Course: "Nature-Culture Linkages in Heritage Conservation in Asia-Pacific"

Organised by the UNESCO Chair on Nature-Culture Linkages in Heritage Conservation at the University of Tsukuba, Japan, in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, IUCN, ICCROM and ICOMOS, the course "Nature-Culture Linkages in Heritage Conservation in Asia-Pacific" will take place at the University of Tsukuba between 24 September and 4 October 2019. The event is part of a longer series of capacity-building workshops in this area. The 2019 edition will focus on "Mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage".

Context and objectives

The purpose of the Capacity Building Workshops on Nature-Culture Linkages in Asia and the Pacific (CBWNCL) is to contribute to the World Heritage Capacity Building Programme led by ICCROM and IUCN, in consultation with ICOMOS and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in developing new approaches towards integrated conservation of cultural and natural heritage. These workshops, started in 2016, explore nature-culture linkages with focus on theory and practice in Asia and the Pacific Region. More specifically, objectives of the 2019 workshop include the following:

To provide the existing knowledge on Mixed Sites and the implications of their nominations and post-inscription management aspects by dividing nature and culture within a single site.
To provide the knowledge being developed about sites as landscapes recognizing the nature-culture linkages and the benefits of working together for effective management of Mixed Sites in general, and in participants’ own sites/case studies in particular.
To visit and exchange experiences with local managers and residents and learn how cultural and natural heritage values have been protected and conserved with different approaches, initiatives and governance systems.
To establish networks among heritage practitioners in the region.

Methodology

The workshop is an intensive programme combining theory and practice, through lectures, presentations and roundtables in Tsukuba at the University Campus, and a field trip to the “Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspiration” World Heritage property since 2013, where participants will get in contact with local managers and local communities. The working language of the course is English.

Participants

The workshop is open to a maximum number of 15 professionals from Asia and the Pacific region involved in the management of Mixed Cultural and Natural World Heritage sites, Mixed Sites on the Tentative List of their respective country, or potential Mixed Sites. Mid-career heritage practitioners with a minimum of five (5) years of experience from both natural and cultural heritage sectors currently engaged in managing/working in cultural heritage sites with natural values, and natural heritage sites with cultural values, are eligible to apply. Organizers will cover the cost of accommodation and living expenses in Japan for the selected participants. A limited number of scholarships will be available to cover the international travel costs of selected participants from developing countries.