Presented by Tai Kwun in collaboration with UNESCO Asia and Pacific Regional Bureau for Education (UNESCO Bangkok), this series of conversations explores innovative strategies for integrating urban heritage into the wider goals of sustainable development. With a regional focus on Asia and the Pacific, it aims to inspire local actions and creative solutions as the catalysts for implementing the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on World Heritage properties and the surrounding communities. It has amplified pre-existing structural issues and raised new problems related to heritage management in the broader context of a city. This series provides an opportunity for creating new value propositions beyond immediate pandemic response for the achievement of long-term sustainability in terms of economic, social and environmental dimensions. 

UNESCO Bangkok and the Secretariat of the Asian Academy for Heritage Management network (AAHM) cordially invites the AAHM members and the public to a joint seminar on “Applying the UNESCO Competence Framework for Cultural Heritage Management by universities”. In 2020, UNESCO launched a Competence Framework for Cultural Heritage Management that can facilitate design of appropriate education and training for cultural heritage professionals. Chaired by Kristal Buckley, Course Director of Cultural Heritage & Museum Studies Universities at Deakin University in Australia, representatives from four leading universities in the Asia-Pacific region in the field of heritage will share their experiences in applying the UNESCO Competence Framework in their local and institutional contexts.  During the event, the Secretariat will also announce AAHM’s 2022 – 2023 workplan as well as the new individual and institutional members to the network. The current Secretariat of the AAHM network is hosted at the School of Architecture, Southeast University in Nanjing, China.  Join Zoom Meeting: https://unesco-org.zoom.us/j/89814155702 Meeting ID: 898 1415 5702 Passcode: unes03

This year, the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage celebrates its 50th anniversary. The landmark year arrives as the world assesses the extent of damages caused by COVID-19 on the economic, social and cultural lives of people across the globe. Combined with the accelerating environmental degradation and widening social divisions, we find ourselves in uncharted territory, questioning our fundamental values as individual, a society, and a global community: What do we truly treasure? What must change for the better? What should be passed down to future generations in the face of future crises?   As a knowledge-based and intellectual agency, UNESCO sees an opportunity and responsibility to lead these important discussions on education, sciences and culture. Therefore, UNESCO will dedicate this milestone to a year-long interdisciplinary reflection on the future of the World Heritage, going well beyond celebrating past achievements. In this spirit, the theme of the year is "The Next 50: World Heritage as a source of resilience, humanity and innovation."

UNESCO’s Kathmandu and New Delhi Cluster offices together with the UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP) will organize an online training series for youth leaders on approaches to developing socio-emotional resilience to help sustain cohesion and peace. The training session for Nepal will be organised on 30th June 2022 from 2pm to 5:30pm (GMT +05:45) on Zoom.

On 21 July, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Moldova, in cooperation with Artcor, will hold a kick-off meeting for the official launch of the “Digital Transformation of Cultural and Creative Industries in the Republic of Moldova” project. 

From 7 to 9 July, “The water resource: from the Dolomites to the Sea - from the sources to the mouths” convention is set to take place. The event, co-organised by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and hosted by Rifugio Galassi in the Dolomites World Heritage Site, will discuss the importance of water resources and the need to promote sustainable water management.