Regional heritage management training centre - Lucio Costa Centre establishes its governance offices
On 26-27 November 2015, at a meeting held within the framework of a signed agreement between Brazil and UNESCO the first Board of Directors of the Regional Heritage Management Training Centre – Lucio Costa (CLC), a Category 2 Centre, was established under the auspices of UNESCO. Representatives from the Brazilian Government, the General Directorate of UNESCO, from the Portuguese-speaking African Countries Cape Verde and Mozambique, and from the Spanish-Speaking South American Countries Chile, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay were present.
During the same meeting, the Board of Directors elected Cape Verde, Chile and Ecuador to comprise the Executive Committee and approved the name of the Centre’s Director.
The Board of Directors also approved the proposed Action Plan of the CLC for the 2016/2017biennium, which includes:
- In the field of research, conducting studies on “Management practices for cultural heritage in the World Heritage List”; the “Constitutions, legislation and norms for the preservation of cultural heritage in the region’s countries”; and “World Heritage and Brazilian Heritage: UNESCO and Iphan”.
- In the field of capacity-building, promoting a Workshop on the World Heritage Convention; the 1st edition of the Training Course for Managers of cultural properties in the region’s countries; an open call for a database of teachers and researchers in the region based on criteria to be developed by the Executive Committee; developing learning material on management and conservation themes; an international seminar on heritage and tourism in MERCOSUL, to establish parameters that may afford a dialogue between heritage management and tourism management in the region, equally including the African countries that have already joined the Centre.
- In the area of promotion: establishing a Heritage Management Observatory; publishing Portuguese versions of titles such as “Managing Historic Cities” and “Managing Tourism at World Heritage Sites: a Practical Manual for World Heritage Site Managers”.
Intended to promote the regional leadership of Centre Lucio Costa and to ensure the Centre’s adoption of a strategic position, the Board of Directors decided that the established Executive Council will be in charge of developing a proposal of strategic thinking on the emerging problems and solutions to be approached in the field of cultural heritage management in the region, to be considered for the activities of Centre Lucio Costa.
It also decided that the Centre must reinforce its contacts with the region’s existing network of universities in the development of its activities.
The members of the CLC Board of Directors congratulated the Brazilian Government’s initiative and celebrated the efforts undertaken to strengthen cultural heritage management capacities in the region covered by Centre Lucio Costa.