See the Calendar of the World Heritage Dialogues series:
http://www.whitr-ap.org/index.php?classid=1461&newsid=3310&t=show

Group Photo



Jyoti HOSAGRAHAR, Deputy Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre




The roundtable discussion was moderated by Prof. SHAO. The following experts participated in the Round Table discussion, Gabriel CABALLERO, Moe CHIBA, Chief of Culture Unit at the UNESCO Jakarta Office, Prof. YANG Jianqiang, School of Architecture at Southeast University, Nanjing, Dr. Gamini WIJESURIYA, WHITRAP Special Advisor, Dr. YAN Haiming, Director of ICOMOS China Secretariat, Associate Research Fellow and Deputy Director of China World Cultural Heritage Center, participated in the Round Table discussion.The moderator invited the discussants to reflect on two questions:
According to the characteristics of World Heritage in the Asia-Pacific region, what are special and distinctive aspects on the topic of World Heritage and quality of life? What are the specific difficulties or challenges? Correspondingly, are there any good approach to highlight
Re-reading the World Heritage Convention today and looking at the next 50 years, what must be maintained and what should be modified?

Round Table
The Dialogues allowed for lively and knowledge-sharing roundtable discussions among the experts from the Asia and Pacific region. They showcased experiences from the region and discussed the conservation and management of World Heritage sites, the strength and relevance of the Convention, and the ways to achieve a better linkage between conservation and development. Three key points came out of the roundtable discussion:
The universal value of the World Heritage Convention needs to be strengthened. For example, more emphasis should be placed on the spiritual meaning of World Heritage. Heritage should be brought into people’s everyday life and be people-centered. The adoption of new digital and virtual means, although useful, should not diminish the spiritual meaning of “World Heritage”.
The spirit of international cooperation of the World Heritage Convention needs to be revived. The Convention stems from an international campaign to safeguard humankind’s heritage based on international cooperation. This original intention is what we need to adhere to and pass on in the next 50 years to collectively face the social, economic, Climate Change challenges and other threats.
The diversity of heritage types and innovative protection methods are important. Heritage types are more and more diverse, they express a wider and richer range of heritage and they are becoming closer to the quality of people's lives. Therefore, protection and conservation methods need more innovative and people-centred approaches to recognize that our heritage and we are inseparable as a whole.
The outcomes of the Dialogue, as well as the video recording, will be summarized and posted online and shared on 15-16 November on the occasion of the International Conference “World Heritage and Urban-Rural Sustainable Development: Resilience and Innovation”.
Relevant Links:
See the Announcement of this Dialogue Session:
http://www.whitr-ap.org/index.php?classid=1461&newsid=3312&t=show
See the Video Playback of this Dialogue Session:
http://heritap.whitr-ap.org/index.php?classid=12497&id=34&t=show
Session 1 World Heritage and Quality of Life

