On 26 and 27 March 2019, World Heritage Site Managers of the Arab States region came together in Cairo, Egypt for a workshop in the framework of the Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting which currently being implemented in the region. The World Heritage Centre, in close cooperation with the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH) and the UNESCO Office in Cairo, organized the workshop.
The aim of the workshop was to familiarise Site Managers of the Arab States Region with the Periodic Reporting processes and to provide them with the necessary tools and information.
Over the course of the 2-day workshop, participants from the following countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates were introduced to the concept of Outstanding Universal Value with a focus to attributes, the identification of factors affecting the properties and key information on the synergies with other UNESCO cultural conventions as well.
After the theorical session, participants were later divided into groups and were invited to fill in their questionnaire. During this group work session, they responded to numerous questions regarding the process as well as content and technical aspects of the questionnaire. The Site Managers shared that the group work was an enriching opportunity to discuss, learn and share with other Site Managers of the region similar World Heritage issues, good practices and experiences.
Periodic Reporting is one of the core conservation monitoring mechanisms of the World Heritage Convention. Every six years, the States Parties are invited to submit to the World Heritage Committee a Periodic Report on the application of the World Heritage Convention in their territory.
The next Site Managers meeting with the rest of the State Parties of the Arab States region is scheduled to take place in Manama, Bahrain from 29 to 30 April 2019.
