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World Heritage Youth Forum

The World Heritage Young Professionals Fora are among the main activities of the World Heritage Education Programme designed to foster intercultural learning and exchange by bringing students and teachers together from different parts of the world. They allow the young professionals to gain local insights on heritage management from the experience of the host country and through site visits to World Heritage properties, and also provide an opportunity for them to meet with the members of the World Heritage Committee and its Advisory Bodies and discuss the 1972 Convention and its implementation in greater depth.

2023 World Heritage Young Professionals Forum

Looking Ahead: The Next 50 Years of Protecting Natural and Cultural Heritage

The World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2023 was hosted as an integral part of the extended 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, and in the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, by the Ministry of Culture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through the National Committee for Education, Culture and Science and the Saudi Heritage Commission. It was held under the theme of “Looking Ahead: The Next 50 Years of Protecting Natural and Cultural Heritage" from 3 to 12 September 2023 in Riyadh and the Al-Ahsa Oasis. The Forum was developed and implemented with the support of the NGO Diadrasis.

Young Professionals Forum

For students

For students, it is a chance to meet young people from other countries, learn about their heritage, discuss common concerns and discover new roles for themselves in heritage conservation.

Since the first World Heritage Youth Forum in 1995, in Bergen, Norway, more than 34 international, regional and national youth  fora have been held around the world.

For teachers

For teachers, it is an opportunity to debate new educational approaches, contribute to the World Heritage educational resource Kit “World Heritage in Young Hands”, and establish a network for future development of World Heritage education activities.

These forums serve as a catalyst and spark inspiration to develop World Heritage educational and participatory activities on a regional, as well as on international level. Whenever possible, hands-on skills development activities are integrated in the Agenda of the Forum.

Youth Forums

World Heritage Youth Forums are now also organized and held in conjunction with yearly sessions of the World Heritage Committee.

One of the exciting highlights of the forums is meeting members of the World Heritage Committee and its Advisory Bodies to discuss the Convention and its implementation. A youth delegation also presents the results of the Youth Forum to the Committee.

