World Heritage Volunteers 2013 - Call For Proposal

Following the successful WHV campaign to celebrate the 40^th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention with 50 projects organized in 40 World Heritage sites around the world in 2012, we have the pleasure to launch the World Heritage Volunteers 2013 (WHV 2013), welcoming the participation of all interested organizations.

In the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, this initiative is co-organized by the World Heritage Centre (WHC) and the Co-ordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS). In order to get involved in or renew your commitment to the protection and preservation of World Heritage through voluntary action and non formal education, please fill in the attached application form and send it back by 28-30 January 2013

to : c.quin@unesco.org and i.yousfi@unesco.org
with a copy to: secretariat@ccivs.org

The objectives of the WHV 2013 are the following:

• Sensitize the international and local volunteers, the local communities as well as the concerned authorities around issues related to World Heritage;
• Increase the contribution by the youth and voluntary service organizations to World Heritage promotion and preservation, especially at the sites in danger and natural sites with activities planned on the basis of the concrete needs of the site;
• Contribute to the development of non-formal education tools to strengthen the sense of ownership regarding our common heritage by documenting new methods to promote World Heritage and providing young volunteers with hands-on skills training on basic conservation and preservation techniques;
• Further strengthen synergies between the local youth organization and the local community, site management, national and local authorities towards establishment of concrete cooperation following the result of the projects, and link cooperation to the issue of sustainable development.

An increasing number of projects have been selected since the first edition of the World Heritage Volunteers. However and even though the selection is open to all, future WHV projects must fulfil a set of criteria indicated below. Such process not only aims at the participation of the most relevant projects but also at a better coordination of the selected projects. The organizations are also required to send a detailed programme of activities after the official selection of projects.

Criteria for Selection

• Project is organized in immediate connection to a site inscribed on the World Heritage List or a site on the country’s Tentative List  [Ref: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list ;  https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists ];
• Project organizers demonstrate best efforts to involve the community, site managers and local authorities in planning details of the activities;
• Activities include a systematic reflection on issues related to World Heritage as well as practical hands-on skills training for the volunteers;
• The project can be linked to one of the following themes: Sustainable Development; International Year of Water Cooperation (2013);
• Project organizers engage themselves to implement the project as per approved proposals and to submit a full activity report (including images, videos and other results) demonstrating the concrete engagement of young volunteers in the field of World Heritage. UNESCO shall use these for promotional purposes, among others publication in UNESCO's website, the World Heritage Review, for information to the different States Parties and concerned governmental agencies.
• Each organization is eligible to apply for a maximum of 4 projects.
• The evaluation report of previous WHV projects done by the same organization has to be submitted in order for the new proposals to be considered. 
• Organizations are responsible for informing UNESCO-WHC and CCIVS about any changes and major challenges related to the selected projects.

The implementation of WHV projects will be carried out in close cooperation between the UNESCO WHC, CCIVS and organizations whose projects will have been selected.

The UNESCO WHC and CCIVS will provide institutional and educational monitoring as well as promotional support. An official selection letter will be sent to the World Heritage site managers in charge of the sites where the selected projects will take place, UNESCO Field Offices and the relevant National Commissions. The organizations will receive educational resource materials (maps, leaflets, DVDs) to help them to run their awareness-raising activities.

UNESCO WHC and CCIVS representatives will also visit some of the selected projects in order to monitor the project implementation. The promotion of the projects to a large audience through local and national media coverage will be facilitated by the authorization to carry the Patrimonito label as well as by the use of promotional material during the projects.

Representing a young guardian, the logo Patrimonito symbolises the interdependence of culture and nature. Created on the basis of the World Heritage emblem, the central square is a form created by people and the circle represents nature, the two being intimately linked. The emblem is round like the world, but at the same time, it is a symbol of protection.

Participating organizations engage to submit an evaluation report, a financial report and other annexes illustrating the concrete involvement of young volunteers in the field of World Heritage. A UNESCO certificate will be handed out to all the participating organizations following the implementation the WHV 2013 projects.

Evaluation is an integral part of the WHV projects' implementation. All the selected organizations of the 2013 WHV campaign will be invited to a Workshop and Planning meeting scheduled from the 4 to the 8 of March 2013, in Spitz an der Donau / Wachau, Austria.

We look forward to receiving your proposals and remain at your disposal for any clarification needed.