“Protection of the World Heritage Site requires collective action”

Good management of a Property in the World Heritage List requires technical expertise, political will and awareness amongst the population. On this basis, the Italian UNESCO World Heritage Site Association has organised an initiative entitled “Encounters and Places. Comparing UNESCO designations. The protection of World Heritage: a collective commitment for the future”, with the participation of the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation.

Il Comune di Erto Casso nelle Dolomiti Friulane, foto di Luciano Gaudenzio

Ph. Luciano Gaudenzio

UNESCO sites: dialogue between technical experts, politicians and communities

Since 2022, an annual two-day event has been held in the Dolomites for local administrators, aimed at promoting awareness amongst local communities and helping administrators to understand the geological, geomorphological and landscape aspects of the Heritage that they have the privilege and responsibility of being custodians of.

This experience will be discussed on 6 February in Rome, on the launch day of the initiative organised by the Italian UNESCO World Heritage Site Association, which will run from February to March 2025, drawing on the document of the World Heritage Committee “10A: Report on the results of the Third Cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise in Europe and North America (WHC/24/46.COM/10A)”.

At the heart of this discussion, involving a range of parties, lies one of the principles set out in the document: “Protecting World Heritage properties requires collective action”. This principle is particularly useful to engage the entire political class in an agenda that will see the direct involvement of UNESCO Sites and the BIPM Association: the Plan for Europe, which addresses all levels of government (regional, national and local) responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention.

Finding a common language

The goals of the initiative include identifying a common language for the technical and political components, increasing awareness in the political sphere regarding the values associated with World Heritage and UNESCO designations of Italian sites, and providing support to fully harness the opportunities and fulfil the duties associated with UNESCO International Conventions. This is the context in which the UNESCO Dolomites Foundation will make its contribution. Director Mara Nemela will present the results of the training course for local administrators held in 2022 in Belluno, in 2023 in Primiero San Martino di Castrozza and in November last year in Andalo. Dozens of administrators were invited not only to participate in refresher training regarding the meaning of UNESCO status, but also, and above all, to discuss the future of their areas in light of the responsibilities and opportunities offered by the Dolomites being included on the World Heritage List.