The virtual forbidden city - beijing (China)
The Forbidden City: Beyond Space and Time is a partnership between
the Palace Museum and IBM. The goal of the project is to provide
the means for a world-wide audience to celebrate and explore aspects
of Chinese culture and history. You can use this website to learn
more about the project, or click the link below to visit the Download
page where you can view the requirements for experiencing the Virtual
Forbidden City.
If you register to join the Beyond Space and Time community you
will be able to participate in forum discussions and gain access
to enhanced features in the Virtual Forbidden City.
More information:
http://www.beyondspaceandtime.org
Finland applies Management Effectiveness Assessments to
its Cultural World Heritage sites
Finland has taken the lead in applying the Enhancing our Heritage
(EoH) management effectiveness assessment toolkit to cultural World
Heritage sites. Finnish representatives participated in a World
Heritage Nordic Foundation regional workshop on management planning
for Nordic countries in 2009 in which the EoH toolkit had been presented.
They were impressed by the toolkit's potential and decided to apply
it upon their return in their efforts to establish systematic management
planning processes there.
More information:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/657/
Serious flooding at the Historic Monuments Zone of Tlacotalpan
(Mexico) World Heritage property
According to reports from the Secretary of the Civil Defense
of Mexico, the heavy rains and the downpour of the past few weeks
have generated severe flooding in the country, including seriously
affecting the Tlacotalpan World Heritage site. The storms have also
resulted in the forced relocation of almost 8500 people from the
city, and at least five persons have been reported killed over the
last 25 days as a result of flooding in the southern part of the
State of Veracruz as a result of the overflowing of the Papaloapan
and Coatzacoalcos Rivers.
More information:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/660/
International Graduate School: Heritage Studies at Brandenburg
Technical University (BTU) Cottbus (Germany)
The International Graduate School: Heritage Studies at Cottbus University
offers an interdisciplinary PhD programme in the broad field of
the humanities. It is aimed at a national as well as international
audience. The International Graduate School consists of highly qualified
and committed colleagues from all faculties of the BTU and other
institutions. It seeks a cooperative partnership with the Graduate
School "Cultural and technical values of historic buildings"
in the faculty two in the form of joint summer schools and research
colloquiums.
More information:
http://www.tu-cottbus.de/btu/de/gradschool/heritage-studies.html
Preparatory Meeting for Latin American Periodic Reporting
draws to a close
The first preparatory meeting for the Second Cycle of the Periodic
Reporting exercise for World Heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean
(LAC) for the Mexico and Central America sub region was held from
6 to 8 September 2010 at the Antiguo Convento Franciscano de Propaganda
FIDE, currently the Guadalupe Museum in Zacatecas (Mexico). The
meeting coincided with the inauguration of the World Heritage Category
2 Centre in Zacatecas, approved by the 35th session of the General
Conference of UNESCO in October 2009.
More information:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/656
Lalibela (Ethiopia)
The 11 medieval monolithic cave churches of this 13th-century 'New
Jerusalem' are situated in a mountainous region in the heart of
Ethiopia near a traditional village with circular-shaped dwellings.
Lalibela is a high place of Ethiopian Christianity, still today
a place of pilmigrage and devotion.
More information:
http://www.clio.fr/BIBLIOTHEQUE/unesco/ethiopie_lalibela.asp
New natural jewels on the World Heritage crown
Following IUCN’s recommendations, the landscapes of France’s
La Reunion Island, Russia’s Siberian Putorana Plateau and
the Phoenix Islands Protected Areas of Kiribati have been added
to the List of Natural World Heritage sites by UNESCO. The Committee
also decided to add Danxia (China) to the List.
Two other natural sites were extended upon IUCN’s advice:
Monte San Giorgio, from Switzerland to Italy, and Pirin National
Park in Bulgaria.
Reunion Island contains the most significant remaining natural habitats
for the conservation of terrestrial biodiversity in the Mascarene
Island Archipelago, including a range of rare forest type. Towering
volcanoes, including steep rock walls and natural amphitheatres,
as well as deep forested gorges and escarpments form dramatic scenery
of striking beauty.
More information:
http://www.iucn.org/?5751/New-natural-jewels-on-the-World-Heritage-crown
HERITAGE TASMANIA - World Heritage listing for convict
sites
Eleven sites that combine to tell the epic story of Australia's
convict heritage were inscribed on the World Heritage Register on
31 July 2010.
Federal Minister for Environment Protection and Heritage, Peter
Garrett, and Tasmanian Minister for Environment, Parks and Heritage,
David O’Byrne welcomed the addition of 11 convict sites across
Australia to the World Heritage List.
