In order to enhance World Heritage Education (WHE) a task force was set
up recently. It involves the national WHE coordinator, the ASP schools
co-ordinator, university professors, teachers and policy makers. A
draft national programme for teachers is now being prepared including
aims, objectives and methodology of heritage education. Teachers will
attend training seminars with an aim to discuss ways of incorporating
WH issues into the national curricula; this will be made easier once
the forthcoming World Heritage Education Kit is available. It is
expected that these efforts will result in a manual for teachers
and activity sheets for students. Communication being an
important precondition for implementing the project, the
Ministry of Education has announced its willingness to help in
order to link a number of Croatian schools (including the
ASP network members) to Internet and in this way join the ever
growing number of young people and schools communicating in this way.
Although ASP schools are largely involved in this first
experimental phase, the project endeavours to involve
other institutions (from pre-school to university) as
well. The programmes implemented with the Museum Documentation
Centre create extra curricular activities for all age groups of
students in order to familiarize them with different types of
museums, and the means of collecting, protecting, researching,
documenting and presenting the collections. Using museums as
multimedia classrooms, the 'Museum School Service" is
focusing the young generation's attention on the importance of
heritage, its place in the present and its role for the future.
The Croatian Commission for UNESCO will support summer
heritage camps for young people, such as the
"Pharos" workshops in
the island of Hvar. An effort is being made to convert this particular
venue into an international camp within the framework of the
"Young People's Participation in the World Heritage Preservation
and promotion" thus contributing to the regional and sub-regional
development of the project. (Alida Matkovic, Croatian Ministry of Education
and Sports)
During the Forum, it was decided that it would be beneficial to
establish a data base for collecting examples and project reports
from the various schools involved in World Heritage Education,
and publish a calendar
of World Heritage Education related events twice a
year. In order to facilitate the work of gathering and distributing
this material, one of the countries in the region involved in the
project should be responsible for the coordination work on a
rotation basis. The Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO
has agreed to take on the role of the European programme coordinator
for World Heritage Education for the current two year period (1996-97).
By autumn of 1996, each country involved in the project will be
asked to send project descriptions to the European programme
coordinator (the Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO). In
order to limit the work involved with the data base, it was
agreed that the project descriptions would have to be brief
and to the point. The intent is to provide enough
information to give other schools ideas of work which they
could do and also promote cooperation between schools in various
countries.
For 1997 the goal is to have each country designate
a national World Heritage Education coordinalor. As the project
extends to many schools in each country, project descriptions
should be sent to the national coordinator for registration
who in turn would be responsible for selecting projects that
can be included in the European data base. Countries
involved will also be en couraged to send an overview of
activities which they are planning within World
Heritage Education. Of particular interest are those activities
in which other schools can participaie as well. (Gerd-Hanne
Fossen, The Norwegian National Commission for UNESCO)
Regional World Heritage Youth Fora
Following the successful European World Heritage Youth Forum,
UNESCO will continue to organize regional Youth Fora. The First
African World Heritage Youth Forum will take place in
Zimbabwe. Other youth encounters are foreseen to be held in
French speaking Africa. Asia and the Pacific. Latin
America and the Caribbean and the Arab States.
Regional WHE Frameworks of Action
One of the objectives of each regional Forum will be to
elaborate a World Heritage Education Framework of Action, similar
to the one agreed upon in Dubrovnik, so as to facilitate
the participation in the Project of all Member States in the
region, and the organization of special activities for
both teachers and students (work shops on World Heritage
issues, heritage vacation camps for students, etc.) Such a
Framework will also help to monitor and evaluate activities
underway. The role of UNESCO Headquarters and Field Offices
will also be instrumental in lending technical and
financial assistance (particularly under the UNESCO
Participation Programme) in support of the Framework of
Action. Special emphasis will be placed on launching
sub regional pilot projects within regions such as a "Nordic
project", a "Mediterranean project", a "European World Heritage
Cities Project". a 'World Heritage Natural Sites Project", etc. Efforts
will also be made to establish links between the different
regions and encourage the twinning of schools and joint
interregional
projects.
International Communication Channels
UNESCO will ensure that information concerning the
"Young People's Participation in World Heritage Preservation
and Promotion" is regularly included in the World Heritage
Newsletter, in the ASP Newsletter and Bulletin as well as
in other periodicals and publications. Information will also
be accessible on Internet.
Partners The ASP network will do much of the experimental and
innovative pilot work in close co-operation with National
Commissions for UNESCO and Ministries of Education, Culture
and the Environment. The project is a very mobilising one
and calls on many experts from the main NGOs involved with heritage
protection, university professors, etc. The project
also calls for considerable funding. It is fortunate to have a
major donor such as the Rhone Poulenc Foundation (France)
while attracting more support from other sources such as
NORAD (Norway). As the project continues to expand it is hoped
that more resources can be raised in the future.
(Elizabeth Khawajkie, UNESCO)
Mr. S.S. Chishiri, Assistant Secretary General of the Zimbabwe
National Commission for UNESCO and Mr. D. Dijakovic
from the UNESCO Harare Office who are members of the
Organizing Committee for the Southern and Eastern Africa World
Heritage Youth Forum, attended the European Forum in Dubrovnik.
The scope of their visit was to observe the organizational details
involved in the Forum preparation and implementation. This
resulted in the preparation of the provisional agenda for
the Youth Forum in Zimbabwe which will take place in
September 1996 at the Victoria Falls World Heritage site. The World
Heritage Education project will be presented to
African students and teachers from more than 20 countries
and discussed further. Students' activities will
correspond to the African environment and heritage.
The end of apartheid in South Africa, the existence
of SADEC (Southern African Development Community) and expected
creation of a similar regional body for Eastern Africa
are the best indicators of the prosperity and
potential for the project development in Africa. In such an
environment, the First African World Heritage Youth Forum
in Zimbabwe will promote further cooperation and exchange
among young people in order to increase their awareness
about heritage and tradition.