Organizers: ICCROM, IUCN, Cultural Heritage Administration of Korea (CHA), Korea National University of Cultural Heritage (KNUCH) and Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment.

We are seeking 20 participants to take part in the international course on Managing World Heritage: People Nature Culture (PNC22) in the Republic of Korea from 1 to 12 August 2022. This flagship foundational course of the World Heritage Leadership programme is dedicated to site coordinators, members of management teams and institutions, and heritage practitioners working with World Heritage properties and other heritage places around the world.

PNC22 promotes a ‘heritage place approach’ to heritage management focused on understanding how to conserve and enhance the multiple heritage values of heritage places in their wider social, environmental, and economic contexts. This includes applying place-based and people-centred approaches to working with diverse communities. It brings together those involved in all facets of heritage management to share their experiences and learn from each other, advancing practice in the field.

The course provides participants with the knowledge, skills and awareness for managing heritage places, including World Heritage properties. It also promotes long-term networks for life-long peer learning and enhanced capacity building in the heritage sector.

In addition, all capacity building initiatives organized by the World Heritage Leadership programme contribute to consolidating people-centred approaches and nature-culture linkages throughout World Heritage processes. This in turn reinforces the potential of World Heritage to be a catalyst for improving wider institutional and legal frameworks, with positive repercussions for heritage in general.

Who can apply

This course specifically targets:

  • practitioners working at a specific cultural and/or natural World Heritage property or heritage place
  • individuals involved more generally in World Heritage conservation and management. For example, those working in heritage at a regional or national level, policymakers and other representatives of institutions, non-governmental organizations, charities, local associations, community groups, researchers, etc.

Concept of the course

Participants will learn how effective management can give heritage places a dynamic and mutually beneficial role in society today and long into the future, reflecting the wide array of people who care for, use and enjoy them. Heritage practitioners, policy makers within institutions, and representatives from communities and networks are among the contributors to the management, conservation and use of a heritage place. Thus, working with all these groups can be essential for gaining the benefits to society and the heritage itself. It is important for all relevant actors to be aware of the values that different people associate with a heritage place. They can then collaborate on appropriate approaches and methods to protect these diverse values holistically.

In this course, natural and cultural heritage conservation are seen as interrelated and interdependent, overcoming the artificial separation between the two concepts to promote quality management at World Heritage properties and other heritage places. Engaging people is still a considerable challenge at many heritage places, while linking nature and culture can have realistic barriers, including separate institutional and legal protection systems. While there is no simple recipe for responding to these challenges, there are many examples of possible approaches to explore, to understand and to inspire adapted of approaches elsewhere.

Recognizing the need to adapt to changing times and realities, the course provides a general overview of what constitutes a heritage management system. By understanding how the system works, it is possible to evaluate its operation and performance, including how existing resources can be better utilized, while exploring new ways of doing things. Participants will be introduced to key tools and resources for improving management, planning and decision-making processes at World Heritage properties and heritage places.

A variety of frameworks, tools and methodologies are available to support heritage practitioners, decision-makers and institutions in improving the management of heritage places management by promoting better and informed planning and decision-making. However, this course has a particular focus on the learning resources produced through the World Heritage Leadership programme, including the new editions of the World Heritage Management Manual, the Enhancing our Heritage Toolkit 2.0, and the Guidance and Toolkit on conducting Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context. Additionally, the course will draw on experiences and approaches implemented by participants at their own World Heritage properties and heritage places, allowing for better understanding of heritage management in the international context and fostering peer-learning and knowledge sharing throughout the course.

Costs and commitment

There is no registration fee for attending this course. Participants will be responsible for their round-trip travel costs to and from the Republic of Korea and any visa costs. Accommodation, meals and transportation within Korea will be provided by the organisers.

Candidates are strongly encouraged to seek financial support from government institutions, employers and funding agencies. Please inform ICCROM if you have secured or applied for any funding. In cases of proven financial need, a limited number of scholarships may be granted to cover travel expenses. However, these depend on the availability of funding from external sources at the time of the course.

Venue and programme

The course will take place in the Republic of Korea from 1–12 August 2022 (venues to be announced soon) and will be in English.

During the course, participants will have the chance to explore how World Heritage properties in the Republic of Korea are managed and cared for and learn from and exchange knowledge with local counterparts about the challenges and opportunities of managing World Heritage properties and heritage places in the 21st century.

The course will be structured around the following overarching themes:

  • Heritage-place approaches
  • Boundaries, buffer zones, and wider context of heritage places
  • People-centred and rights-based approaches to heritage management
  • Factors affecting heritage places and impact assessments for World Heritage
  • Management systems
  • Management planning and implementation
  • Management effectiveness assessment
  • Heritage conservation and management results

How to apply

Please submit your application by Sunday 15 May 2022.

The application process is as follows:

(Allowed formats: pdf, doc, docx, jpg, jpeg, png, tif, tiff; maximum file size of 5 MB).

If you encounter any issues submitting your application via the ICCROM website, please email us at pnc22@iccrom.org.

About World Heritage Leadership

The World Heritage Leadership programme is delivered by IUCN and ICCROM in collaboration with ICOMOS and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is funded with the generous support of the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment, with contributions from the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration (CHA), the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) and other partners. It is a capacity building programme focused on promoting links between people-nature-culture in the management of heritage places and securing heritage a more dynamic role in wider sustainable development.

The PNC22 course is supported by the Cultural Heritage Administration of the Republic of Korea in collaboration with the Korea National University of Cultural Heritage.