Five of the 11 convict sites in the World Heritage listing are located
in Tasmania.
More information:
http://www.heritage.tas.gov.au/media/pdf/August%202010.pdf
Message from the Director of the World Heritage Centre
on floods affection Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro
In addition to their dramatic consequences for the affected people,
to which the World Heritage Centre expresses its sincere sympathy,
the massive floods which have recently struck Pakistan are causing
great concern for the state of conservation of the World Heritage
property of Mohenjodaro. The Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro
display the remains of one of the most important urban centre of
the so-called Indus Civilization, flourished around the 3rd millenium
B.C. Built in baked bricks over a large area along the banks of
the Indus, Mohenjodaro has always been exposed to the erosion caused
by strong currents of the River and one theory even suggests that
the collapse of the Indus Civilization may have been caused by a
series of devastating floods. Today, the waters of the Indus River
have reached unprecedented levels and are threatening the site as
well as the protective spurs constructed in the 1970s and 1980s
with support from UNESCO in the framework of an International Safeguarding
Campaign.
More information:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/652/
Message from the Director of the World Heritage Centre
on floods affecting Muskauer Park / Park Muzakowski (Germany/Poland)
For the second time during 2010, news of massive floods
across Central Europe is causing great concern to the World Heritage
community, for their impacts on the border region between the Czech
Republic, Germany and Poland.
In particular, the flooding has affected the castles and gardens
of the transboundary World Heritage site of the Muskauer Park /
Park Muzakowski (Germany/Poland), a landscaped park of 559.9 ha
astride the Neisse River created by Prince Hermann von Pückler-Muskau
from 1815 to 1844.
More information:
http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/649/
New website on Ireland’s World Heritage sites launched
A new website about Ireland's World Heritage properties and Ireland's
Tentative List sites has just been launched.
This website contains information about Brú na Bóinne
and Skellig Michael, the two Irish World Heritage sites, and the
seven properties inscribed on Ireland's Tentative List. The website
also includes galleries of stunning photographs of the properties.
Publications and brochures related to the sites may also be downloaded
on the website.
More information:
http://www.worldheritageireland.ie/
Protected forever - Kakdu National Park (Australia)
IUCN has congratulated the Australian government on its decision
to include the Koongarra project area which covers substantial uranium
deposits, into Kakadu National Park and World Heritage site, prohibiting
any future mining activity in this area.
The decision to incorporate the indigenous lands of Koongarra into
the national park is supported by the Djok traditional owners of
the land. In a gesture of significant generosity and vision, the
traditional owners have stated their opposition to mining and their
wish to see the land incorporated in the park which is owned and
co-managed by indigenous people.
IUCN also acknowledges the pledge of the Coalition parties in Australia
that they too will not allow mining and will honour the wishes of
traditional owners.
More information:
http://www.iucn.org/knowledge/news/?5860/protected-forever
Guidance on the preparation of retrospective statements
of Outstanding Universal Value for World Heritage Properties
Many properties inscribed on the World Heritage List do
not have an agreed Statement of Outstanding Universal Value (OUV)
– an essential tool that was included for the first time in
the 2005 Operational Guidelines and has become operational since
2007.
This guidance sets out the suggested procedures for compiling retrospective
Statements of OUV and for submitting them for approval by the World
Heritage Committee. It aims to show that the process should be manageable
for most properties using the materials available at the time of
inscription, and that the outcome is of great benefit to all those
involved in the protection, management and promotion of World Heritage
properties, and to the World Heritage Committee and the Advisory
Bodies.
More information:
http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/wcpa_worldheritage/?5891/1/Guidance-on-the-preparation-of-retrospective-statements-of-Outstanding-Universal-Value-for-World-Heritage-Properties
ICOMOS INTERNACIONAL - Secretariat Electronic News, n°
58, 26 August 2010
- ICOMOS report on the proceedings of the 34th session of the
World Heritage Committee, Brasilia 2010 / Rapport ICOMOS sur la
34e session du Comité du patrimoine mondial, Brasília
2010
- Resignation of ICOMOS Vice President / Démission d’un
vice-président de l’ICOMOS
More information: http://www.international.icomos.org/publications/e-news/2010/E-news_58_20100826.pdf
Alien invaders threaten World Heritage Site
Alien wildlife species are multiplying around Europe's Wadden Sea,
posing a serious threat to biodiversity.