All World Heritage Youth Forum

Year Title Place Region
1995 First World Heritage Youth Forum Bergen, Norway Europe
1996 World Heritage Forum on Young People’s Participation in World Heritage Preservation and Promotion (25-30 May 1996) Dubrovnik, Croatia Europe
1996 First African World Heritage Youth Forum (18-24 September 1996) Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe Africa
1997 Asia-Pacific World Heritage Youth Forum (15-21 September 1997) Beijing, China Asia
1998 Second International World Heritage Youth Forum (22-29 November 1998) Osaka, Japan Asia
1999 World Heritage Youth Forum and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (23-27 August 1999) Dakar-Gorée, Sénégal Africa
1999 First Arab Youth Forum on World Heritage (22-28 November 1999) Ifrane, Morocco Arab states
2000 First Pacific World Heritage Youth Forum (23-28 November 2000) Cairns, Australia Asia
2001 World Heritage Youth Forum for Latin America on Sustainable Tourism (26 February – 1 March 2001) Lima, Peru Latin America
2001 International World Heritage Youth Forum (3-8 September 2001) Karlskrona, Sweden Europe
2002 Sub-regional Youth Forum on World Heritage, First Central European Meeting (24-29 June 2002) Bratislava, Slovakia Europe
2002 World Heritage Youth Forum (24-29 August 2002) Velikiy Novgorod, Russian Federation Europe
2002 Sub-regional Youth Forum on World Heritage (26-28 October 2002) Oman Arab states
2003 Heritage and Youth Forum – 7th OWHC Symposium (24-26 September 2003) Rhodes, Greece Europe
2005 World Heritage Education Youth Forum – Newcastle ( 6-11 April 2005) Newcastle, United Kingdom Europe
2005 World Heritage Education Youth Forum: WHYH Visual Arts Workshop (12-14 July 2005) Durban, South Africa Africa
2006 Workshop on Cultural Heritage for Young People in the Baltic States - 30th World Heritage Committee session (3-8 July 2006) Vilinius, Lithuania Europe
2007 Asia Pacific World Heritage Youth Forum Christchurch, New Zealand - 31st World Heritage Committee session, 2007 (19-24 June 2007) Christchurch, New Zealand Asia
2008 World Heritage International Youth Forum Youth Component, 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee, 2008 (21 June – 10 July 2008) Québec, Canada Europe
2009 First Ibero-American World Heritage Youth Forum, Seville, Spain 2009, in conjunction with the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee (June-July 2009) Seville, Spain Europe
2010 2nd World Heritage Ibero-American Youth Forum (20-30 June 2010) Aranjuez, Spain Europe
2010 World Heritage Youth Forum – Brasilia Brazil 2010 in conjunction with the 34th World Heritage Committee meeting (16-25 July 2010) Brasilia, Brazil Latin America
2010 International Youth Forum GO4BioDiv Our Treasures at Risk, World Heritage Sites in Times of Climate Change (16-29 October 2010) Mt Fuji/Nagoya, Japan Asia
2011 First South East European (SEE) World Heritage Youth Forum: Networking for a Better Common Future (21-26 May 2011) Porec, Croatia/ Ljubljana, Slovenia Europe
2011 3rd Ibero American World Heritage Youth Forum in conjunction with the 35th World Heritage Committee meeting (16-25 June 2011) Santander, Spain Europe
2012 International Youth Forum: Water and the World Heritage Youth Event (in conjunction with the 36th World Heritage Committee Meeting (St Petersburg)) (30 May – 20 June 2012) Krasnodar, Russian Federation Europe
2012 International Youth Model of the World Heritage Committee – in conjunction with the 36th World Heritage Committee meeting (St Petersburg) (1-9 July 2012) Olyonok, Kazan, Republic of Tartastan, Russian Federation Europe
2012 4th International Youth Forum – Future of the Convention with young people (10-20 June 2012) Alcala de Henares, Spain Europe
2012 1st Asia-Pacific World Heritage Regional Forum for Site Managers and Youth NGOs: Linking Networks (26-31 August 2012) Seoul, Republic of Korea Asia
2012 International Youth Forum Go4BioDiv at Sundarbans National Park (6-15 October 2012) Hyderabad, India Asia
2012 Youth Forum – Closing celebration of World Heritage Convention’s 40th anniversary (6-8 November 2012) Kyoto, Japan Asia
2013 2nd South East Europe World Heritage Youth Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development (6-11 April 2013) Gamzigrad – Romuliana, Palace of Galerius World Heritage Site, Zaječar, Serbia Europe
2013 World Heritage Youth Forum, 37th Session of World Heritage Committee (8-17 June 2013) Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia Asia
2013 5th World Heritage Youth Forum in Spain (9-19 June 2013) Alcala de Henares, Spain Europe
2014 World Heritage Youth Forum in Qatar (4-15 June 2014) Doha, Qatar Arab States
2015 World Heritage Youth Forum in Germany (18-29 June 2015) Bonn and Koblenz, Germany Europe
2015 1st World Hertiage Youth Forum in Asia (25 November - 3 December 2015) Siem Reap, Cambodia Asia
2016 World Heritage Youth Forum in Turkey (29 June - 12 July 2016) Istanbul , Turkey Europe
2017 World Heritage Young Professional Forum in Poland (25 June − 4 July 2017) Warsaw and Krakow, Poland Europe
2018 3rd African World Heritage Regional Youth Forum in Mozambique (30 April – 5 May 2018) Island of Mozambique, Mozambique Africa
2018 World Heritage Young Professionals Forum in Bahrain (17-26 June 2018) Manama, Bahrain Arab States
2019 European Young Heritage Professionals Forum in Croatia (20-24 May 2019), Croatia Europe
2019 World Heritage Young Professionals Forum in Azerbaijan (23 june - 2 July 2019) Baku, Azerbaijan Asia
2019 Arab World Heritage Young Professionals Forum in Tunisia (2-6 December 2019) Tunis, Tunisia Arab States
2021 World Heritage Young Professionals Forum online (Fuzhou, China) (5-9 July 2021) Online/ Fuzhou, China Asia
2023 World Heritage Young Professionals Forum, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (3-12 September 2023) Riyadh and the Al-Ahsa Oasis, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Arab States
News 31
Events 18
Other activities 36
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