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UNITAR Roundtable

“The A-Bomb Dome and Itsukushima Shrine –

World Heritage Sites in Hiroshima”

International experts on World Heritage Site management discuss the present and future

Roundtable organized on the occasion of the

UNITAR Hiroshima Training Workshop on the World Heritage Sites Management – their tangible and intangible aspects

Date: Thursday, 16 March 2006

About the Roundtable

The A-Bomb Dome and Itsukushima Shrine, the two World Heritage sites in Hiroshima, represent unique values to humanity as a whole as well as to the people of Hiroshima. Like the other 11 sites in Japan and the 810 properties on the World Heritage List, the inclusion of these sites has brought prestige and international recognition. However, it is this very recognition as World Heritage Sites with “outstanding universal value” that has also given rise to new obligations for site managers, citizens, and the country conserving and using them.  In the context of international World Heritage Sites management practice, what potential do the sites hold and what memory must they conserve and convey to future generations?

As part of a week-long workshop focussing on the tangible and intangible aspects of World Heritage Sites, the Roundtable will bring together seven experts to share ideas on the Hiroshima Heritage Sites during an open panel discussion.

About the UNITAR Series on World Heritage Sites Management

The UNITAR Series on World Heritage Sites Management, started in 2004, focuses on the diverse, changing and often elusive values which make a site worth conserving. Taking into account the objectives of the 1972 Convention and the positive (and negative) impacts after inscription onto the World Heritage List, UNITAR and its network of experts are working through training towards a better management of and planning for World Heritage sites.

About the Workshop

In the context of an annual, week-long UNITAR training workshop on this theme, 40 world-class experts will gather in Hiroshima to debate and discuss the objectives, reality and means of improving the World Heritage regime, and also share their ideas on Hiroshima’s own sites. The 2006 workshop will focus on a number of values, deriving either from the material characteristics (land, nature, buildings, animals, architectural beauty) or immaterial aspects (tradition, spiritual value, religion, history, pride, message) embodied in the site. Study tours to the A-Bomb Dome, Peace Park and Miyajima, including the Itsukushima Shrine, will provide relevant and living case studies for the participants.

Moderator
Yushi Utaka  Associate Professor, University of Hyogo, has worked extensively in Hiroshima and is a member of the Research Committee of the Miyajima Heritage Conservation Area. His current research interest is in heritage conservation, with a special focus on an Asian context where he has conducted field research for many years.
Panelists (alphabetical order)
	Jeffrey Cody Responsible for Training Initiatives, The Getty Conservation Institute, Los Angeles, is an architectural historian who has written extensively about 20th century Chinese architecture, and who specializes in heritage conservation. His work at the The Getty focuses on conservation education.		Richard Engelhardt  Regional Advisor for Culture for Asia and the Pacific, UNESCO Bangkok Office is one of the foremost international experts on World Heritage Sites and has directed heritage conservation and culture development projects throughout Asia and the Indo-Pacific region for the last 30 years.
	Han Qunli Senior Programme Specialist for Ecological Sciences, UNESCO Jakarta Office, is responsible for the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme and natural World Heritage at the Jakarta Office, dealing with site management support, monitoring and assistance in the nomination of Biosphere Reserves and World Heritage Sites.		François LeBlanc Head of Field Projects, The Getty Conservation Institute, is an architect and a leading specialist in heritage conservation who has, among other posts, been Director of the ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) Secretariat in Paris, Chief Architect at Parks Canada and Past President of ICOMOS Canada.
	Duncan Marshall Heritage Consultant/ Architect, ICOMOS Australia. Duncan Marshall’s consulting work has included a range of projects related to Australian World Heritage or potential sites and with ICOMOS Australia he has, for many years, provided assistance with its advocacy and lobbying work.		Kumiko Yoneda Senior Research Scientist, Japan Wildlife Research Center, Tokyo, has been attending World Heritage Committee meetings since 1997 as an advisor to the Japan Ministry of Environment. She participated in the formulation of a tentative list of natural sites in Japan and in the preparation of nomination documents for the Shiretoko area in northern Japan, inscribed in 2005.

Thanks to the support of the Hiroshima Prefectural Government, simultaneous translation (English/Japanese) will be provided

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