The warning came in a new report launched on Wadden Sea Day - a
platform for recent research on the marine World Heritage Site that
borders the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
As well as reducing biodiversity, the abundant alien species could
also prove an economic burden to the Wadden Sea region. Costs are
incurred through managing or eradicating invasive alien species
and the impact on the food chain from non-native wildlife means
that fishermen's yields are often reduced.
Grasses, mussels and jellyfish are the most damaging invaders in
the Wadden Sea.
More information:
http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=646&ArticleID=6733
700 Pounds of Giant Land ALDABRA Tortoises Move Into Virginia
Zoo (USA)
New exhibit and its massive inhabitants represent huge environmental
success story
Five Aldabra tortoises – the second largest land tortoise
in the world – are moving into the Virginia Zoo on Friday,
August 13, 2010. The largest, a male named A.J., will be transferred
to his new home at noon, and the big adventure will begin for this
reptile that weighs 475 pounds, and his new fans!
More information:
http://www.virginiazoo.org/zoo-happenings/tortoise.asp
Solidarity Day of the World Heritage Cities 2010
The Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) invites
these cities from all over the world to commemorate this day in
a special way. In 1995, September 8th was declared "World Heritage
Cities Solidarity Day". The Organization of World Heritage
Cities (OWHC) invites these cities from all over the world to commemorate
this day in a special way. The possibilities of doing this are many,
and we provide a few suggestions based on activities which have
already taken place in our member cities on this day:
- Press conference, radio and television interviews with the
mayor of the city;
- Conference with debates;
- Film presentation;
- Cultural activities (folk dance, plays);
- Hoisting the OWHC flag in the city centre;
- Launching a heritage education (awareness) project;
- Appeal of solidarity and cooperation between heritage cities;
- Inauguration of a Web site on a heritage city;
- Presentation of a restoration project;
- Publication of a heritage awareness brochure;
- Joint activities with other World Heritage Cities;
- Motion on Solidarity Day from the City Council.
The commemoration of World Heritage Cities Solidarity Day is an
opportunity to allow heritage issues to be the order of the day,
and to express solidarity with other World Heritage Cities. We strongly
encourage you to make the most of this opportunity!
Send us a short text and pictures of the activities organized in
your city, and we will be pleased to make them known throughout
the world through our Web site.
More information:
http://www.ovpm.org/index.php?module=ovpm&func=news&pid=88
Alpine Barn in the Dolomites World Heritage Site / EXiT
architetti associati (Italy)
In the Italian Alps, barns vary from region to region in their form,
materials and structure. In the Cadore which is located in the Dolomites,
a UNESCO World Heritage Site, alpine barns are built from wood and
stone. The ground floors in such barns were typically used as stables
and the upper floors as haylofts.
We were asked to design the conversion of a barn into a holiday
home in Selva di Cadore on behalf of a mountain enthusiast and his
family.
The starting point was the careful removal of wooden elements and
structural joints. After the building had been dismounted, many
wooden beams and boards were cleaned and restored whilst others
were replaced with treated wood in order to maintain the chromatic
continuity of the material before being remounted. From a volumetric
perspective, some annexes that limited the original volume were
removed and only essential ones were maintained and integrated in
a discreet fashion.
More information:
http://www.archdaily.com/75286/alpine-barn-exit-architetti-associati/
Fondaco dei Tedeschi / OMA. Venice (Italy)
This just in from OMA! The firm has unveiled their plans for the
major restoration project of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi – a
landmark building in Venice, Italy. Rich in history, this icon was
constructed by in 1228 as a major trading post for German merchants,
and under Napoleon it became a customs house in 1806. Its most recent
use has been as a post office, yet currently, the building has fallen
into a state of disrepair as most of the building is unused and
inaccessible for the first time in centuries. Now, the next step
in the building’s evolution is to become, yet again, a thriving
trading post – yet, in a contemporary way. OMA has been commissioned
to the create a culturally-programmed department store that will,
once again, give a new spirit to the building.
More information:
http://www.archdaily.com/75345/fondaco-dei-tedeschi-oma/
Oporto House / +linha-linha Architects. Porto, Portugal
In the beginning of the last century was designed the street layout
where the Project for Casa António Cândido is located.
