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UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Organisation |
On August 24–29 2002 UNESCO International World Heritage Youth
Forum was held in Velikiy Novgorod, an ancient 
Russian
city with a history over 1100 years. The action was in the frame of a series
of Forums held by UNESCO annually to attract young people to the problems of
studying and preserving World Cultural and Natural Heritage, forming a dialogue
among civilizations and maintaining sustainable development. The Forum gathered
pupils, students, teachers and representatives of non-governmental organizations
from 14 countries.
In the course of the Forum the participants had the opportunity to visit the World Heritage sites in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Novgorod Velikiy. They took part in the work of creative workshops (making of national costumes, wickerwork of birch bark, production of dolls in the national tradition), archeological dig, ethnographic festivities and various competitions. Three round-table talks were held with the following topics: project "Youth and the Great Volga Route Heritage", UNESCO Associated Schools Project and UNESCO Clubs – Integration of the World Heritage Education experience into the formal and non-formal educational system, young people`s participation in World and National Heritage preservation and promotion.
The participants of the Forum supported the project "Youth
and Great Volga Route Heritage". The Great Volga Route is an economic, cultural,
military-political and transport way from Northern Europe to the countries surrounding
the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. The project is aimed at studying, preserving
and popularizing cultural and natural sites 
situated
on the Route, which is of great importance to the history of civilizations.
The project shows the way to use the heritage to establish dialogue among various
cultures and civilizations of the of the world community and develop contacts
among the young people of different countries. The integration of efforts in
this direction is especially topical at the present moment, United Nations Year
for Culture Heritage and the year of the 30th anniversary of the UNESCO Convention
concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
The work material, documents and messages of the participants of the World Heritage Youth Forum will be presented at the session of the Northern Research Forum II "Northern Veche" (September 19–22, 2002, Russia).
The initiative suggested by Russia is supposed to serve as the basis to the educational project "From Europe to Asia Across Three Seas". The project is expected to unite the countries of Northern and Central Europe and Asia that are located in the area of three seas, the Baltic, the Black and the Caspian Seas, and will be carried out in the framework of Education For All Program, which UNESCO pays priority attention to. The presentation of the educational project will take place on November 14–16 2002 in Italy at the World Heritage International Congress of Experts, which is brought about under the auspices of UNESCO.
More detailed information
on the Forum
is available at the web-site
of the UNESCO Moscow Office: http://www.unesco.ru/
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The
Kenozero National Park and the town of Kargopol of the Arkhangelsk region hosted
in the end of September this year’s annual meeting of representatives of ICOMOS
International Wood Committee.
ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) – is an international non-governmental organization, which activities cover the protection of historical monuments and sites of world significance. Its aim is collection, evaluation and distribution of information about principles, technologies and policies of protection of cultural monuments. The competence of this organization includes several expert spheres, among which are wooden architecture and restoration.
The choice of the Kenozero National Park for the experts’ meeting was conditioned by reason of the Park’s picturesque cultural landscapes and collection of monuments of wooden architecture. Attracting attention of specialists and international society to the Park could foster the development of tourism and fundraising to improve the economic and social situation in the region. With the financial support of the Soros Foundation and the UNESCO Moscow Office the meeting hosted the experts in wooden architecture from Great Britain, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Canada, USA, Armenia, Russia, Japan, among them the President of the International Wood Committee Mr David Mitchelmore.
The UNESCO Moscow Office proposed for discussion the draft project on establishment of a school for wooden architecture in the Kenozero National Park, which purpose is to preserve the tradition of wooden architecture and restoration. Such an initiative could invite attention of craftsmen and help to transfer the tradition to the new generation.