Webinars Series 'Human Rights' by OurWorldHeritage
The registration for the webinars can be done here.

1. Topic: Eviction and resettlement issues in World Heritage Sites: Hampi and Petra
   Date: 19th April 2021
   
   
2. Topic: The protection of heritage in situations of protracted conflict: Mardin & Diyarbakir
   Date: 30th April 2021
   
   
3. Topic: The Protection of Heritage in Situations of Protracted Conflict: Perspectives from Hebron, Battir, Palmyra and Homs
   Date: 17th May 2021

Topic: Censored? Conflicted Concepts of Cultural Heritage

At the 5th Annual Conference of the DFG Research Training Group on "Identity and Heritage" that is on 25th and 26th November 2021 in Weimar (In the case of pandemic-related restrictions, the conference will take place online).

Abstract Submission Deadline: 16th May 2021
Email: cfp@identitaet-und-erbe.org
Paper Submission Deadline: 10th November 2021
Conference Language: German and English

More information can be found here.

UNESCO - 2021 Silk Roads Youth Grant Proposal Submissions

The Grant aims to mobilize young researchers for further study of the Silk Roads shared heritage.
Who can apply? Young applicants under the age of 35
Application Deadline: 18th April 2021

Further information on applications can be found here. 

Hello everyone!

This marks the beginning of a new initiative by ESACH for heritage students/professionals. Starting here on we'll be posting some upcoming and current opportunities such as Job Openings, Internships, Volunteering Opportunities, Webinars, Call for Paper etc. that could be of interest to you. Please keep a lookout for the upcoming posts.

Here are a few recent Job Openings in UNESCO Headquarters:

1. Associate Project Officer (Culture), in the Culture and Emergencies Entity
   Location: UNESCO Headquarters (Paris, France)
   Deadline to apply: 22 April 2021
   The vacancy notice can be found here.
   
   
2. Associate Project Officer (Culture), in the Diversity of Cultural Expressions Entity,
   Location: UNESCO Headquarters (Paris, France)
   Deadline to apply: 3 May 2021
   The vacancy notice can be found here.
   
   
3. Individual Consultant Contractor, in the Communication and Information Sector
   Location: UNESCO Headquarters (Paris, France)
   Deadline to apply: 19 April 2021
   The vacancy details can be found here.
   
   
4. Liaison Officer, Office of the Director-General, ICCROM
   Location: Rome, Italy
   Deadline to Apply: 30 April 2021
   The vacancy details can be found here.
   
   
   

This month, our ESACH Talks focuses on the challenges and opportunities around the UNESCO World Heritage programme.

The World Heritage Committee is the body responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, the use of the World Heritage Fund, and inscriptions on the World Heritage List.

During their yearly meeting, the committee composed of 21 State Parties examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and requests actions to improve the management of the properties listed.

Because young people are seldom part of the State Party delegations. UNESCO seeks to incorporate fresh perspectives to join the conversation by introducing initiatives such as the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum. This side event to the Committee Meeting is a flagship activity from the Heritage Education Programme and aims to foster intercultural learning and exchange.

Another important forum that has brought technical expertise from young voices in the World Heritage Site Managers’ Forum. Their experiences from the field are crucial to strengthen heritage protection and their contributions to improve decision-making procedures help the convention remain a favorable tool to those dealing with heritage on a daily basis.

In addition to the forums, interns at the World Heritage Centre, and with the Advisory Bodies: IUCN, ICOMOS, and ICCROM are also invited to join the event. Master and Ph.D. students of specialized programs on heritage management and conservation from around the world provide a further influx of young blood to the event. These students analyze procedures in the committee as part of their research programmes and work helping the complex logistics behind the grand event run smoothly.

To celebrate young voices involved in #WorldHeritage, we have compiled some statements from students of the Brandenburg University of Technology, who attended the 42nd and 43rd sessions of the World Heritage Committee in Bahrain (2018) and Baku (2019) respectively.

