1 The UNESCO World Heritage Convention – A Framework

• TheinscriptionontheUNESCOWorldHeritageListconstitutesadistinctionandagreatresponsibility.

• TheactivitiesofaWorldHeritageSitearebasedontheUNESCOWorldHeritageConvention(concerning

theProtectionoftheWorldCulturalandNaturalHeritage)andtheOperationalGuidelinesforthe

ImplementationoftheUNESCOWorldHeritageConvention.Additionally,theseactivitiesalsoreferto

theUNESCOHistoricUrbanLandscapeRecommendationsaswellastotheUNSustainable

DevelopmentGoals(especiallyTarget11.4).

2 Between preservation and development

• TheprotectionoftheoutstandinguniversalvalueandoftheintegrityandauthenticityofaWorld

HeritageSiteisakeymanagementobjective.

• WorldHeritageSitesarelikelivingorganismswhosecontinuedexistenceandvaluecanonlybe

preservediftheyaregiventhepossibilityofcontinuedchangesandacoherentsystemofpreservation,

developmentandmanagement.

• Anintegratedmethodistobedeveloped,aspreservationisnotanisolatedactivitybutpartofthe

sustainabledevelopmentcoveringthesocial,economicandculturalsectors.

3 Facing the challenges

• We,theundersigned,seethenecessitytodevelopformal,thematic,structuralandorganizational

answerstothenewchallengesasthedemandsmadetoWorldHeritageSiteschangecontinuously.

• WorldHeritageSitesthemselvesrepresentacontinuousvalue.Atthesametimethereexistsanecessity

forthemtobefurtherdevelopedaspartofgrowinganddynamicallychangingcities.Urban

developmentstrategiesshouldtakeintoaccountbothandintegratecontemporaryneedswiththe

outstandinguniversalvalueinaHistoricUrbanLandscape.

• Whenembeddedinalargerurbancontext,WorldHeritageSitesshouldbeabletoadapttothe

respectiveurbandynamics.Moreover,theycanalsobenefitfromurbandevelopment,whichcontributes

toimprovingthesocio-economicsituationonsite.

4 Stakeholder involvement and public perception

• Theinteractionwithvariousnationalandinternationalplayers(e.g.ICOMOSInternational,World

Heritagenetworks,etc.)aswellastransparentandcomprehensivedecision-makingprocessesarean

integralpartofadequategovernancestructures.

• Thetopicshouldbepositivelyincorporatedinthepublicperceptionbymeansofawarenessraising

andknowledgetransfer.Allplayersshouldemploypublicrelationmeasureswiththeutmostcareand

considerationofthejointobjective.

• Localplayersandcivilsocietycouldbeactivelyinvolvedintodiscussionsanddecision-makingprocesses

regardingWorldHeritageSites..

The Vienna DeclarationPreservation, Development and Management of World Heritagein Dynamic Cities

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amsterdam–aranjuez–baku

berlin–bordeaux–bruges–brussels–budapest

dubrovnik–edinburgh–istanbul

krakow–liverpool–lyon–mexico –moscow

prague–puebla–quebec–quito

rabat–riga–st. Petersburg–suzhou

tel aviv-yafo–vienna

warsaw

5 Interdependencies with other factors

• WorldHeritageisacross-cuttingtopicandhasstronglinkstoeducation,scienceandculture.

• InlinewiththemissionofUNESCO,theseareas(education,science,cultureandWorldHeritage)should

beinterconnectedandfurthernetworkingistobepursued.

• TourismisakeyfactorandoftenapositiveresultofaWorldHeritageSite’ssocial,economicandcultural

setting.Inturn,tourismcanbeuseddeliberatelytoimprovethelivingconditionsandopportunities

forlocals.Atthesametime,negativeeffectsontheauthenticityoftheWorldHeritageSiteresulting

fromtourismshouldbeprevented.

• TheUNESCO’sWorldHeritageandSustainableTourismProgramcanbeusedasresourcefortourism

management.

6 The national and international perspective

• ManychallengesfacedbyWorldHeritageSitesatlocallevelcannotbeseenisolatedfromthe

internationalcontext,i.e.theglobaldimension.

• Theexchangeofexperienceatanationalandinternationallevelistobeintensified.

• Citiesingeneralhaveahighculturalandhistoricimportance.Althoughtheyarepermanentlysubject

todynamicdevelopment,citiesshallremainstrongplayersinthecommunityofWorldHeritageSites.

WiththeViennaDeclarationtheundersignedmanifesttheimportanceofcitiesandcity

administrationsforUrbanWorldHeritageSitesandfortheirprosperingfuture.

The Vienna Declaration

Preservation, Development and Management of World Heritage in Dynamic Cities

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