African Heritage Sites Facing Climate Change Workshop 2

African Heritage Sites Facing Climate Change is a series of workshops and capacity-building sessions launched in partnership with the Foundation for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Rabat. This initiative is aimed at site managers, mentees, experts, representatives of civil society, institutional stakeholders, cultural heritage professionals, and young Africans. It seeks to address various aspects of climate change impacts on African heritage, in line with the Policy Document on climate action for World Heritage adopted in 2023 by the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention. The primary objective is to enhance the capacity of these sites to continue conveying their Outstanding Universal Value while supporting sustainable development.

Workshop 2: African heritage: a legacy of resilience and harmony with the environment

Faced with the growing effects of climate change, African heritage sites embody a remarkable resilience based on ancestral know-how, cultural practices and strong community mobilization. With vernacular architecture that respects ecosystems, uses local materials and sustainable techniques, and to the richness of intangible heritage - rituals, stories, traditions - these sites manage to adapt to environmental upheavals while reinforcing cultural identity. Driven by local communities, these preservation initiatives combine tradition and innovation, offering inspiring models of sustainability and harmonious land management that are useful far beyond the African continent.