Site managers share experiences on management African World Heritage Cities during COVID-19

The World Heritage Cities Programme organized an online conference entitled “World Heritage City Dialogues” with Site Managers and Focal Points from World Heritage cities in the Africa region on 5 October 2020 to exchange views on management challenges and innovative solutions related to the management and conservation of World Heritage Cities in the Africa region.

Twenty-eight participants joined the meeting, including five site managers from three countries (Eritrea, Ethiopia and Kenya) in the Eastern Africa region: Mr. Medhanie T. Maryam, site manager of Asmara: A Modernist African City (Eritrea); Mr. Tesfay Mikeal, site manager of Aksum (Ethiopia); Mr. Remedan Dini, site manager of Harar Jugol, the Fortified Historic Town (Ethiopia); Mr. Muluneh, Tefera, site manager of Tiya (Ethiopia); and Mr. Mohamed Mwenje, site manager of Lamu Old Town (Kenya). Mr. Medhanie T. Maryam and Mr. Mohamed Mwenje introduced the challenges Asmara and Lamu World Heritage cities have been facing since the COVID-19 outbreak, and shared their experiences on how they been ensuring the management of the urban sites under the current circumstances.

In her closing remarks, Ms. Jyoti Hosagrahar, Deputy-Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, thanked all participants for sharing their experiences and views. She expressed her willingness to continue the dialogue in the future and establish a World Heritage City Lab platform for the African region. Lastly, she encouraged the site managers and focal points to share their ongoing projects and preparation of management plans with each other as learning resources.

For more information on World Heritage Cities Programme, please visit: https://whc.unesco.org/en/cities/