Media Release from 22 September 2021
Visit the World Heritage Site “Berlin Modernism Housing Estates”
Public Event by IAWHP e.V.
The members of the International Association of World Heritage Professionals e.V. are cordially invited to a visit of the UNESCO World Heritage Site “Berlin Modernism Housing Estates” led by the Berlin State Monuments Office. The property consists of several housing estates that testify to innovative housing policies from 1910 to 1933, especially during the Weimar Republic, when the city of Berlin was particularly progressive socially, politically, and culturally.
Registrations by 4 October 2021 at the latest
Foto: Andrey Savin (Wikipedia Commons https://bit.ly/3Eza0sI)
Media Release from 01 May 2021
IAWHP e. V. was invited to attend a virtual conference titled “WH – Shaping the Future“, which took place on 27 and 28 April from 15:45 to 17:30. Organizer was the Saxony State Office for the Conservation of Monuments in cooperation by the German Unesco Commission. We would like to thank Friederike Hansell for the kind invitation.
The event was held online as a video conference; approx. 120 people joined each day, among them some IAWHP members. Representing the IAWHP e. V. board were Klaus Zehbe und Li Fan.
The conference focused largely on youth involvement and best practice to engage young persons offline and online.
On day one, an activity model was introduced to create youth involvement: ABBAS
A: generate Attention (Aufmerksamkeit)
B: generate needs (Beduerfnis)
B: generate involvement (Beteiligung)
A: generate recognition (Anerkennung; i. e. offer awards or prizes for activities)
S: generate a story worth telling (Story). Stories can include traditional storytelling-elements.
Several projects from various heritage sites were introduced and voted on for more detailed presentation at the conference.
Best practice recommendations for youth involvement were introduced: “Escape Room Site”; “Motto Party or Festival”; “Site Quiz”; “Site Cleanup”; “Site Foto Run” or the creation of a “Youth Council for the Site / Jugendbeirat”.
In breakout sessions questions of addressing youth were discussed and reported to the plenary. It was generally remarked that mobile devices attract the attention of young persons.
On day two youth projects from WH MontanregionErzgebirge and WH Oberes Mittelrheintal were introduced.
Young persons from both regions were present and provided input.
Particularly, strategies to reach youth on social media were discussed and commented on by the young persons (age group early to mid teenagers).
In general, youth representatives preferred visual communication which offered the opportunity to interact or comment.
Depending on the communication channel, the algorithmic highlighting of posts and comments needs to be considered.
Media most used by young persons were (descending order): Instagram, Youtube, Snapchat, TikTok (with increasing market share), Facebook, Twitter.
A TikTok content creator gave a presentation on content creation for social media focusing on TikTok.
In the following discussion, opportunities and risks of social media for heritage sites were talked about. The connection between offline and online was highlighted as an area whichneeded special attention. In general, online communities need to be managed and involved on a regular basis to motivate people to interact or engage with the site. Most of the time, sites didn’t feel comfortable with social media due to short staffing, technical issues or the age structure of the staff. Channel-takeovers were discussed as a way to increase reach on social media and to win new audiences.
The concluding talks evaluated the online conference format favourably and suggested to host similar events in the future.
To summarize, the conference provided some valuable insight into social media communication and the involvement for young people in offline and online formats. Some insights may prove valuable for elaborating plans for IAWHP’s ongoing and future activities.
Media Release from 14 March 2021
Heartfelt invitation to participate in our General Assembly on 27 March 2021
Media Release from 16 February 2021
International Association of World Heritage Professionals e.V. announces new Board of Directors
Founded in 2010, the International Association of World Heritage Professionals e.V. (IAWHP e.V.) is a non-profit association of specialsts in various fields connected to World Heritage protection and managment. It acts as a think-tank for developing innovative approaches towards the protection, conservation and management of the tangible and intangible aspects of cultural and natural heritage. Moreover, the association brings together researchers and practitioners for joint projects from across the globe.
At the recent General Assembly, a new Board has been elected to serve for the next three-year term. It constitutes itself as follows:
Chairperson: Patricia Alberth (Germany)
Deputy Chairperson: Rolf Schütt (Bolivia)
Secretary: Manana Tevzadze (Georgia)
Public Information Officer: Dr Chang Liu (China)
Membership Officer: Klaus Zehbe (Germany)
Treasurer: Dr Li Fan (China)
Deputy Treasurer: Miki Shimizu (Japan)
Among others, the new Board plans to organize a side event to the upcoming 44th session of the World Heritage Committee in Fuzhou (China), to contribute to the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention in 2022 and to offer social activities at selected World Heritage sites.
IAWHP membership is open to heritage researchers and practitioners.
Contact:
International Association of World Heritage Professionals e.V.
c/o Zentrum Welterbe Bamberg
Untere Mühlbrücke 5
96047 Bamberg
Germany
Web: www.iawhp.com
Email: info@iawhp.com