The most recent constructions distort the street. Secular palaces
live together with degraded buildings.
Persuing a strategy that reinforces the urban logic, we transformed
the existing construction in a 4-bedroom house, distributed in 3
floors, with an area of 150m² by floor. The stretch of the
original dwelling of 2 floors to the attic, allowed the definition
of a free and broad area.
The spaces are organized, floor by floor, by the definition of a
vertical circulation axis (stairs/ elevator) and its horizontal
distribution. The living spaces are adjusted to the surroundings
of the Camellia garden that involves the house, bound with high
walls made of granite.
More information:
http://www.archdaily.com/74143/oporto-house-linha-linha-architects/
Robben Island Youth Speak (South Africa)
Robben Island Youth Speak – Celebrates; Honor; and acknowledges
the role played by all the freedom fighters who have compromised
their life, their youth, their families for South Africa to be free
today. This is a theatrical production that tells the story of political
imprisonment on Robben Island through the eyes of the youth of South
Africa today. It takes a different approach in re-telling the story
of political imprisonment on Robben Island. Using South African
Music, rituals, narration theatre form, chorus (taking from Greek
Theatre form), and storytelling, to tell the story.
The play provides a brief overview of the Political Imprisonment
Landscape, focusing on the notorious prison for anti-apartheid activists,
how it was transformed by the political prisoners to be a memorial
and learning centre symbolizing the political struggle for freedom
and justice.
More information:
http://www.robben-island.org.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=category&layout=blog&id=3&Itemid=74
OUR PLACE - Photographs UNESCO World Heritage sites. Latest
Gallery
- Tallinn, the ancient capital of Estonia has
seen centuries of turmoil, and survived invasion, fire and bombing.
Today, the picturesque towers and spires of the Old Town preside
over the remarkably intact medieval centre.
- Inhabited by the Mayan civilization since 200 AD, the ruins
of Quirigua in Guatemala contain a rich body
of intricately carved stone sculptures and tall commemorative
monuments hewn from single blocks of red sandstone.
- The National Autonomous University of Mexico
built between 1949 and 1952 is a unique example of modernist architecture,
engineering and landscape design which references traditional
indigenous culture and showcases vivid and vibrant murals by Mexico's
foremost artists.
- Mount Kenya National Park is a spectacular
and beatufiful natural landscape. The park, home to a range of
animal species, and diverse African alpine flora, is presided
over by the glacial slopes of the extinct volcano, Africa's second
highest mountain, Mount Kenya.
More information: http://www.salemaker.co.nz/smaker/smmailview.asp?t=112937&b=20761
(in French) ) Newsletter de la CFU - Convention France
- UNESCO - mai à août 2010
Je vous prie de trouver ci-joint la newsletter n. 16 de la CFU,
couvrant la période de mai à août 2010. Au sommaire:
Vie de la cfu :
- Réunion du Comité Mixte de Coordination de la
CFU, 11 mai 2010.
- Départ d'Isabelle Longuet du secrétariat de la
CFU.
- Valorisation du partenariat avec le Ministère de l'écologique,
de l'énergie, du développement durable et de la
mer (MEEDDM). Ingénierie de projet en vue de la soumission
de projets au Fonds Français pour l'Environnement Mondial
(FFEM).
Actualités sur l'avancement des projets :
- Le projet « Niger - Loire : gouvernance et culture ».
- Soutien au programme du patrimoine mondial pour l'Architecture
de Terre.
- Rencontres de l'Association des biens français du patrimoine
mondial (ANBPM), Besançon, 6-7 mai 2010.
- « Villes françaises du patrimoine mondial et tourisme
: protection, gestion et valorisation », 27 mai 2010, UNESCO.
- Inde, soutien au réseau des villes du patrimoine et
aux opérations de coopération décentralisées.
- Actes de la réunion « Pastoralisme méditerranéen
: patrimoine culturel et paysager et développement durable
», Tirana, Albanie, 12-14 novembre 2009.
- Actes de la session spéciale « Patrimoine et développement
: la diversité comme alternative », Sommet Africités,
18 décembre 2009.
Missions et réunions à venir :
- Patrimoine culturel & développement local : Ateliers
de formation au Mali, 4-10 octobre 2010.
- Atelier « Fleuve et patrimoine », Saint-Louis du
Sénégal, 28-31 octobre 2010.
More information in French:
http://universityandheritage.net/doc/Newsletter_CFU_16.pdf |
