As an integral part of the extended 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, and in the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabiathrough the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science and the Saudi Heritage Commission will be hosting the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2023 under the theme of “Looking Ahead: The Next 50 Years of Protecting Natural and Cultural Heritage” from 3 to 12 September 2023 in Riyadh and the Al-Ahsa Oasis. The Forum will be developed and implemented with the support of the NGO Diadrasis. The Forum is an opportunity to understand and assess the achievements of the past 5 decades of the World Heritage Convention; to highlight the crucial role of youth in the heritage ecosystem; and to pave the way for the next generation of heritage professionals, giving voice to their unique approaches to heritage management. The Forum will harness the potential of capacity building and prepare the young professionals in creating a sustainable future for our cultural and natural heritage. At the end of the Forum, the outcomes produced by the participants will be presented to the extended 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in the form of a Youth Declaration.
Background
The World Heritage Young Professionals Fora are among the flagship activities of the World Heritage Education Programme, designed to foster intercultural learning and exchange by bringing together young people, educators, and heritage experts from different parts of the world to discover new roles for themselves in heritage conservation. They allow the young professionals to gain local insights on heritage management from the experience of the host country and through site visits to World Heritage properties, and also provide an opportunity for them to meet with the members of the World Heritage Committee and its Advisory Bodies and discuss the 1972 Convention and its implementation in greater depth. For further information on the previous World Heritage Young Professionals Fora, please visit:https://whc.unesco.org/en/youth-forum/