Interview
Licia Vlad Borrelli
World Heritage Convention
Licia Vlad Borrelli is an outstanding Italian archaeologist and professor, specializing in archeology and conservation techniques.
For more than 25 years, she headed the archaeological department of the Centrale per Restauro in Florence, before joining the Ministry of Heritage and Cultural Properitis as an archaeological inspector from the 1950s to 1990. Involved in World Heritage over the years, she served as president and rapporteur, and in particular played a major role in discussions concerning cultural landscapes at the 1983 session of the Committee. She is the author of many articles and books, including Il restauro archeologico: Storia e materiali (Viella, 2003).
Her involvement in World Heritage dates back to 1983 when she chaired the seventh session of the World Heritage Committee in Florence. She later served as rapporteur for the fourteenth session of the Committee in Banff in 1990. Finally, in 1992, she took part in the Washington meeting of a committee of experts to develop strategic goals for the World Heritage Committee.
Interview with
Licia Vlad Borrelli
6 May 2010, Rome, Italia
The audio excerpts come from an interview with Licia Vlad Borrelli by Christina Cameron and Mechtild Rössler the 6 May 2010 in Rome. She describes her long and rich experience of World Heritage, evoking in parallel Italian and international perspectives as well as her thoughts on the World Heritage List and its limitations. Having taken part in the early stages of the Convention, she highlights the importance and complexity of the cultural landscape discussions. She does not hesitate to take a stand and affirm the necessity of a fair balance between diplomats and experts on the Committee. She also emphasizes the need for better monitoring of listed sites and promotes international solidarity in order to educate people about their heritage as a means of ensuring their conservation over time.
- 1. The World Heritage Convention
- 1a. Involvement and participation of Licia Vlad Borrelli in the World Heritage
- 1b. Objectives of the Convention
- 1c. The World Heritage List
- 1d. Policies and decisions having influenced the implementation of the World Heritage Convention
- 1e. Failures and successes of the Convention
- 2. The World Heritage Committee: balance between experts and diplomats in the Committee
- 3. The Advisory Bodies: IUCN, ICOMOS and ICCROM
- 4. UNESCO Secretariat
- 5. International solidarity
- 6. Authenticity
Oral Archives of the
World Heritage Convention
Under the leadership of the Canada Research Chair on Built Heritage at the University of Montreal, an international team of researchers conducts interviews with pioneers of World Heritage to capture memories of important moments in the history of UNESCO Convention.
Launched in 2006, this initiative is part of the UNESCO History project that celebrated the 60th anniversary of the creation of UNESCO. The Oral Archives project records the precious witness of people closely associated with the creation and implementation of the Convention. Their recollections and views have greatly enriched the book by Christina Cameron and Mechtild Rössler, Many Voices, One Vision: The Early Years of the World Heritage Convention (Ashgate/Routledge, 2013).
