Roland LIN Chih-Hung

Prof/Dr. Roland LIN Chih-Hung (林志宏), a Sino-French city planner and art historian, is currently Programme Specialist of the Asia-Pacific Unit of the World Heritage Centre at  UNESCO Headquarters in France. Within the World Heritage Centre, he coordinates UNESCO cultural heritage safeguarding projects in Central  and South Asia, notably the Silk Roads World Heritage Serial and Transnational Nominations; Bamiyan Valley preservation project in Afghanistan and Lumbini, birthplace of the Lord Buddha preservation project in Nepal. He also manages World Heritage issues in India, Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives, as well as five Central Asian countries (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan). Born in Taiwan, but living and working in Paris, France since 1991, Prof/Dr. Lin received his PhD in Art History and Archaeology from Paris-Sorbonne University in 1998, in addition to previous diplomas in City Planning and Oriental Metropolis Studies, as well as Gardens, Landscape and Territorial Studies. In addition to his duties at UNESCO, Prof/Dr. Lin holds two Visiting Professorships in China (Tianjin University and Tongji University) and contributes his expertise as Research Fellow to a number of research institutions in France (Sorbonne University and Ecole d'Architecture Paris Belleville) and Germany. He previously contributed as Expert & Advisor for the sustainable urban development of Qufu, Birthplace of Confucius, a World Heritage city  in China, through the European Commission’s Asia Urbs Programme.  Prof/Dr. Lin has published prolifically, authoring three academic works/books on landscape, historic cities, and World Heritage issues in French and Chinese - The Intention of Landscape Representation: from the Case of Qianlong Jade Mountain (Rêve de jade ; les jades paysagers de l'ère Qianlong) was published in French by Paris-Sorbonne University Press in 2005. Historic cities and World Heritage (世界遺產與歷史城市) was published in Chinese by Taiwan Commercial Publishing House in 2010. World Heritage and Historical Cities in the Perspective of Cultural Diversity (世界文化遗产与城市) was published in Chinese by Tongji University Press (Shanghai, China) in 2013. He has also written over seventy specialized papers on the need for safeguarding world and cultural heritage in Asia.