Applications Invited for World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2024

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About the Organization

Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.

What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.

The World Heritage Convention:

The most significant feature of the 1972 World Heritage Convention is that it links together in a single document the concepts of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural properties. The Convention recognizes the way in which people interact with nature, and the fundamental need to preserve the balance between the two. The Convention defines the kind of natural or cultural sites which can be considered for inscription on the World Heritage List.

About the Fellowship

As an integral part of the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee and in the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, the Ministry of Culture through the Archaeological Survey of India, will host the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2024 under the theme of World Heritage in the 21st Century: Building Capacities and Exploring Opportunities for Youth from 14 to 23 July 2024 in Delhi, Republic of India.

The Forum will enhance the expertise and capacities of young professionals in protecting, preserving, and promoting our natural and cultural World Heritage. As key actors within their local communities, they will jointly explore opportunities to operationalise the World Heritage Convention in the twenty-first century. They will discuss and gain in-depth knowledge of the global concepts of World Heritage and Sustainable Development while also having the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the local Indian heritage and its management. At the end of the Forum, the young professionals will present their Declaration to the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee.

Background:

The World Heritage Young Professionals Fora are among the flagship activities of the World Heritage Education Programme, designed to foster intercultural learning and exchange by bringing together young people and heritage experts from different parts of the world to discover new roles for themselves in heritage conservation. They allow the young professionals to gain local insights on heritage management from the experience of the host country and through site visits to World Heritage properties, and also provide an opportunity for them to meet with the members of the World Heritage Committee and its Advisory Bodies and discuss the 1972 Convention and its implementation in greater depth.

Theme of the Forum:

The theme of the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2024 is set as “World Heritage in the 21st Century: Building Capacities and Exploring Opportunities for Youth”. The overall aim of the Forum is to deepen the knowledge and skills of young professionals in protecting, preserving, and promoting natural and cultural heritage. Accompanied by local and international experts, and through a variety of presentations, roundtables, discussions and site visits, the young professionals will collectively explore the opportunities in managing heritage with an approach rooted in community engagement and collective participation, addressing the following sub-themes:

• Understanding the achievements and challenges of the World Heritage Convention
• Climate change and its impact on World Heritage sites - Integrating innovative technologies for the promotion of World Heritage
• Leveraging World Heritage conservation as a participative approach alongside with communities
• Strengthening sustainable tourism and development through young entrepreneurship

Provisional Programme:

With the view of supplementing the theoretical knowledge gained by the participants during the forum with practical hands-on experiences at World Heritage properties, the Forum will be held at Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya Institute of Archaeology, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh in India. In addition, the participants will also have the opportunity to visit the World Heritage sites in Delhi - Qutb Minar and its monuments, Red Fort Complex, and Humayun’s Tomb - during the Forum.

Eligibility

Participants of the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2024 are expected to be:

• Aged between 23 and 32 years
• Experienced in one of these fields: World Heritage, conservation, archaeology, architecture, conservation, urban planning & regeneration, restoration, art history, tourism, climate change, and digital technology
• Motivated and committed to implementing the outcomes of the Forum in their respective countries
• Committed to enhancing community engagement in the management of World Heritage properties
• Available for the entire duration of the Forum
• Proficient in English, as the Forum will be conducted entirely in English

In addition to general eligibility, the following elements will also be considered in selecting the participants:

• Balanced geographical representation
• Gender equality
• Diversity of professional backgrounds
• Ability to disseminate gained experience in the country or institution of origin
• Knowledge and experience in the management practices for World Heritage sites

How to Apply

Application Form: Please note that the application form must be completed only in English. Applications submitted in other languages will not be considered. In addition to education and background information, candidates are also required to submit their CV and a copy of their passport size photo. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Application and Selection Procedure: 30 participants from all over the world and 20 participants from the Republic of India will be selected for the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2024 through the Call for Applications.

All interested candidates who wish to apply for participation in the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum are invited to complete the form at the following link:

https://unesco-2023.limesurvey.net/771133?lang=en

The deadline for submitting the applications is 30 April 2024 at 23:59 CET. The selected applicants will be informed by email.

For more information please check the Link

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Tags Skill Development Liberal Arts Others