Bringing
Sukhothai to life by Montira Horayangura Unakul. UNESCO Bangkok
Many visitors to Sukhothai Historical Park in the northern region
of Thailand are impressed with the thirteenthcentury ruins and reflecting
lotus ponds set against well-tended grass lawns. Some are aware
that it is one of Thailand’s five World Heritage sites, inscribed
onto the World Heritage List in 1991. Few, however, realise that
the World Heritage site encompasses not only Sukhothai but also
the associated cities of Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet. The
three historic parks together constitute the immediate extent of
what is widely recognized as the first kingdom of the Thais. Spanning
the fertile plains, hemmed in by the Yom River and the Khao Luang
mountain range, the Sukhothai cultural landscape bears witness to
historical innovations in architecture, art, industry and irrigation...
UNESCO Bangkok Newsletter. Culture. Publicated:
13-6-2008
World
Heritage Committee to meet in Quebec to inscribe new sites on UNESCO’s
World Heritage List
The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the
inscription of new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when it
meets for its 32nd session in Québec, Canada, from 2 to 10
July. During this year’s session, hosted by Canada to coincide
with the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Québec
City, 41 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention will present
properties for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Among them are five countries that have no sites inscribed on the
List: Kyrgyzstan, Papua New Guinea, San Marino, Saudi Arabia and
Vanuatu.
UNESCO. Press Release N°2008-46. UNESCOPRESS.
Publicated: 20-06-2008 |
| See
World Heritage sites in 360 degree imaging at non-profit website
- Site of Palmyra (Syria)
WHTour.org, a non profit organization sponsored by the J.M. Kaplan
Fund, announces that 80 World Heritage sites shot in the Middle
East and East Africa are now available in 360° panographic format
at its website. Currently panographies from Israel are being explored
by thousands of visitors daily. In the coming weeks photos in this
unique format will be uploaded from Jordan, Syria,
Lebanon, Yemen, Oman, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. In the
past seven years, Belgian Tito Dupret has helped to produce some
of the most impressive panographies - 360 degree imaging - ever
seen of historic, rare and sometimes inaccessible sites across the
globe. The site is available in French and English and has lots
of interactive, multi-media features. "There are also cubes
that you can print, cut, fold and put together with your kids on
your knee," explains Dupret. "This is a fabulous way to
help them learn more about what World Heritage is."
WHTour.org is alive thanks to the loyal support of the J. M.
Kaplan Fund in New York and is currently looking for new grants
and sponsors to further its mission. Or is looking for a bigger
structure to join, in order to share its ?eld experience as well
as to further its mission. Ideally an university, but all proposals
are welcome.
World Heritage Centre. News. Publicated:
12-06-2008
Representations
of the nation and cultural diversity in discourses on World Heritage
- Article by Sophia Labadi - 2007
This article presents the main values for which 106 sites have been
nominated for inclusion on the World Heritage List. The article
then analyses how these values have been used for the representation
of the nation, the past and cultural diversity and the construction
of national collective identities. The exclusions of specific themes
and groups of the population as well as their histories and values
from these representations are highlighted. Finally, international
efforts that aim to relocate these themes and subjects from a marginal
to a more central position within official discourses on World Heritage
are detailed.
Journal of Social Archaeology. Article.
Publicated: 11-6-2008
------------------------ Newsletter Nº 29
Our
Place-World Heritage Centre
Online images of World Heritage sites, an outdoor exhibit and a
new book project are among the most recent developments of the partnership
between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Our Place, the World's
Heritage Ltd, launched in July 2006. Our Place is the first collection
of World Heritage photographs developed in partnership with the
World Heritage Centre. It includes photos of more than 200 World
Heritage sites so far, and continues to grow. Recent photographic
work was undertaken at sites in Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan and Zimbabwe.
These high-quality photos can be viewed on the Our
Place website or the relevant World Heritage sites' pages on
this website.
World Heritage Centre. News. Publicated:
9-6-2008
Loss
and Damage Assessment after China Earthquake
Officials continue to assess the damage following the devastating
May 12 earthquake in China, where approximately 69,000 people were
killed and 19,000 are still missing. The 8.0 magnitude quake affected
Sichuan Province in southwest China. The worst affected areas were
two counties where two World Heritage sites are located: The Sichuan
Giant Panda Sanctuaries and the Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan
Irrigation System. In the Panda Sanctuaries, about 133 people, including
six staff members of the property, were killed. More than 60% of
buildings collapsed, and most of the infrastructure, including roads,
power supply and communication lines was damaged. Severe landslides
have destroyed ecological habitats and three pandas are still missing.
The basic infrastructure for monitoring and research were also damaged.
World Heritage Centre. News. Publicated:
6-6-2008 |
