Promoting skills and awareness

Fifty years of experience has shown that World Heritage Sites are dynamic living places that embody many values, ranging from cultural and natural heritage to social and economic dimensions. Over the decades, the definition of heritage has greatly expanded to include large urban areas, vast cultural landscapes and protected areas as well as closer links between tangible and intangible values. Stewardship of these special places occurs primarily at the site level and within local communities. How then to equip the custodians of World Heritage with the skills needed in this complex and technologically transformed environment? 

Session 2 examines strategies adopted by UNESCO Category 2 Centres and other organizations to develop a diversity of skills for shared governance in protecting, conserving and presenting these sites. Presenters will discuss how they involve multiple stakeholders in their training programs and how they promote a greater role for civil society and non-State actors.

This session is held online, and hosted from Palazzo Coppini, supported by the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco, Firenze (Italy).

Welcome and moderation

Giovanni Boccardi
Architect, Former UNESCO Culture Sector Office

Christina Cameron
Professor, University of Montréal

Opening statements

Souayibou Varissou
Executive Director, African World Heritage Fund (AWHF)

Zhou Jian
World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and Pacific Region (WHITR-AP)

Ebrahim Al Khalifa
Deputy Director, Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH)

Pietro Laureano
President, International Traditional Knowledge Institute (ITKI)

Cecilia Rinaldi
Project Manager, CyArk

Mounir Bouchenaki
Former executive with UNESCO, ICCROM and ARC-WH

Panel discussion with commentary remarks by

Eugene Jo
Programme Manager, ICCROM

Christina Cameron held the Canada Research Chair in Built Heritage at the University of Montreal from 2005 to 2019 where she directed a research program on heritage conservation. She previously served as a heritage executive with Parks Canada for more than thirty-five years. She has worked with the World Heritage Convention since 1987, chairing the Committee in 1990 and 2008 and co-authoring Many Voices, One Vision: The Early Years of the World Heritage Convention (2013). In 2007, she received the Outstanding Achievement Award of the Public Service of Canada. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 2014 and received the Prix du Québec Gérard-Morisset in 2018 for her contributions to heritage conservation in Canada and abroad. She is a founding member of OurWorldHeritage.

Giovanni Boccardi is an Italian conservation architect and heritage expert. As a UNESCO staff person for over 25 years, he held different positions both in Field Offices and at Headquarters in Paris, where he headed two regional desks at the World Heritage Centre. From this position, Giovanni led the development of various policies on World Heritage and capacity building, the relation between World Heritage conservation and sustainable development, as well as disaster risks reduction. From 2014 to 2019, Giovanni was in charge of a new Unit within UNESCO’s Culture Sector to coordinate and implement the Organization’s actions to prepare for and respond to situations of emergency, including disasters and armed conflict. Currently, Giovanni works as an independent heritage consultant and is based in Rome. 

Souayibou Varissou is a heritage practitioner from the Republic of Benin. From 1992 to 2003, he undertook archaeological research on the transatlantic slave trade in his country. Starting in 1998, he lectured at the National University of Benin and the School of African Heritage (EPA) where he influenced the academic life and professional career of hundreds of students and youth. As a heritage professional, he has been involved in capacity-building programs in Africa, including Africa 2009 for immovable cultural heritage, Nomination Training Courses, Risk Preparedness, Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Business. He has been involved in various projects and meetings regarding cultural and natural sites. In 2009, he joined the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) as a programme specialist and is now its Executive Director.

Zhou Jian is a professor at Tongji University, Secretary General of the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and Pacific Region, and Director of WHITRAP Shanghai. He works on the conservation of cultural heritage and conducts research, education, and training activities in urban regeneration. He specializes in mechanisms for heritage management at the local level, the development of urban conservation plans with public participation, as well as the relationship between heritage conservation and the development of cities and communities. He has organized and participated in training and research projects including Risk Assessment of World Heritage Sites in the Asia Pacific Region, Management Planning of Heritage Sites, Historic Urban Landscape, Capacity Building in heritage sites, and cooperative exchanges between Tongji University and international or regional organizations. 

Ebrahim Al Khalifa is Deputy Director at the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage, a category 2 centre in the Kingdom of Bahrain. Since 2012 he has worked closely with 19 Arab countries and provided technical support to promote and manage cultural and natural sites. Ebrahim received a Masters in International Relations and Cultural Policy from the University of Westminster, U.K. He has participated in numerous conferences and seminars dedicated to cultural heritage in the Arab region. In his role in ARC-WH, he has worked to increase the representation of Arab States properties on the World Heritage List, to create a network of local and regional experts, to mobilize regional and international financial support for the preservation of properties, and to disseminate information, initiatives and programmes concerned with the World Heritage Convention.

Pietro Laureano is an architect and town planner as well as professor at the University of Florence. For over 35 years, he has carried out international projects in heritage site and tourism management. As a global expert in traditional knowledge, water management and desert oases, he has restored heritage gardens and water systems in several countries, including Matera in Italy, Greater Petra Park in Jordan, Lalibela in Ethiopia, Ighzer Oasis in Algeria and Al Ain in Dubai. With expertise in earthen architecture, he has worked on projects for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE, including on the interpretation, conservation and sustainable tourism management of various World Heritage sites.  In 2010, he contributed to the establishment of the International Traditional Knowledge Institute (ITKI), an NGO based in Florence that serves as a hub for the promotion and dissemination of traditional knowledge for the management of cultural heritage and the protection of ecosystems. Mr Laureano has over 150 publications in several languages.

Cecilia Rinaldi is an art historian who specializes in cultural heritage preservation. Currently, she’s a Project Manager at CyArk where she manages documentation and storytelling projects. She holds a Masters in Public Policy, with a focus of Cultural Policy and Management, from Sciences Po Paris and a bachelor's degree in History of Art with Material Studies from University College London. Before joining CyArk, Cecilia worked for Google Arts & Culture where she oversaw worldwide cultural preservation projects.

Mounir Bouchenaki, historian and archaeologist, worked in his native Algeria as Chief Curator of the Tipasa site, then Director of the Antiquities Service and Director of Cultural Heritage. He joined UNESCO in 1982 where he served in various roles for 25 years, as Assistant Director-General for Culture, Director of the World Heritage Centre, Director of the Division of Cultural Heritage, and Section Head of International Safeguarding Campaigns. From 2006 to 2011, he was elected Director-General of ICCROM. He participated in the creation of the Arab Regional Center for World Heritage based in Bahrain since 2013. He is the author of several publications, the most recent entitled Patrimoines mutilés (2017). He is currently Advisor on cultural heritage to the Director-General of UNESCO and to the Director-General of ICCROM.  

Eugene Jo has managed the IUCN-ICCROM World Heritage Leadership programme since 2017, based in Rome. This capacity-building programme aims to improve management practices by interlinking culture and nature while taking people-centred approaches. It focuses on areas of effective management, building resilience and impact assessments. Eugene holds a BA in Korean History, a Masters in Cultural Heritage Studies, and is completing her PhD in World Heritage Studies. Before coming to ICCROM, she was an independent researcher and the national focal point for World Heritage in Korea for nine years. She participated in World Heritage nomination and management projects that cover diverse cultural and natural sites, such as archaeological sites, living historic villages, architectural complexes, geological sites of volcanic and paleontological evidence, and marine biodiversity sites. In 2016, she served as rapporteur to the World Heritage Committee  and the General Assembly of States Parties.