailed information link: culturefortomorrow.org/sc/events/heritage-innovation-symposium-2023-when-innovation-empowers-heritage-conservation/
Source: www.culturefortomorrow.org
05 ICCROM Online Seminar: Impact of Tourism on Archaeological Sites
The International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), together with the Spanish Institute of Cultural Heritage (IPCE), the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH), and the Royal Spanish Academy in Rome, will hold an online seminar from May 16–18 on "The Impact of Tourism on Archaeological Sites." Starting from the approaches to disaster risk reduction, emergency response, and recovery for cultural heritage developed by various countries in the face of multiple risks, the seminar will analyze the impact of tourism on the conservation, management, and interpretation of archaeological sites through case studies from around the world.
Source: www.iccrom.org
Domestic Heritage News
01 2023 International Museum Day China Main Event Held in Fuzhou
International Museum Day was initiated by the International Council of Museums (ICOM) and has been held for 14 consecutive years since 2009. This year, the organizers will hold the China main event for International Museum Day in Fuzhou, centered on the theme "Museums, Sustainability and Wellbeing." To this end, museums and memorials in the Fuzhou area have planned a series of distinctive thematic activities, exhibitions, academic seminars, public interactive events, and cultural heritage promotions.
The activities also include the opening ceremony held at the Fujian Museum on May 18, thematic forums on "Museums, Sustainability and Wellbeing," a curators' forum on "Promoting Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture and Cultivating Socialist Core Values," a youth forum, and other academic seminars.
Source: http://www.hxnews.com/
02 4th International Symposium on Built Heritage: Regulation and Innovation – Regeneration of Historic Environment in Urban Evolution
The theme of the 4th International Symposium on Built Heritage is "Regulation and Innovation: Regeneration of Historic Environment in Urban Evolution." As China's urbanization enters its second half, urban spatial development pays more attention to structural adjustment of increments and quality improvement of存量. The historic environment in cities is a temporal mark left by urban-rural evolution, carrying local memories and reflecting the character of cities. In the context of gradual, organic, and high-quality urban renewal, the role and prospects of the historic environment become particularly important. Against the backdrop of a new era, how to incorporate protection-oriented single actions into a comprehensive framework that integrates multiple objectives – such as local cultural protection and cultivation, cultural value interpretation and presentation, ecological and environmental protection, and local socio-economic development – using dynamic regulation as a tool and inheritance and innovation as goals, constitutes the core议题 of this symposium. The forum will also feature five sub-themes:
1.Conservation and Revitalization of Built Heritage
2.Organic Urban Renewal and Regeneration of Historic Districts
3.Regeneration of Traditional Settlements in Rural Revitalization
4.Conservation and Regeneration from the Perspective of Historic Urban Landscape (HUL)
5.Theories and Approaches of Critical Conservation
The forum will be held from October 20–22, 2023, at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University. Participants should register and complete their personal information on the official website: icobhs.tongji.edu.cn
Source: Journal of Architectural Heritage
03 Southeast and South Asia Archaeological Research and Cultural Heritage Protection Base Completed and Put into Use in Kunming
The Southeast and South Asia Archaeological Research and Cultural Heritage Protection Base, jointly established by the National Cultural Heritage Administration and the People's Government of Yunnan Province, was inaugurated on May 16 at the Yunnan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology. This marks the completion and operation of an important physical platform for China to carry out archaeological research and cultural heritage protection exchanges with South and Southeast Asian countries.
The base has a total floor area of 9,863 square meters and includes a cultural relic specimen exhibition hall, a cultural relic specimen storage warehouse, a workspace for sorting excavated cultural relics, a room for collecting and analyzing cultural heritage information, and laboratories for cultural relic scientific conservation and restoration.
Source: Xinhua Net
04 First Maritime Silk Road International Documentary Conference to be Held in Quanzhou in July
The year 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of the proposal to jointly build the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. A reporter learned from the China International Communications Group on May 8 that to further promote cultural exchange and mutual learning among countries and regions along the Maritime Silk Road, the first Maritime Silk Road International Documentary Conference will be held from July 3 to 6 in Quanzhou, Fujian Province.
Guided by the Silk Road spirit of "peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning, mutual benefit and win-win," the conference uses documentary film as a medium to continuously promote the creation, exchange, and promotion of documentaries in countries and regions along the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. Through screenings, project pitches, thematic seminars, and cultural experiences, it will build an open, equal, mutually beneficial, and win-win platform for international film and television culture and industry cooperation and exchange.
Source: culture.gmw.cn
05 Fan Jinshi, Honorary Director of Dunhuang Academy, Donates 10 Million RMB to Peking University to Establish Dunhuang
Studies Education Fund
On May 4, coinciding with Peking University's 125th anniversary, "Daughter of Dunhuang" Fan Jinshi, an alumna, returned to Peking University and brought with her a donation of 10 million RMB to establish the Fan Jinshi Education Fund, to support Dunhuang Studies at Peking University. At the donation ceremony, Fan Jinshi offered her birthday wishes to her alma mater on its 125th anniversary, expressing her hope that Peking University would cultivate more outstanding talents to promote cultural confidence and self-strengthening and to create a new glory for socialist culture.
The donated funds include the positive energy award prize money from the 2019 LUI Che Woo Prize – Prize for World Civilisation (the total prize was 20 million HKD, half of which was donated to her alma mater and the other half to the Dunhuang Academy), as well as the 1 million HKD prize money from the 2020 Ho Leung Ho Lee Foundation Prize for Scientific and Technological Achievement. On this basis, in order to reach a fund principal of 10 million RMB, Fan Jinshi also donated her own savings accumulated over many years.
Source: Peking University
06 Fudan University's First UNESCO Chair Inaugurated
On May 7, the international symposium "Localization and Internationalization of Heritage Studies" and the inauguration ceremony of the UNESCO Chair on "Living Heritage and Community Development" were held at Fudan University. At the ceremony, Fudan University's first UNESCO Chair Programme – the Chair on "Living Heritage and Community Development" – was officially inaugurated. Zhang Jianwei, Executive Deputy Director of WHITRAP-Beijing, and Li Guanghan, Assistant Director, attended the inauguration ceremony and delivered keynote speeches.
The newly inaugurated Chair on "Living Heritage and Community Development" will bring together more than 20 universities, cultural and museum institutions, and foundations from 10 countries, including the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa, and China. It will focus on the conservation and transmission of living heritage and community sustainable development in underdeveloped regions of China and the world, and will carry out work in scientific research, social practice, student training, cultural exchange, and other fields.
Source: Fudan University
