Theme A Essay
CCHU9013: Cultural Heritages in the Contemporary World
Written Essay of Tutorial Assignment:
Theme A
(Critically discuss the role of UNESCO in highlighting the significance of cultural and intangible heritage in our modern world.) Group Six
Name: Yau Ho Cheung, John
UID: 3035095107
Date of Submission: 17th October 2014
The interpretation of ‘heritage’ differs among organizations and can be ambiguous because it can connote a multitude of meanings, ranging from lifestyles to religions. However, it is widely perceived that the broad concept of heritage entails tangible cultures and intangible elements, as well as the environment (Yahaya, 2006).
The roles of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) in emphasizing the importance of cultural and intangible heritage in this era can be classified into advocator, supervisor and supporter.
In terms of advocation, world heritage conventions have been implemented to promote the significance of heritage around the globe. The Member States invented international standards to initiate and strengthen cultural policies at different places of the world. For example, at the 2003 session of the general conference of UNESCO, convention about safeguarding intangible cultural heritage was adopted to put emphasis on heritages that had not been benefited from the current protection framework. The promotion even went further to the general public. Projects like the World Heritage
Education Programme educated the youth with the concept of heritage conservation and possible contributions they can make (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2014).
Nonetheless, criteria as to including which heritage sites into its recognition were often condemned. As indicated in 2014 list of UNESCO world heritage, the sites are predominantly tourist spots. This leads to a question that whether famous heritages have higher cultural values than the less famous ones.
After the recognition of conservation of heritages, the UNESCO
Written Essay of Tutorial Assignment:
Theme A
(Critically discuss the role of UNESCO in highlighting the significance of cultural and intangible heritage in our modern world.) Group Six
Name: Yau Ho Cheung, John
UID: 3035095107
Date of Submission: 17th October 2014
The interpretation of ‘heritage’ differs among organizations and can be ambiguous because it can connote a multitude of meanings, ranging from lifestyles to religions. However, it is widely perceived that the broad concept of heritage entails tangible cultures and intangible elements, as well as the environment (Yahaya, 2006).
The roles of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) in emphasizing the importance of cultural and intangible heritage in this era can be classified into advocator, supervisor and supporter.
In terms of advocation, world heritage conventions have been implemented to promote the significance of heritage around the globe. The Member States invented international standards to initiate and strengthen cultural policies at different places of the world. For example, at the 2003 session of the general conference of UNESCO, convention about safeguarding intangible cultural heritage was adopted to put emphasis on heritages that had not been benefited from the current protection framework. The promotion even went further to the general public. Projects like the World Heritage
Education Programme educated the youth with the concept of heritage conservation and possible contributions they can make (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 2014).
Nonetheless, criteria as to including which heritage sites into its recognition were often condemned. As indicated in 2014 list of UNESCO world heritage, the sites are predominantly tourist spots. This leads to a question that whether famous heritages have higher cultural values than the less famous ones.
After the recognition of conservation of heritages, the UNESCO