The UNESCO World Heritage Convention

Prepared by: Mohamed FarhiSupervised by: Prof. Moubtassime

The UNESCO World Heritage ConventionSidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah UniversityFaculty of Letters and Human SciencesDepartment of EnglishCultural Studies StreamCourse of Cultural Tourism and Development Semester 6May 20, 2014

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The Basics of the World Heritage ConventionThe Concept of World HeritageWorld Heritage ListTypes of World HeritageCultural HeritageNatural HeritageMixed HeritageWorks Cited

Outline

The Basics of the World Heritage ConventionIn 1972, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted a new convention referred to as Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention 1).

This convention was created as a reaction against the increasing deterioration cultural and natural sites are exposed to worldwide (World Heritage Convention 1).The Basics of the World Heritage Convention

The aim of this convention is to identify, conserve, present and transmit to future generations cultural and natural sites whose significance transcends geographical and political boundaries (World Heritage Convention 3).The Basics of the World Heritage Convention

To implement the guidelines of the convention, participant countries cooperate to establish a comprehensive framework that regulates the legal, administrative and financial aspects of the convention (World Heritage Convention 3).The Basics of the World Heritage Convention

Enjoying world heritage is the right of everyone, but also preserving it is the duty of everyone (World Heritage Convention 4).The convention considers natural and cultural heritage to be the property of every human being regardless of the country where the property is situated.The Basics of the World Heritage Convention

As of Sep 2012, 191 countries have adopted the World Heritage Convention, including Morocco, who has been a member since 1975 (States Parties: Ratification Status). The Basics of the World Heritage Convention

The concept of world heritage refers to the world's unique cultural and natural legacy that is a gift from the past and should be preserved for the future (Information kit 5).The Concept of World Heritage

According to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the concept of world heritage means that exceptional, unique cultural and natural properties of the world belong to all people regardless of the country where the property is situated (Information kit 5).The Concept of World Heritage

To be considered part of world heritage, a property should be of outstanding universal value (Operational Guidelines 14).The Concept of World Heritage

Properties of outstanding universal value are significant not just for the locals but also for the international community as whole, not just for the present generation but also for future generations (Operational Guidelines 14).The Concept of World Heritage

The World Heritage ListStates parties to the convention are required to submit an inventory of tentative world heritage sites situated within their territory to the World Heritage Committee which decides whether the property deserves to be included in the Word Heritage List (World Heritage Convention 6).

World Heritage ListInscription in the World Heritage List follows a rigorous process; only properties of outstanding universal value are included in the list (Operational Guidelines 14-15).

Types of World HeritageCultural HeritageNatural HeritageMixed Heritage(Marshall 19)

Cultural HeritageAccording to the world heritage convention, there are three types of cultural heritage: monuments, groups of buildings and sites (Marshall 19-20).Types of World Heritage

Cultural HeritageMonuments:architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings and combinations of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science" (Marshall 19-20).Types of World Heritage

Statue of Liberty

- State: United States of America - Date of Inscription: 1984Example of a monument:(Marshall 25)

Cultural Heritagegroups of buildings:groups of separate or connected buildings which, because of their architecture, their homogeneity or their place in the landscape, are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science (Marshall 19-20).Types of World Heritage

- State: Morocco - - Date of Inscription: 1987

Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou

Example of groups of building:(Marshall 26)

Cultural Heritagesites:works of man or the combined works of nature and man, and areas including archaeological sites which are of outstanding universal value from the historical, aesthetic, ethnological or anthropological point of view" (Marshall 19-20).

Types of World Heritage

Site of Palmyra

- State: Syrian Arab Republic - Date of Inscription: 1980Example of a site:(Marshall 26)

Types of World HeritageAnnex 3 of the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention adds other types of cultural heritage: cultural landscapes, canals, and routes (Operational Guidelines 87).

Cultural HeritageCultural LandscapesCultural landscapes are cultural sites that symbolize the interaction between humankind and the natural environment surrounding it, which is referred to as the "combined works of nature and of man (Operational Guidelines 88).

Types of World Heritage

Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras

- State: Philippines - Date of Inscription: 1995

Example of a cultural landscape:(Marshall 28)

Cultural HeritageHeritage canals Heritage canals are man-made waterways that are of outstanding universal value (Operational Guidelines 91).Types of World Heritage

Canal du Midi

- State: France - Date of Inscription: 1996

Example of a heritage canal:(Canal du Midi)

Cultural Heritageheritage routes Heritage routes refer to routes where dynamic movements of people occur that continue in time and space, symbolizing interaction between regions and countries for any purpose, be it religious, commercial, or administrative (Operational Guidelines 93).Types of World Heritage

Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France

- State: France - Date of Inscription: 1998

Example of a heritage route:(Routes of Santiago De Compostela)

Natural HeritageThe World Heritage Convention classifies natural heritage into three types (Marshall 20).Types of World Heritage

Natural HeritageFirst type: "natural features consisting of physical and biological formations or groups of such formations, which are of outstanding universal value from the aesthetic or scientific point of view (Marshall 22).Types of World Heritage

Volcanoes of Kamchatka

- State: Russian Federation - Date of Inscription: 1996

Example of the first type of natural heritage:(Marshall 29)

Natural HeritageSecond type: "geological and physiographical formations and precisely delineated areas which constitute the habitat of threatened species of animals and plants of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation (Marshall 22).Types of World Heritage

Okapi Wildlife Reserve

- State: Democratic Republic of the Congo - Date of Inscription: 1996Example of the second type of natural heritage:(Marshall 29)

Natural HeritageThird type: natural sites or precisely delineated natural areas of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science, conservation or natural beauty (Marshall 22).Types of World Heritage

Grand Canyon National Park

- State: USA - Date of Inscription: 1979Example of the third type of natural heritage:(Marshall 30)

Mixed HeritageIf a site has elements of both cultural and natural heritage, it is called mixed heritage property or site (Operational Guidelines 13-14).Types of World Heritage

- Country: Guatemala - Date of Inscription: 1979Tikal National Park

Example of a mixed heritage site:(Marshall 24)

The end!

Thank you!

Works CitedMarshall, Duncan. "World Heritage Background." Preparing World Heritage Nominations. 2nd Ed. Paris: UNESCO, 2011. 10-50. PDF. UNESCO. Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Paris: UNESCO, 1980. PDF. UNESCO. "Interactive Map." World Heritage Centre. UNESCO, n.d. Web. 3 May 2014. UNESCO. Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Paris: UNESCO, 2013. PDF. UNESCO. "States Parties: Ratification Status." World Heritage Centre. UNESCO, n.d. Web. 1 May 2014. UNESCO. World Heritage Information Kit. Paris: UNESCO, 2008. PDF.UNESCO. "World Heritage List: Canal Du Midi." World Heritage List. UNESCO, n.d. Web. 4 May 2014. UNESCO. "World Heritage List: Routes of Santiago De Compostela in France." World Heritage Centre. UNESCO, n.d. Web. 4 May 2014.