Ayman Al-Schweiki
"As is known, the identification and protection of the world's natural and cultural heritage treasures considered to be of Outstanding Universal Value is the spirit of the World Heritage Convention, and that is what should be the guiding principle to the work of the World Heritage Committee. Here, too, international cooperation must come before individual States' interests."

Emilia Sánchez González
“I felt inspired by the work of the advisory bodies grounding the meaning of heritage protection at the committee. Thanks to their efforts, the mechanism of danger-listing is starting to heal from its bad image and recover its constructive aim in the eyes of the State Parties. At the 42COM (Bahrain) we celebrated the Belize Barrier Reef coming off the list after years of impressive collective efforts, and at the 43COM (Baku) we applauded the decision to include the protected areas of the Gulf of California.”

Kelsey Mass
“In Baku, I had the chance to learn from site managers working on remote islands to urban cities. It was wonderful to see the diverse range of World Heritage Sites and the people who manage and advocate for them! ”

Juan Carlos Barrientos
“The Committee meetings I attended were an opportunity to see what really goes on behind closed doors within this particular community of heritage professionals, politicians and diplomats who seem to all know each other. I discovered that more often than not, diplomatic circumstances are an indispensable element to decision making about ‘World Heritage’ or conservation policy. Even so, the advisory bodies usually put up a good fight! ”

As a network developed by youth and for youth, at ESACH we celebrate every effort to bring young people to the table.

Would you like to share your experience at the World Heritage Committee?

Write us an E-mail to compile a 2nd post featuring more young voices actively engaged with #CulturalHeritage and #WorldHeritage awareness, protection, and management.

Win a chance to get published on ESACH's social media and online publication! 

If you are a photography enthusiast or a visual artist, this is your chance to get your work featured in the ESACH activities.
Submit your images here
Deadline: 5 April 2021

Our publication team would invite contributions corresponding to the topics and themes of the ESACH Talks!, which are held once every month. The selected 2D visual representations (such as photographs and drawings) will be featured in the association’s social media, website and publication, to reflect the monthly topics and likewise address the variety of discourses in contemporary cultural heritage studies and practice. The first call covers a wide range of previous ESACH Talks! topics and the participants are free to choose any of the covered themes in relation to their interest. The selected images will be featured in the association’s website and social media channels, to offer a view of the youth engagement with cultural heritage and present new perspectives on the relevant and ongoing related issues. 

In the future, your work could also be feature in the ESACH Quarterly - the new international, peer-reviewed magazine of the European Students’ Association for Cultural Heritage, that provides an Open Access space for the discussion and publication of grounded university and independently carried research, professional activity and personal engagement into all aspects of cultural heritage.

Topics and description

The participants can choose to submit visuals which correspond to any of the following topics:

1. ‘People and Heritage’: Civic involvement in heritage matters and democratic participation particularly referring to youth involvement;
2. ‘New Technologies in Cultural Heritage’: potential of digital technologies in cultural heritage studies, including topics such as photography, advanced surveying techniques, advanced software and digital preservation;
3. ‘Heritage For Sustainable Development’: Contribution of cultural heritage towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the New Urban Agenda, and the Urban Agenda for the EU sustainable cultural heritage and urban management strategies or sustainable urban practices such as urban agriculture or the creative reuse of historic buildings traditional and Indigenous knowledge and practices;
4. ‘Museums and Art’: Perspectives on museums and the artistic field and their contribution to advancements in the cultural heritage field;
5. ‘Sustainable Tourism’: sustainable tourism and its relationship to cultural heritage, including tourism in cultural heritage sites, tourism as a driver of local economic development and the relationship between cultural tourism on local communities.
6. ‘Communicating Culture’: including topics such as storytelling, marketing and branding cultural heritage, intercultural communication and exchanges, media consumption and heritage. 

For more details on any of the above topics, please visit ESACH Events.
 
