Webinars for the World Heritage Managers in Central Asia
Announcement – July 2021

This series is designed in cooperation with and participation of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Convention (ICCROM, ICOMOS, IUCN). Employees of all organisations involved in the management of the Central Asian World Heritage sites, as well as interested representatives of authorized state bodies, research organisations, NGOs and civil society, are invited to participate in these webinars. The webinars will be held in the online format in English and Russian languages with simultaneous translation, covering a variety of topics that are relevant to the challenges faced by the region.


1. World Heritage Convention: Basic Principles, Obligations of the States Parties for Conservation, Management and Monitoring Mechanism – World Heritage and Sustainable Development
Date and time: Thursday, 1 July 2021, 15:00-17:00 Almaty time.
Speakers:
— Mr Feng Jing, Chief of Unit, Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Paris);
— Ms Nao Hayashi, Programme Specialist, UNESCO World Heritage Centre (Paris).
Registration


2. Planning around the World Heritage Properties: Proactive Planning and Impact Assessments
Date and time: Monday, 5 July 2021, 15:00-17:00 Almaty time.
Speakers:
— Prof Richard Mackay (ICOMOS) – Cultural Heritage Expert and ICOMOS World Heritage Adviser, Member of the International Council of Monuments and Sites and Convenor of the 2st ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium 2023, former Chair of the Australian World Heritage Advisory Committee. ICOMOS Focal Point for the World Heritage Leadership Program Heritage Impact Assessment Guidance project;
— Ms Sarah Court (ICCROM) – Focal Point for Impact Assessment within ICCROM/IUCN’s World Heritage Leadership programme, which includes revising the Guidance for Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context. She is also part of a team that has carried out impact assessments for heritage in Italy, Sri Lanka, the UK and Norway;
— Mr Boris Erg (IUCN) – Director of the IUCN Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He has more than 20 years of experience in nature conservation and natural resources management, during which he worked with international organizations, national and local authorities, civil society, academia, donors and businesses. Boris is a trained expert in environmental management with core expertise in nature policy, protected and conserved areas, and nature-based solutions. He has actively contributed to various strategic planning processes as various levels. Boris is an active member of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas where he serves on the Executive Committee of the Transboundary Conservation Specialist Group. Throughout his career, he has promoted the concepts of equitable governance of natural resources as a response to growing societal and environmental challenges;
— Ms Mizuki Murai (IUCN) – Conservation Officer leading the monitoring of the state of conservation of natural and mixed World Heritage sites in Asia, East and Southern Africa, and North America. She is also the thematic lead in the Programme on impact assessments.
Registration


3. Risk and Disaster Preparedness Planning at the World Heritage Properties
Date and time: Thursday, 8 July 2021, 15:00-17:00 Almaty time.
Speaker:
— Mr Rohit Jigyasu (ICCROM) – conservation architect and risk management professional from India. Currently he is working at ICCROM as Project Manager on Urban Heritage, Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management. Served as UNESCO Chair holder professor at the Institute for Disaster Mitigation of Urban Cultural Heritage at Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan, where he was instrumental in developing and teaching International Training Course on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage. He was the President of ICOMOS-India from 2014-2018 and president of ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness (ICORP) from 2010-2019. He served as the Elected Member of the Executive Committee of ICOMOS since 2011 and was its Vice President from 2017-2020. Before joining ICCROM, he has been working with several national and international organizations such as UNESCO, UNISDR, Getty Conservation Institute and World Bank for consultancy, research and training on Disaster Risk Management of Cultural Heritage.
Registration


Photos of the World Heritage Sites Used in Announcement
— "Registan" Square, Samarkand, Republic of Uzbekistan. © Majer Massanov;
— Petroglyph, "Tanbaly" Museum-Reserve, Republic of Kazakhstan. © Aigul Khalafova;
— Mountains of the Pamirs, Republic of Tajikistan. © IUCN (photo from the website of the World Heritage Center: https://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/167619);
— "Saryaigyr" gorge, Chatkal State Biosphere Nature Reserve, Republic of Kazakhstan. © Kenbay T. (photo from the website of the World Heritage Center: http://whc.unesco.org/en/documents/142005);
— "Sulaiman-Too" Mountain, Kyrgyz Republic. © UNESCO Almaty.