International Symposium Twentieth Century World Heritage: Challenges and Experience in the Management and Impact Assessment of Architectural Heritage

Thursday, October 20 I 9.00-16.00 I City Museum of Ljubljana I the event will also be live streamed on MGML Youtube and MAO Facebook channel

The year 2022 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of architect Jože Plečnik (Ljubljana, 23 January 1972 – Ljubljana, 7 January 1957) and the 50th anniversary of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

In cooperation with heritage organisations the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia is organising an international symposium on the 20th-century architectural heritage inscribed on the World Heritage List, which is to take place on 20 October 2022 in Ljubljana. The symposium will be dedicated to the challenges and experience in heritage management and impact assessment in the context of the World Heritage Convention, and will feature experts from the World Heritage Centre and UNESCO advisory bodies, namely the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), together with experts from European countries specialized in 20th-century architecture and heritage, who will present and share their experience at the event.

The symposium will be divided into two thematic sections. In part one, the speakers will present the 20th-century architectural heritage on the World Heritage List, its state of conservation and conservation challenges, as well as the mechanisms under the World Heritage Convention, including the evaluation of new proposals and a reflection on new 20th-century heritage sites. The baselines and methodology for impact assessments in a world heritage context were designed based on the recently published guidance document, which was prepared jointly by ICCROM, ICOMOS, and IUCN, and will also be presented at the event. The second part of the symposium will be dedicated to the exchange of practices and experience in the implementation of the assessments in Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and other countries. Experts will present the application of the assessment mechanism in the strategic reflection on spatial development, guidance on contemporary interventions into heritage sites or their immediate vicinity, and in decision-making on architectural projects.

PROGRAMME
9.00 Reception of participants and registration
9.30 Opening speeches
Blaž Peršin, Director of the Museum and Galleries of Ljubljana
Dr. Asta Vrečko, Minister of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia
Špela Spanžel, Acting Director-General, Cultural Heritage Directorate, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Slovenia
SESSION 1: The World Heritage Convention 1972 – Tools for Implementation and Current Issues
Alessandro Balsamo, UNESCO World Heritage Centre
The World Heritage Convention and its Mechanisms for Conservation
Gwenaëlle Bourdin, International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
Challenges and Learnings from 20th Century World Heritage Nominations
Eugene Jo, International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM)
Managing World Heritage in an Urban Setting
12.10-12.30
Questions and short discussion
12.30-13.30
Break
SESSION 2: Exchange of Practices and Experiences – International Examples
Nicholas Clarke, International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
Bridging Policy and Practice: Propositions on Impact Assessment in a World Heritage Context
Patrick Patiwael, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Lessons from Dutch Heritage Impact
Assessment Practice – a Spatial Planning Perspective
Adele Cesi, Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Italy
Ivrea, Industrial City of the 20th Century – the Challenge of Re-use and its Limits
Oliver Martin, Swiss Federal Office of Culture
World Heritage and Wind Farms – a Case Study for a Heritage Impact Assessment
15.30-16.00 Discussion and closing remarks

The event is aimed at the professional public and Slovenian stakeholders in the conservation of heritage, architecture, spatial planning, and development, focusing in particular on the comprehensive management of the World heritage property of Plečnik’s Ljubljana and issues concerning the protection of heritage, architecture, and the built environment, as well as societal attitudes to the 20th-century heritage.

The number of participants in the live event is limited, so prior registration is required. You can register at prijava@mgml.si.

All lectures will be in English.

EVENT ORGANISERS:

Program of the International Symposium Twentieth Century World Heritage