World Heritage

Last year, the Austrian Commission for UNESCO, together with the Netherlands Commission for UNESCO, initiated the event "Building Bridges" to highlight and discuss the role and contribution of National Commissions in the context of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. The side event, held during the 47th session of the World Heritage Committee at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, met with a wide response and was explicitly welcomed by the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Lazare Eloundou Assomo.

Not least owing to this success, the initiative was continued during this year's 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, Republic of Korea, together with the National Commissions of Korea, Lithuania, Poland and the Netherlands. "Building Bridges Vol. 2" provided the framework for presenting good practice examples of the contribution of UNESCO National Commissions to implementing the World Heritage Convention. While the first event was shaped mainly by contributions from European States Parties, this year the initiative was extended beyond Europe: contributions from the Angolan and Korean National Commissions impressively demonstrated the potential of cross-sectoral and cross-country cooperation. In addition, the presentations of the Swiss and Polish National Commissions illustrated the importance of national platforms and networks that support the implementation of the World Heritage Convention.

Representing the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Deputy Director Jyoti Hosagrahar welcomed the continuation of the series and underlined the distinctive place of National Commissions within UNESCO's institutional architecture. She emphasised that National Commissions complement existing mechanisms by connecting different sectors, bringing national experiences into international dialogue and creating opportunities for cross-sectoral cooperation. She reiterated that the World Heritage Centre remains open to continued dialogue with National Commissions.

The contribution from IUCN highlighted the importance of integrating World Heritage into broader national policies and action plans. Given the wide scope of heritage challenges, cooperation between governments, National Commissions and Advisory Bodies is essential to ensure that World Heritage is effectively embedded within national sustainable development strategies.

Former Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Mechtild Rössler, reflected on the unique nature of UNESCO's global network of National Commissions, noting that no other UN organisation possesses such a structure. She recognised National Commissions as key actors capable of connecting international processes with local populations, communicating in national languages, and engaging civil society, media and local communities.

The Secretary-General of the Ghana National Commission stressed that the long-term partnership between Ghana and the Republic of Korea demonstrates how sustained technical and financial cooperation can create lasting impact and strengthen implementation of the Convention.

Finally, Cyril Dworsky, Site Manager of the World Heritage property "Prehistoric Pile Dwellings around the Alps," shared practical examples of the facilitating and supporting role of National Commissions for World Heritage management, including support for capacity-building in the form of Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) trainings as well as networking activities bringing together experts from different fields.

The discussions confirmed broad recognition of the added value of National Commissions within the World Heritage system: as neutral conveners that create trusted spaces for dialogue between governments, experts and civil society; through their cross-sectoral mandate, which strengthens the connections between culture, education, science and sustainable development; and through their contribution to capacity-building, education and public awareness as essential components of effectively implementing the Convention. Long-term partnerships such as the Ghana–Korea climate initiative exemplified the impact that sustained international cooperation can achieve.

The second edition of Building Bridges confirmed the growing momentum behind strengthening the role of National Commissions for UNESCO within the World Heritage framework. Participants welcomed the opportunity to exchange practical experiences, identify common challenges and build new partnerships across regions. The organisers reaffirmed their intention to continue the Building Bridges initiative at future sessions of the World Heritage Committee, further deepening cooperation among National Commissions for UNESCO.