Disasters and Pandemics
Recent disasters and actual pandemic have exposed the fragility and vulnerability of our world heritage. These exceptional sites and pieces, which we would like to preserve for all humanity and future generations, do not exist in a segregated world. They belong to our social environment and our daily life. But at the same time, the World Heritage Sites are in danger! They are threatened by natural hazards that attempt against their existence. The pandemic has revealed their fragility and how much the human presence in them is vital and necessary for their survival. How can we protect them and at the same time give them life and new meanings? If we hope for a future for them, we should stop considering them only as beautiful objects or places, merchandise for the tourist industry, and fully integrate them into the social and cultural dynamics of daily life. We propose to promote a great discussion around the world on the risks and effects of disasters and pandemics on World Heritage Sites. We invite Non-Governmental Organizations, Academies, representatives of civil society, and local governments to participate, to contribute with new proposals for public policies on the conservation and safeguarding of the cultural and natural heritage of humanity.
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COVID Pandemic tested human behavior in many dimensions. How did we practice heritage conservation during the COVID-19 pandemic?
As a result of the confinement and the drop in touristic activity in historic areas, community networks produce new forms of collaboration to maintain quality of life. This roundtable looks at museums, villages and large scale cities.
Multidisciplinary academia, not-for-profit and industry contributors provide their opinions about how World Heritage Sites can prepare for these potential calamities.
The pandemic and the confinement associated with preventive measures impacts the economic sustainability of historic centers.
This webinar highlights the vulnerabilities and protection of intangible heritage in contexts of disaster and crisis, and its role in recovery processes and resilience building.
Researchers from different disciplines within the disaster studies discuss protecting world heritage sites against disasters.
How to protect our cultural heritage while giving them life and new meaning? (How) have cultural values have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic?
Addressing the way groups address heritage (sometimes even as a hindrance), through the lens of participation.
How can local creative and cultural industries help to build the resilience of heritage sites in an era in which natural disasters and climate change increasingly threatens cultural heritage?
Installing and strengthening disaster-risk management among all the stakeholders reduces vulnerability to potential threats. Investing in prevention through programs, regulations or projects should be a priority task to contribute to the preservation of heritage and its associated communities.
This session touches upon how earthquakes affect different cultural heritage expressions and the relationship between earthquake destruction and cultural heritage regulations and conventions
Cultural and Natural Heritage are among the highest expressions of humanity. However, we assist to a sharp increase of disasters causing severe damage or loss of heritage worldwide. Countries affected by catastrophic events are usually caught unprepared, incapable to deploy mitigation and/or response measures.
This session seeks to inquire into the situation of historic centers faced with pandemics, how these phenomena have affected them and in what way they have faced them throughout their history.
To understand the impacts that COVID has had on tourist cities, especially World Heritage sites, we will analyze six cases, each one of them with its own challenges. This will allow us to see how cities are facing the pandemic.
Natural and social disasters -notably the current COVID-19 pandemic- are part of an identity construction: society responds to them differently and condition our present and future experience- again, in mostly positive developments, but always with the threat of failure or repeated defeat. In this, too, World Heritage Sites reflect the human experience.
Speakers and coordinators from past sessions of #2021debate Disasters&Pandemics reflect various topics and questions that were raised.
This is a closing session of the thematic debate on Disasters and Pandemics. Speakers and/or coordinators from different sessions will be invited to have a concluding conversation about various topics discussed and questions that were addressed:
How can we protect world heritage sites and, at the same time, give them life and new meanings?
How can we fully integrate WHS into the social and cultural dynamics of our daily life to make them more resilient when facing disasters or pandemics?
What is the role of communities in reconstruction processes in World Heritage Sites after disasters or pandemics ?
How can we enhance the relationship between local government and civil society during emergencies in world heritage sites?
How can we carry out inclusive and sustainable reconstruction processes that focus on WHS values?
How can civil society play a leading role channelling international cooperation for WHS after disasters and pandemics.
MODERATOR: Fernando Pérez Oyarzun - Architect (PUC Chile), and PhD (UPC Barcelona). Visiting professor at Harvard University, Simón Bolívar University, and Cambridge University. Tenured professor at Universidad Católica de Chile and current Director of Chile’s “Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes”.
SPEAKERS
Umberto Bonomo
Michael Turner
Francesco Bandarin
Christina Cameron
Mario Santana