Prof. Rana Dajani founder of We Love Reading has participated in the online roundtable “Heritage in the post-COVID World” organized by UNESCO.
The event took a place on the 14th of June, and It’s one of five online meetings titled “50Mindsfor the Next50”, during which important thinkers of our time from the arts, sciences, humanities and culture explore the future of World Heritage and heritage from an interdisciplinary perspective.
This year, the 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage celebrates its 50th anniversary. The landmark year arrives as the world assesses the extent of damages caused by COVID-19 on the economic, social and cultural lives of people across the globe. Combined with the accelerating environmental degradation and widening social divisions, we find ourselves in uncharted territory, questioning our fundamental values as individuals, a society, and a global community:
What do we truly treasure? What must change for the better?
What should be passed down to future generations in the face of future crises?
UNESCO has dedicated a milestone to a year-long interdisciplinary reflection on the future of the World Heritage, going well beyond celebrating past achievements. In this spirit, the theme of the year is “The Next 50: World Heritage as a source of resilience, humanity and innovation.”
The Challenges Experienced by the World Heritage properties are the symptoms of crises of global magnitude. The Solution-oriented discussions around the future of our World Heritage, therefore, require expertise well beyond the realm of heritage.
UNESCO Launched “50 Minds for the Next 50” to convene fifty leading, innovative, bold, respected thinkers of our times from diverse disciplines for the most interdisciplinary discussions on World Heritage.
By going well beyond the usual roster of experts, the 50 Minds will explore the meaning of “World Heritage” unbound by the 1972 Convention, in an effort to shape the new inclusive vision in which communities and citizens play an active role.