50 years of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention

This year marks the 50th anniversary of adopting the ‘Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage’ by the General Assembly of UNESCO. For this reason, on June 9th and 10th, the International Cultural Centre in Kraków will host a scientific conference with the participation of numerous European researchers.

The Paris ‘Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage’ of 1972 has globalised the problem of monument protection, and popularised the term ‘cultural heritage’. European countries were among the first to ratify the convention, and the 12 entries initiating the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1978 included three from Europe, with Kraków among them.

Not only will the purpose of the international scientific conference held at the ICC be to celebrate the jubilee of the Convention, but it will also substantively summarise its experience and achievements in Europe so far, assess the current situation and prospects, and formulate prognoses and tasks for the future.

Entrusting the Polish institutions with the organisation of the jubilee event is a sign of international recognition of our country’s contribution to saving and preserving the heritage. The choice of Kraków as the conference site is also significant. In 1995, the ICC hosted the international celebration of the 30th anniversary of this organisation. Under the patronage of the ICOMOS, in 2006 we celebrated the 15th anniversary of the ICC with the conference ‘Cultural heritage at the beginning of the 21st century. Chances and challenges'. In July 2017, Kraków also hosted the 41st session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.

The conference will be attended by over 50 European researchers and specialists who take care of the UNESCO heritage sites. The session will be inaugurated by Prof. Teresa Patrício, president of the International Committee of ICOMOS, Prof. Bogusław Szmygin, president of the Polish National Committee of ICOMOS, Agata Wąsowska-Pawlik, director of the ICC, and Bogusław Kośmider, deputy mayor of Kraków.

The conference is organised by the International Cultural Centre (ICC) and Polish National Committee of ICOMOS, and the event is co-organised by the Kraków City Hall. The conference can be attended personally or online. The proceedings take place in the English language, with translation to the Polish language.