The Getty Conservation Institute Field Trip Report By F. LeBlanc, Head, Field Projects HIROSHIMA – UNITAR TRAINING WORKSHOP Management and Conservation of World Heritage Sites April18-21, 2005 The GCI was invited to participate to the international workshop Japan organized by UNITAR. Jeff Cody and I participated as instructors and resource persons to this one-week workshop held in Hiroshima. Following is a summary account of the workshop. It is not intended to be an exhaustive report but simply an overview to share with you some of the topics discussed and the technical visits that enriched the experience of the participants. View of downtown Hiroshima. To the left of the Motoyasu-gawa River is the Peace Memorial Park with buildings designed by world famous architect Kenzo Tange. The A- Bomb Dome, a World Heritage Site, is in the center of the image and UNITAR’s offices are located in the dark building immediately behind. UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research) What is UNITAR? The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) was UNITAR Offices in established in 1965 as an autonomous body within the United Nations Hiroshima in proximity of the A-Bomb Dome building, with the purpose of enhancing the effectiveness of the Organization World Heritage Site through appropriate training and research. UNITAR is governed by a Board of Trustees and is headed by an Executive Director. The Institute is supported by voluntary contributions from governments, intergovernmental organizations, foundations, and other non- governmental sources. 1 UNITAR has the following functions: • To conduct training programs in multilateral diplomacy and international cooperation for diplomats accredited to the United Nations and national officials involved in work related to United Nations activities. • To carry out a wide range of training programs in the field of social and economic development. • To carry out result-oriented research, in particular, research on and for training and to develop pedagogical materials including Nassrine Azimi, Director distance learning training packages, work books, as well as UNITAR Hiroshima software and video training packs. • To establish and strengthen cooperation with other inter- governmental organizations, faculties and academic institutions, in particular for the development of research on and for training. The Workshop In a pilot phase, UNITAR and the Hiroshima Prefectural Government conducted, in cooperation with UNESCO World Heritage Centre, a Training Workshop on the Conservation and Management of World Hiroko Nakayama, Heritage Sites in Hiroshima, October 2001. The topic of World heritage International relations specialist from UNITAR’s conservation was selected for its relevance for Hiroshima, which has Geneva office two sites on the World Heritage List and upon analysis made by UNITAR on the importance and relevance of the theme for the region, especially the need to consider the management of cultural and natural assets in a comprehensive manner. A three-year series on the Management and Conservation of World Heritage Sites was launched in 2004, with annual week-long workshops to be organized in Hiroshima. The 2005 workshop is entitled “World Heritage Management: A Value- Christopher Moore, Lawyer Based Approach”. Special emphasis this year was on the value-based specialized in intellectual approach introduced to the series from the 2004 workshop. property rights, UNITAR Hiroshima Office The participants were trainers and decision makers from within World Heritage administrations, mid-level national government officers from different authorities such as the Ministries of environment, culture or forestry and World Heritage site managers. The course long-term objective is to foster a better use of the World Heritage Convention through national policy making and planning and exchange of information on best practices and case studies. UNITAR Workshop The 2005 training workshop introduced the participants to basic participants in boardroom knowledge, information and updates on the World Heritage regime and current topics regarding heritage management, study leading policies and strategies including their successes and failures, explained legal and policy planning techniques, discussed case studies and practical 2 exercises, and enhanced long-term learning and exchange among the participants. The study tours to two world heritage sites in Hiroshima, the A-Bomb dome and Itsukushima Shinto Shrine, provided additional learning opportunities and a case study during the training workshop. The First Day Of The Workshop The first workshop session was held in the Hiroshima Memorial Hall (Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum) during the morning of Monday, Richard Engelhardt, April 18. This session was opened to the public, and seventy persons UNESCO Bangkok Regional Office for Education were in attendance. Nassrine Azimi, Director of the UNITAR office in Hiroshima, welcomed the participants and teachers from 23 different countries and made introductory remarks. She was followed by Richard Engelhard UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture in Asia, who gave a presentation on “The World Heritage Convention System and its Relevance for the Humanity”. He reminded us that the notion of world heritage as we know it today stems from UNESCO’s international campaign to save the temples of Abu Simbel in Egypt from destruction by the construction of the high dam at Assuan. Before that event, heritage was private property. After, it was recognized that some of the world’s heritage is the property and responsibility of every human being. He went on to describe some of the issues and challenges that the World Heritage Convention and its Committee face today. The salvage of the Abu Simbel temples began in Francois LeBlanc from the Getty Conservation Institute, a private 1963, and cost 36 million dollars. institution based in Los Angeles, followed with a presentation and discussion on “What is Heritage”. This presentation introduced the concept that heritage is basically whatever individuals or collectivities wish to preserve for the next generations, whether it is natural, built, living or intangible. It showed that the GCI is mostly concerned with built heritage while UNESCO has programs in the areas of natural, built and intangible heritage. It will be up to the next generation of heritage specialists to deal with living heritage in a more formal way. It is interesting to note that Japan was the first nation in the world to adopt a legislation in 1950 that protects its national built, living and intangible Francois LeBlanc, Head of heritage. Field Projects at the Getty Conservation Institute Ms. Teresa Swiebocka’s presentation was entitled: “Signification of Memorial Sites – Memories, Commemoration and Determination” Ms Swiebocka is an historian and Senior Curator of the Auschwitz- Birkenau Museum in Poland. This year is the 60th anniversary of the Hiroshima A-Bomb event and also of the liberation of the Auschwitz- Birkenau concentration camps. Both sites are on the World Heritage List and are there to remind us of the atrocities of war and inspire us to strive for peace, which is also a means for preservation of our heritage. Teresa Swiebocka, Curator of the Auschwitz-Birkenau museum in Poland 3 The Nazi death camp Auschwitz is one of the best-known sites of genocide in human history. In this place, from 1940 to 1945, the German Nazis murdered between 1.1 and 1.5 million people, primarily Jews from almost all over Europe, as well as Poles, Soviet prisoners of war and people of other nationalities. Before the liberation of the camp, in order to obliterate the evidences of crime, the Nazis destroyed many buildings and documents, particularly those connected with the process of mass murder. Auschwitz, Poland They did not, however, manage to destroy everything. The physical site of Auschwitz, with its barracks, guard towers, barbed wire fences, ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria, exist today as a museum. Ms Swiebocka talked about the issues surrounding the restoration and conservation of the camps, especially that it is more important to share the message of the victims than the statistical numbers or even preserving the physical assets. Currently, the site’s boundaries cover some 200 hectares of land, but to really understand the message and the scope of the event, it is more than 2000 hectares that would be Auschwitz, Poland required. Since it is already quite a difficult challenge for the Poles to care for the existing site even with the help of the international community, one can imagine the difficulties that would be associated with a much larger site. Augusto Villalón spoke on the subject: “Making your site a World Heritage or Not – a National Choice”. Mr. Villalón is a preservation architect and head of A. Villalón Associates, a Manila-based firm specializing in architectural and heritage conservation. He explained that naturally, every country wants to inscribe sites on the World Augusto Villalón , Heritage List. It is a matter of national pride and international Conservation Architect from the Philippines recognition. But it is not a “beauty contest” even though the Minister of Culture in his country if a former Miss Universe! There is substance in the purpose of the Convention. Of course the Convention brings benefits in terms of additional funding and tourism but it should also generate reflection and discussions on universal values and on the fundamental reasons for protecting and safeguarding