Saturday 1st December 2012 – University College London
Keynote Address: Baroness Andrews, English Heritage
Speakers Include: Professor Christina Cameron, University of Montreal; Marie-Noël Tournoux, UNESCO World Heritage Centre; James Rebanks, Rebanks Consulting Ltd; Adam Wilkinson, Edinburgh World Heritage; Feng Jing, UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Kate Roberts, Cadw
Since the adoption of the World Heritage Convention in 1972, the perception of what constitutes ‘heritage’ has undergone dramatic change, including a widening of the definition to include both the ‘great’ and the ‘ordinary’, tangible and intangible forms of heritage, and even cultural diversity itself. The Convention has been central to debates which have transformed our understanding of what heritage is and does in contemporary global societies.
This one day conference was jointly organised by ICOMOS-UK, The Open University, UCL Centre for Museums, Heritage and Material Culture and the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. It marked the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention by looking to the future of World Heritage in the UK and beyond. The conference bought together government representatives, policy makers, academics, heritage site managers and interested members of the public to discuss the role of World Heritage in the UK in the coming decades in relation to the following series of questions:
- What is the relationship between the Outstanding Universal Value of World Heritage and the range of other values which such places hold for local stakeholders and the nation more broadly?
- What are the economic, social and environmental benefits of World Heritage? How can heritage be more productively linked with other issues of social, economic and environmental concern?
- What are our aspirations for engaging people and communities with the conservation of World Heritage Sites? What mechanisms might encourage increased collaboration of communities with experts and policy makers?
This one-day international conference reflected on how the UK might contribute to broader international debates on sustainability and the evolving role of World Heritage in the future.
£60 ICOMOS-UK members, £65 non-members (includes lunch, tea and coffee)
The full event programme including list of speakers and discussion topics is available to download from the toolbar on the right.