IX.1 The Committee congratulated the World Heritage Centre for the activities carried out in 1992 and presented in document WHC-92/002/6, particularly with regard to the organization at UNESCO Headquarters of the events to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. These events comprised a general exhibition on the Convention and the properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, as well as some thirty national exhibits, more than twenty conferences and about fifteen evening programmes. The Committee felt that these events, which could not have been organized without the co-operation of all the UNESCO services concerned, and particularly that of the Office of Public Information and the Press Service, demonstrated the great interest of the public in the world heritage concept and discovery of the heritage of each country.
IX.2 In this respect, schoolchildren and teachers were particularly interested, and had requested additional information on the Convention.
IX.3 The events also received excellent press coverage, from the written press as well as audio-visual, and proved a good investment for the future, the first effects of which can already be felt to judge by the numerous proposals for books, films and promotional material that the Centre has already received from the private sector.
IX.4 The Committee was in agreement with the proposal of the Centre to renew the experience, in a more modest way and more decentralized, and by facilitating exchanges of exhibitions between the States Parties.
IX.5 The Committee was also satisfied about the many activities carried out in 1992 by IUCN and ICOMOS; these activities had notedly included, for IUCN, the organization or the participation of regional seminars, the publication of books and articles on the Convention in the IUCN bulletin, the publication of the results of the seminar on the World Heritage Convention held during the Fourth Parks Congress in Caracas, Venezuela, in February 1992, etc. The USA-ICOMOS Committee had, for its part, realized an educative project on the Convention and the World Heritage sites which was in an experimental stage and being used by some teachers, as well as an audio-visual presentation for adult audiences.
IX.6 The Committee noted that, during 1992, the States Parties had also organized a certain number of promotional activities which were described in the document WHC-92/CONF.002/6. The Chinese Delegation informed the Committee that, in co-operation with UNESCO and the States Parties concerned, a film project on World Heritage in certain countries of Europe had been successfully carried out by a Chinese production team, and its distribution in China had greatly contributed towards the promotion of the World Heritage Convention. The Committee hoped this type of production would be encouraged in the future.
IX.7 Finally, the Committee was happy to note that 1992 had not been entirely devoted to activities for the celebration of the twentieth anniversary of the Convention, but had also seen the updating and production of new information material, such as publications, a prototype videodisk (CD-ROM) for the general public and the model for a newsletter on world heritage, which were both presented to members of the Committee for their comments.
IX.8 With regard to activities proposed for 1993, the Committee has accepted proposals contained in document WHC-92/CONF.002/6. However, it was felt that more emphasis should be placed on the production of material aimed at informing managers of World Heritage sites about criteria and the implications of the inscription of sites on the World Heritage List, and the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee also noted that the CD-ROM project should be pursued in accordance with the recommendation of the Bureau, but that it was not appropriate to allocate to it a quarter of the promotional budget but a more modest amount, and that a part of the budget should rather be allocated to the production of basic educational material which is more easily disseminated.
IX.9 With regard to private initiatives for publications and films, etc. the Committee requested the Centre to control the technical quality of the information contained in the material produced and to negotiate, if possible, the sharing of the copyright.
IX.10 The Committee also noted that three regional seminars particularly destined for the press, which were initially foreseen to take place in 1992, had been postponed until 1993, and which will be organized in Dakar (Senegal), Fez (Morocco) and Quito (Ecuador).
IX.11 Finally, the Committee wished that its strategic orientations concerning promotion be taken into account in the activities of the World Heritage Centre as of 1993.