Call for Papers
In conjunction with a meeting of Advisory Bodies of the World Heritage Committee, and in partnership with our network of indigenous peoples’ and civil society organizations, World Heritage Watch is organizing the
8th International NGO Forum on World Heritage
in Paris, France, in January 2020[1]
The Forum will discuss cases of World Heritage Sites where there is a concern for their protection and safeguarding which should be brought to the attention of the World Heritage Committee and the general public. Presentations shall provide information about the sites which
- is new and relevant for the protection and safeguarding of the site; and/or
- has not received adequate consideration by the State Party or UNESCO; and/or
- reflects the perspective of the local population at the site and/or civil society actors;
in order to help the World Heritage Committee and its Advisory Bodies to have a more comprehensive assessment of the site and thus arrive at better decisions during its session.
Papers on any World Heritage Site are welcome, but priority should be given to sites
- which will likely be on the agenda of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee’s 44th Session (see Annex below), or
- which should be put on the agenda with urgency.
In addition to sites which are inscribed on the World Heritage List, the Forum will also consider sites which are nominated for inscription on the World Heritage List, which are on a Tentative List or should be placed on a Tentative List.
Papers should be as specific, concise and detailed as possible. Where applicable, they should refer as much as possible to prior decisions of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, and should make clear suggestions as to which action should be taken by whom. For general orientation we also suggest that you consult the Final Document of the WHW 2015 Bonn Conference, and the list of sites on the agenda of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee Meeting, both of which can be found on the WHW website.
Any and all persons of any occupational background – except officials involved on national or international level in decision-making on world heritage sites – are invited to submit papers. Representatives of non-governmental organizations, indigenous peoples, local initiatives and professional associations related to conservation and/or the empowerment of civil society or indigenous peoples will be given priority when papers are selected for presentation on the Forum.
In addition to presentation on the Forum, World Heritage Watch may also arrange access to the media and an additional presentation on a side event during the UNESCO WH Committee Meeting.
Please send your full paper in English language by 15 December 2019 to contact@world-heritage-watch.org.
By sending their paper authors agree to its possible publication in the World Heritage Watch Report 2020 which will be published in spring 2020.
Authors may send their reports under pseudonym or anonymous if they should feel that this is necessary to protect themselves from repercussions.
Formal guidelines:
Papers must be submitted in Word format. They must not be longer than 3 pages of text written in Arial 11pt, 2,5cm margins, single-spaced, with minimum formatting (bold, italics, underline). No abstract needed. References and illustrations (maps, photos, graphics) may be added to the three pages of text.
Each photo or map must be sent in a separate file (jpg of not less than 1MB or pdf) as an attachment to the email. Do not send your photos from a smartphone since they will be automatically reduced in size during the transfer.
In addition, please also send us a portrait photo (jpg, min. 1MB) and a short biography (max. 10 lines Arial 11pt of written text – no lists, no bullet points) explaining your profession and livelihood, membership in a civil society organization (if any), and the type of your involvement in the UNESCO World Heritage.
Please see the WHW Reports for examples. They are available for download on www.world-heritage-watch.org
NOTE: Papers not observing these guidelines will be returned.
Papers will be selected for presentation and publication until 1 January 2020. In case your paper will be selected, you will receive an official invitation, and World Heritage Watch will try to support your travel expenses. No honorariums will be paid for the papers and presentations.
