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SUMMARY:Gates Annual Lecture: Irina Bokova\, Director General of UNESCO (2
 009-2017): Why Heritage Matters. -  Irina Bokova\, Director General of UNE
 SCO (2009-2017)
DTSTART:20190227T180000Z
DTEND:20190227T193000Z
UID:TALK118996@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:78142
DESCRIPTION:Book your tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/gates-a
 nnual-lecture-irina-bokova-director-general-of-unesco-2009-2017-why-herita
 ge-matters-tickets-55150572848\n\nWhy Heritage Matters?\n\nProtecting Worl
 d Heritage is one of the most positive\, visionary and transformative idea
 s that emerged in the last century. This is the idea that heritage belongi
 ng to different cultures may represent “outstanding universal value” a
 nd should be protected by international law\, embodied in the World Herita
 ge Convention. This is the idea that humanity stands united in all its div
 ersity around shared values\; that all cultures are different but that the
 re is no pure culture. World Heritage shows how different cultures have in
 fluenced each other over the centuries so that today they all represent th
 e diversity of humanity. \n\nCultural heritage is our bridge from the past
  to the future. Culture and heritage are not about bricks and stones - the
 y are about identities and belonging. They carry values from the past that
  are important for societies today and tomorrow. Heritage is the way we un
 derstand the world and the means by which we shape it.\n\nCultural heritag
 e is our most democratic resource and every time it is destroyed\, a preci
 ous link with our past\, our history and our identity disappears. \n\nToda
 y\, heritage is at the frontline of “modern” conflicts\, and is under 
 attack by extremists in Mali\, Syria and Iraq\, with the aim of erasing hi
 stories and identities. Bamiyan Buddha’s\, Palmyra\, the mausoleums of T
 imbuktu bear the scars of deliberate and barbaric attacks. Looting of site
 s and illicit trafficking of antiquities deplete people and communities of
  their identities. \n\n\nProtection of cultural heritage is vital for reco
 nciliation\, social transformation and part and parcel of efforts to safeg
 uard peace. It becomes an important part of security and humanitarian resp
 onse in crisis situations. The adoption of the landmark UN Security Counci
 l Resolution 2347 in March 2017 was not only a response to the destruction
  and looting of heritage sites\, but set a firm link between peace and sec
 urity on the one hand\, and preservation of humanity’s heritage on the o
 ther.\n\nThis is the meaning of the 1972 UNESCO Convention on the Protecti
 on of the World’s Cultural and Natural Heritage\, based on the respect a
 nd recognition of the “outstanding universal value” of monuments\, sit
 es\, temples\, historic cities and landscapes that embrace all the diversi
 ty of humanity. The World Heritage list\, with its 1092 sites\, is an open
  book of humanity’s history of diversity\, of creativity\, of aesthetics
  and of imagination.\n\nThere are many challenges to the World Heritage pr
 eservation today:\n\n- Climate change\;\n\n- Uncontrolled urbanization\;\n
 \n- Unsustainable tourism\;\n\n- Lack of capacity\, knowledge and financia
 l resources\;\n\n- Conflict\, wars and deliberate destruction\;\n\n- Illic
 it trafficking of antiquities\, illicit poaching and logging\;\n- Earthqua
 kes\, inundations and other natural disasters\;\n\nIn a globalized\, inter
 connected and rapidly changing world\, heritage protection is as meaningfu
 l as never before.\n\n\nAbout the Speaker\n\nIrina Bokova\, born on 12 Jul
 y 1952 in Sofia (Bulgaria)\, has been two terms the Director-General of UN
 ESCO from 2009 to 2017. She is the first woman and the first Eastern Europ
 ean to lead the Organization. Having graduated from Moscow State Institute
  of International Relations\, Irina Bokova was a Fellow at the University 
 of Maryland\, Washington\, and followed an executive program at the John F
 . Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She began her career
  at the United Nations Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs o Bul
 garia. She was elected twice Member of Parliament and served as Deputy Min
 ister of Foreign Affairs and Government's first Secretary for European aff
 airs. \n\nBefore being elected as Director General of UNESCO\, from 2005 t
 o 2009 Irina Bokova was Ambassador of Bulgaria to France\, Monaco and UNES
 CO and Personal Representative of the President of the Republic of Bulgari
 a to the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie. As Director-Gener
 al of UNESCO\, Irina Bokova was actively engaged in the UN efforts to adop
 t Agenda 2030 for Sustainable Development\, including quality education fo
 r all\, gender equality\, the protection of the world’s cultural heritag
 e. She actively promotes culture as a driver for development\, along with 
 science and innovation.\n\nIrina Bokova was on the Forbes List of the worl
 d's most influential women for 2016. She has received state distinctions f
 rom more than 40 countries across the world and is Doctor honoris causa of
  leading universities.\n\nCurrently\, she is a Member of the Board of Ban 
 Ki Moon Centre for Global Citizens\, Honorary Dean of the Humanitas Colleg
 e and Honorary Professor of Peace Studies\, of Kyung-Hee University Seoul\
 , Member of the Concordia Leadership Council\, New York\, Member of the St
 rategic Committee of the Paris School of International Affairs /PSIA/\, Me
 mber of Leaders For Peace\, NGO chaired by Former PM of France\, Jean-Pier
 re Raffarin\, Chair of the International Advisory Council of the Beijing H
 ermirage Art Foundation\, Beijing.\nIn addition to her mother tongue\, she
  speaks English\, French\, Spanish and Russian.
LOCATION:Palmerston Room\, St John's College
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