Conference celebrates 40 years of Heritage preservation
The international "Living with Heritage in Africa" conference, being held from 26-29 September 2012 at the Kopanong Hotel & Conference Centre in Benoni, Gauteng South Africa, celebrates the 40th anniversary of the founding of UNESCO-World Heritage Committee (WH). The conference creates an opportunity to network and set the course of action for African Heritage properties, economic and community development for the next 40 years and beyond.
The UNESCO-(WH) has a long history of grappling with issues related to mining and World Heritage sites, both existing and proposed. To help guide future decision-making, it was agreed that in partnership with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), it would facilitate an expert meeting on 'Managing the impacts of development activities and resource extraction in and around World Heritage in the Africa region'.
Its purpose is to decide how African states will manage mining and extractive resource industries for sustainable development, whilst ensuring that Africa's environment, cultural and tourism attractions are preserved. The outcome of this conference will determine the future of African Union (AU) mining policies in respect of the environment and World Heritage Sites.
The conference will convene a minister's colloquium, composed of the ministries that are most affected by mining and world heritage that will precede the conference resolutions, which will be presented to the AU, Ministers of Culture, UNESCO General Assembly and the World Heritage Committee.
AWHF offers stakeholder dialogue opportunities
The African World Heritage Fund, an African Union and UNESCO-WH Category 2 Centre, was established in 2005 to channel support specifically to African World Heritage sites. It believes that dialogue between stakeholders is important for the future of Africa's beauty and uniqueness.
Its aim is to address effectively the conflicting interests of conservation and development needs, through:
The importance of this international meeting on world heritage in Africa is that it will determine African state parties and UNESCO World Heritage policies regarding the environment and mining from here onwards.
Interested and affected parties that wish to contribute to the conservation and promotion of Africa's cultural and natural heritage, should contact Teresa Jenkins on +27 (0)11 480 4922 or email az.oc.snoitacinummocahtil@aseret or email the director of the AWHF, Dr Webber Ndoro at ten.fhwa@NrebbeW to attend the conference.