Berlin, 15 October 2019
Stephan Doempke
Chairman of the Board, World Heritage Watch
ANNEX:
Properties likely to be on the agenda of the 44th Session of the UNESCO WH Committee
| Name of the Property | State Party | by Decision No. |
| Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley | Afghanistan | 43 COM 7A.41 |
| Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam | Afghanistan | 43 COM 7A.42 |
| Ancient and Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and Other Regions of Europe | Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Ukraine | 42 COM 7B.71, 43 COM 7B.13 |
| Iguazu National Park | Argentina | 42 COM 7B.83 |
| Tasmanian Wilderness | Australia | 42 COM 7B.61 |
| Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg | Austria | 43 COM 7B.80 |
| Historic Centre of Vienna | Austria | 43 COM 7A.45 |
| The Sundarbans | Bangladesh | 43 COM 7B.3 |
| Białowieża Forest | Belarus, Poland | 43 COM 7B.14 |
| Royal Palaces of Abomey | Benin | 43 COM 7B.103 |
| City of Potosí | Bolivia | 43 COM 7A.48 |
| Tiwanaku: Spiritual and Political Centre of the Tiwanaku Culture | Bolivia | 42 COM 7B.34 |
| Okavango Delta | Botswana | 42 COM 7B.89 |
| Iguaçu National Park | Brazil | 42 COM 7B.84 |
| Pampulha Modern Ensemble | Brazil | 42 COM 7B.35 |
| Pirin National Park | Bulgaria | 42 COM 7B.72 |
| Gros Morne National Park | Canada | 42 COM 7B.73 |
| Manovo-Gounda St Floris National Park | Central African Republic | 43 COM 7A.5 |
| Ennedi Massif: Natural and Cultural Landscape | Chad | 42 COM 7B.64 |
| Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains | China | 42 COM 7B.1 |
| Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, Lhasa | China | 42 COM 7B.2 |
| Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape | China | 42 COM 7B.4 |
| Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang’an – Tian-shan Corridor | China / Kazakhstan / Kyrgyzstan | 42 COM 7B.5 |
| Los Katíos National Park | Colombia | 43 COM 7B.23 |
| Precolumbian Chiefdom Settlements with Stone Spheres of the Diquís | Costa Rica | 42 COM 7B.36 |
| Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve | Côte d’Ivoire / Guinea | 43 COM 7A.6 |
| Old City of Dubrovnik | Croatia | 42 COM 7B.20 |
| Plitvice Lakes National Park | Croatia | 42 COM 7B.74 |
| Historic Centre of Prague | Czechia | 42 COM 7B.21 |
| Landscape for Breeding and Training of Ceremonial Carriage Horses at Kladruby nad Labem | Czechia | 43 COM 8B.27 |
| Garamba National Park | Dem. Rep. of the Congo | 43 COM 7A.7 |
| Kahuzi-Biega National Park | Dem. Rep. of the Congo | 43 COM 7A.8 |
| Okapi Wildlife Reserve | Dem. Rep. of the Congo | 43 COM 7A.9 |
| Salonga National Park | Dem. Rep. of the Congo | 43 COM 7A.10 |
| Virunga National Park | Dem. Rep. of the Congo | 43 COM 7A.11 |
| Colonial City of Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic | 42 COM 7B.37 |
| City of Quito | Ecuador | 42 COM 7B.38 |
| Galápagos Islands | Ecuador | 42 COM 7B.85 |
| Abu Mena | Egypt | 43 COM 7A.17 |
| Historic Cairo | Egypt | 43 COM 7B.44 |
| Aksum | Ethiopia | 42 COM 7B.43 |
| Lower Valley of the Omo | Ethiopia | 42 COM 7B.44 |
| Simien National Park | Ethiopia | 42 COM 7B.91 |
| Paris, Bank of the Seine | France | 43 COM 7B.82 |
| Historical Monuments of Mtskheta | Georgia | 42 COM 7B.24 |
| Forts and Castles, Volta, Greater Accra, Central and Western Regions | Ghana | 43 COM 7B.106 |
| National History Park – Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers | Haiti | 42 COM 7B.39 |
| Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve | Honduras | 43 COM 7A.4 |
| Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue | Hungary | 43 COM 7B.84 |
| Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) at Nalanda, Bihar | India | 42 COM 7B.6 |
| Hill Forts of Rajasthan | India | 42 COM 7B.7 |
| Keoladeo National Park | India | 42 COM 7B.68 |
| Mountain Railways of India | India | 43 COM 7B.62 |
| Lorentz National Park | Indonesia | 43 COM 7B.9 |
| Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra | Indonesia | 43 COM 7A.1 |
| The Persian Qanat | Iran (Islamic Republic of) | 42 COM 7B.9 |
| Ashur (Qal’at Sherqat) | Iraq | 43 COM 7A.18 |
| Babylon | Iraq | 43 COM 8B.13 |
| Erbil Citadel | Iraq | 42 COM 7B.53 |
| Hatra | Iraq | 42 COM 7A.19 |
| Samarra Archaeological City | Iraq | 43 COM 7A.20 |
| Samarra Archaeological City | Iraq | 43 COM 7A.20 |
| The Ahwar of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities | Iraq | 43 COM 7B.35 |
| Venice and its Lagoon | Italy | 43 COM 7B.86 |
| Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining | Japan | 42 COM 7B.10 |
| Petra | Jordan | 42 COM 7B.54 |
| Um er-Rasas (Kastrom Mefa’a) | Jordan | 42 COM 7B.55 |
| Wadi Rum Protected Area | Jordan | 42 COM 7B.67 |
| Mausoleum of Khoja Ahmed Yasawi | Kazakhstan | 43 COM 7B.67 |
| Western Tien Shan | Kazakhstan / Kyrgyzstan / Uzbekistan | 42 COM 7B.69 |
| Lake Turkana National Parks | Kenya | 43 COM 7A.12 |
| Lamu Old Town | Kenya | 43 COM 7B.107 |
| Thimlich Ohinga Archaeological Site | Kenya | 42 COM 8B.14 |
| Archaeological Site of Cyrene | Libya | 43 COM 7A.23 |
| Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna | Libya | 43 COM 7A.24 |
| Archaeological Site of Sabratha | Libya | 43 COM 7A.25 |
| Old Town of Ghadamès | Libya | 43 COM 7A.26 |
| Rock-Art Sites of Tadrart Acacus | Libya | 43 COM 7A.27 |
| Rainforests of the Atsinanana | Madagascar | 43 COM 7A.13 |
| Lake Malawi National Park | Malawi | 42 COM 7B.93 |
| Cliffs of Bandiagara (Land of the Dogons) | Mali | 42 COM 7B.65 |
| Old Towns of Djenné | Mali | 43 COM 7A.53 |
| Timbuktu | Mali | 43 COM 7A.54 |
| Tomb of Askia | Mali | 43 COM 7A.55 |
| Banc d’Arguin National Park | Mauritania | 42 COM 7B.98 |
| Ancient Maya City and Protected Tropical Forests of Calakmul, Campeche | Mexico | 42 COM 7B.63 |
| Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California | Mexico | 43 COM 7B.26 |
| Nan Madol: Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia | Micronesia | 43 COM 7A.43 |
| Durmitor National Park | Montenegro | 43 COM 7B.19 |
| Natural and Culturo-Historical Region of Kotor | Montenegro | 43 COM 7B.87 |
| Island of Mozambique | Mozambique | 42 COM 7B.47 |
| Kathmandu Valley | Nepal | 43 COM 7B.70 |
| Sagarmatha National Park | Nepal | 42 COM 7B.70 |
| Air and Ténéré Natural Reserves | Niger | 43 COM 7A.14 |
| Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove | Nigeria | 43 COM 7B.109 |
| Sukur Cultural Landscape | Nigeria | 42 COM 7B.48 |
| Natural and Cultural Heritage of the Ohrid region | North Macedonia, Albania | 43 COM 7B.36, 43 COM 8B.9 |
| Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore | Pakistan | 43 COM 7B.72 |
| Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta | Pakistan | 43 COM 7B.73 |
| Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern Jerusalem, Battir | Palestine | 43 COM 7A.30 |
| Hebron / Al-Khalil Old Town | Palestine | 43 COM 7A.29 |
| Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection | Panama | 43 COM 7B.28 |
| Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo | Panama | 43 COM 7A.50 |
| Chan Chan Archaelogical Zone | Peru | 43 COM 7A.51 |
| Historic Centre of the City of Arequipa | Peru | 42 COM 7B.41 |
| Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras | Philippines | 42 COM 7B.15 |
| Auschwitz Birkenau German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945) | Poland | 42 COM 7B.27 |
| Central Sikhote-Alin | Russian Federation | 42 COM 8B.9 |
| Golden Mountains of Altai | Russian Federation | 43 COM 7B.16 |
| Lake Baikal | Russian Federation | 42 COM 7B.76 |
| Virgin Komi Forest | Russian Federation | 42 COM 7B.78 |
| Volcanoes of Kamchatka | Russian Federation | 42 COM 7B.79 |
| Western Caucasus | Russian Federation | 43 COM 7B.18 |
| Pitons Management Area | Saint-Lucia | 42 COM 7B.88 |
| Niokolo-Koba National Park | Senegal | 43 COM 7A.15 |
| Medieval Monuments in Kosovo | Serbia | 43 COM 7A.46 |
| Old City of Jerusalem and its Walls | site proposed by Jordan | 43 COM 7A.22 |
| East Rennell | Solomon Islands | 43 COM 7A.2 |
| Cape Floral Region Protected Areas | South Africa | 42 COM 7B.94 |
| Old Town of Galle and its Fortifications | Sri Lanka | 42 COM 7B.17 |
| Gebel Barkal and the Sites of the Napatan Region | Sudan | 43 COM 7B.54 |
| Historic Inner City of Paramaribo | Suriname | 42 COM 7B.42 |
| Ancient City of Aleppo | Syrian Arab Republic | 43 COM 7A.31 |
| Ancient Villages of Northern Syria | Syrian Arab Republic | 43 COM 7A.34 |
| Ancient City of Bosra | Syrian Arab Republic | 43 COM 7A.32 |
| Ancient City of Damascus | Syrian Arab Republic | 43 COM 7A.33 |
| Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din | Syrian Arab Republic | 43 COM 7A.35 |
| Site of Palmyra | Syrian Arab Republic | 43 COM 7A.36 |
| Archaeological Site of Carthage | Tunisia | 43 COM 7B.55 |
| Diyarbakır Fortress and Hevsel Gardens Cultural Landscape | Turkey | 43 COM 7B.90 |
| Göbekli Tepe | Turkey | 42 COM 8B.34 |
| Historic Areas of Istanbul | Turkey | 42 COM 7B.31 |
| Rwenzori Mountains National Park | Uganda | 42 COM 7B.95 |
| Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi | Uganda | 43 COM 7A.56 |
| Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra | Ukraine | 43 COM 7B.92 |
| Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites | United Kingdom | 43 COM 7B.95 |
| Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape | United Kingdom | 43 COM 7B.93 |
| Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City | United Kingdom | 43 COM 7A.47 |
| Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara | United Republic of Tanzania | 42 COM 7B.50 |
| Selous Game Reserve | United Republic of Tanzania | 43 COM 7A.16 |
| Serengeti National Park | United Republic of Tanzania | 42 COM 7B.96 |
| Stone Town of Zanzibar | United Republic of Tanzania | 42 COM 7B.51 |
| Everglades National Park | United States of America | 43 COM 7A.3 |
| . Samarkand – Crossroad of Cultures | Uzbekistan | 43 COM 7B.77 |
| Historic Centre of Bukhara | Uzbekistan | 43 COM 7B.78 |
| Historic Centre of Shakhrisyabz | Uzbekistan | 43 COM 7A.44 |
| Coro and its Port (Decision ) | Venezuela | 43 COM 7A.52 |
| Trang An Landscape Complex | Vietnam | 42 COM 7B.62 |
| Historic Town of Zabid | Yemen | 43 COM 7A.38 |
| Old City of Sana’a | Yemen | 43 COM 7A.39 |
| Old Walled City of Shibam | Yemen | 43 COM 7A.40 |
| Socotra Archipelago | Yemen | 43 COM 7B.1 |
[1] The exact date and venue of the Forum will be announced in due time.