The guardian of our world

Questions answered by Mechtild Rössler, Chief, Europe & North America, UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Non Profit ID card: present your project/organisation/campaign

– Where are you based? UNESCO Paris, France.

– What are you called? UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

– What are you doing and why? Secretariat of the 1972 World Heritage Convention:

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.

UNESCO’s World Heritage mission is to:

– encourage countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage;

– encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List;

– encourage States Parties to establish management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of their World Heritage sites;

– help States Parties safeguard World Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional training;

– provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger;

– support States Parties’ public awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation;

– encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage;

– encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world’s cultural and natural heritage.

–       Do you have a website/email? http://whc.unesco.org/

–       Do you have a Twitter/facebook link/name? Certainly not.

 

The turning point

–       How did you start? With the creation of the 1972 Convention.

–       What keeps you going every day? The text of the 1972 Convention.

–       Who is your target? Protection of all the 890 sites on the World Heritage List (440 in Europe and North America) through conservation action.

–       How are you financed? UNESCO regular programme (staff), World Heritage Fund, extrabudgetary (projects).

 

The challenge

–       A proud moment? Safeguarding sites; many success stories such as moving a pipeline away from Lake Baikal (2006), or stopping the project of the themepark of Drakualand at the historic city of Sigisoara (Romania) in 2003.

–       A problem you face? Delisting of the cultural landscape of the Dresden Elbe valley (2009) due to a 4 lane bridge project.

–       Your personal motto when things get hard? 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.

–       Another cool project/organisation/campaign you would like to recommend? Many site managers, NGOs and others on the ground involved in safeguarding World Heritage sites as well as our partners ICOMOS, IUCN, ICCROM.

http://whc.unesco.org/

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