Our Contribution
World Heritage Information Centres
Communicating and educating people about key aspects of the World Heritage Convention and World Heritage itself is a central task for World Heritage sites around the world. In Germany, as in other countries, an increasing number of World Heritage sites have therefore decided to establish information centres in addition to their various communication and education activities.
Information centres are vital places for communicating and experiencing World Heritage. Adapted to the respective site, they offer information about that site, especially its OUV, its position in and contribution to the global World Heritage network, and general information about the World Heritage programme and its underlying principles. They seek to nurture critical reflection about heritage, its role in our societies and its protection, and to foster the meaningful engagement of locals and visitors with their shared heritage. Visitor centres are places for intercultural exchange and sites for learning about sustainable development.
In order to encourage and actively support the establishment of World Heritage information centres at the national and international level, the German Commission for UNESCO has organised a number of workshops together with its partners. Since 2017, these meetings have served as a platform for shared expertise, knowledge transfer and peer-to-peer learning. The first version of a set of practical guidelines on visitor centres, including case studies, was released in 2018 as the preliminary result of these workshops and a contribution to an ongoing process of exchange and joint learning.
