The ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership (WHL) programme concluded 2024 with significant strides in capacity building on impact assessment in the context of World Heritage. Collaborating with Ireland, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the Association of French World Heritage Sites, the programme delivered workshops, courses and webinars on impact assessment for site managers, World Heritage and impact assessment professionals, and planning and development officials.
The “Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context” is now available in 11 languages confirming that it continues to be a very relevant reference document. orts are underway to release a Spanish version in 2025, supported by the Governments of Chile and Spain, and the Regional Institute of World Heritage in Zacatecas.
Introductory course and training of trainers’ workshop for heritage and impact assessment specialists
In collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and in collaboration with the Regional World Heritage Institute in Zacatecas, WHL delivered a 2-phase capacity-building activity for heritage and impact assessment specialists across Latin America, the Caribbean and Spain.
Phase 1: An introductory course to the “Guidance and Toolkit for Impact Assessments in a World Heritage Context.” The c rse brought together 65 site managers, heritage and impact assessment practitioners from 14 countries — Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Spain.
Phase 2: A training of trainers’ activity, engaging 14 practitioners, focused on enhancing the capacities of World Heritage and impact assessment specialists to deliver capacity building on impact assessment for World Heritage in Spanish and in different heritage contexts,, strengthening the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in LAC and Spanish-speaking countries.
International Course on Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context
In November 2024, WHL implemented an international course on impact assessment that brought together 36 site managers and impact assessment specialists from 22 countries from Asia and the Pacific, Arab States, Africa and Europe. The course ffered a space to analyze how to conduct an impact assessment and the roles and responsibilities of different actors.
With over 230 applications received, demand for the training was high, prompting WHL to schedule a second session in January 2025 for 35 additional participants.
Online webinar on Impact Assessment
On 18 December, the Association of French World Heritage Sites and ICCROM organized a webinar on impact assessment methodology and case studies for French speakers.
The recording of the webinar “L'évaluation d'impact dans le contexte du patrimoine mondial - processus et pratique” is now available on ICCROM's YouTube Channel.