The 2016 International Training on Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA) opened on 18 October in the Vigan Cultural and Trade Center at Vigan City, the Philippines. As the third session of the series on HIA topic, this year`s workshop is organized by WHITRAP and ICCROM with support of the Vigan City Government. Executive Deputy Director of WHITRAP Shanghai Ms. Lu Wei, the Vigan City Councilor and Acting Mayor Ms. Janina Carine Medina- Fariñas and Ms. Katri Lisitzin representing ICCROM attended and made welcome addresses at the opening ceremony. Twelve trainees from ten countries of Asia-Pacific, Europe, and the Arab world participated in this year`s session, including China, Egypt, Fiji, India, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, the Netherlands, the Philippines and Singapore.

To cope with the threats from various types of large-scale development activities to the World Heritage properties and the negative impacts to the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), integrity and authenticity of the properties, WHITRAP, together with ICCROM, has initiated a training workshop which has taken place every two years since 2012, under the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding in regional capacity building. The ten-day course from October 18 to 27 this year, aims to equip participants with theoretical and application methods of heritage impact assessments through lectures, field tours, and case studies. Vigan authorities will be invited by the end of the course to listen to presentations made by trainees about the their studies on the cases at local level.

Fig1.&2. Opening Ceremony of 2016 International Training Course on HIA

Fig3.Group Photo

Fig4.Welcome Dinner on the Evening of October 18