Submission Guidelines

1. A maximum of two images will be accepted from one person per topic;
2. Images must relate to the topic in focus;
3. Photographs can be in both landscape or portrait modes;
4. Drawings can be both physical and digital, and a combination of techniques of visual  representation is accepted (e.g. collages, reproductions of assemblages, and the like);
5. Submissions are made electronically, using the related form that is included at the end of this page;
6. The submission should be done in HD format. The submitted material will be the final one with .jpeg and .pdf formats accepted only, and no further editing will be needed from the ESACH staff part;
7. The images should be named as  ‘image number_surname_topic_image title’

           For example: 01_Gupta_Sustainable Tourism_Image of the city;
     8. The images must be accompanied by a short bio (30-50 words) and a one-two line                        description of the material submitted in word or .pdf format separate from the image file.

Submit your images here. 

Selection Criteria

The submissions will be reviewed and judged by the ESACH Publication team based on the following criteria:

1. Adherence to the brief.
2. Originality and creative display through the medium.
3. Theme chosen for individual photographs.
4. Clarity in one’s ideas as expressed by the image description.  

Deadline for the Submission: 5th April 2021

We look forward to receiving your submissions.

​

The new year has brought several fresh and exciting commitments to heritage young professionals across Europe and beyond. On 28 January, Europa Nostra, the European Heritage Tribune and the European Students’ Association for Cultural Heritage (ESACH) officially launched the European Heritage Youth Ambassadors Programme.

The evening began with an inspiring introduction by Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of Europa Nostra, who reminded us of the huge progress that has already been achieved to foster the engagement of young people with cultural heritage. She went on to communicate the idea that ‘young people are not the future, they are the present!’, a wonderful sentiment through which to introduce our new young ambassadors. The Secretary General hopes that this new and exciting generation of young people will be able to carry the torch forth and help promote the building of a peaceful and harmonious Europe. This sentiment was continued by Herbert-Jan Hiep of the European Heritage Tribune, who shared with us the common goal of building bridges to help people better understand the world around them, to apprehend our differences but also to realise what binds us together.

If you are passionate about cultural heritage and want to be part of a young, active team of volunteers creating a new European movement, look no further! We have the opportunity for three people to join our Coordination Committee.

Please email your CV and a motivation letter indicating your preferred position to studentsforculturalheritage@gmail.com. Positions will be filled in on a first-come first-served basis. 

ESACH Talks team member

• Part of team organising the ESACH Talks
• Team tasks include:

1. Drafting and publishing call for abstracts, selecting speakers
2. Registration of event on Eventbrite, drafting text for sharing on website and social media
3. Communicating with selected speakers and preparing lineup
4. Requesting abstracts, short bios and photos of speakers to be shared on website and social media
5. Receiving and checking all presentations before the day of the event
6. Technical checks
7. Moderating and time-keeping
8. Recording session

• Submits regular updates to Coordination Committee and participates in monthly meetings

Publications editor

• Works in publications team and with scientific editor to develop the publication
• Prepares the graphic design and layout of the publication
• Organises distribution and promotion of publication
• Submits regular updates to Coordination Committee and participates in monthly meetings

Administration team: point of contact for working groups

• Point of contact for prospective and existing groups at universities
• Provides assistance and information in the process of registering new groups
• Holds regular meetings with groups and group coordinators, ensuring continuous communication
• Contacts relevant universities and institutions to promote the establishment of new groups
• Submits regular updates to Coordination Committee and participates in monthly meetings

The speakers for the January round of the 'ESACH Talks! Museums and Art' have been announced. Congratulations to the selected presenters and a big thank you for all those who submitted their abstracts, we were impressed by the quality of the submissions! 
​

• Keynote speaker, Charlotte Rixten-  Director of the Museum Villa Mondriaan, Winterswijk, Netherlands
• Gabriele Langosco - “Writing museum wall texts and labels: theoretical approaches and practical challenges”
• Giovanni Pescarmona - “Where Renaissance Meets Technology”
• Raul Gomez Hernandez - Promoting diversity and inclusion with digital collections. #reinventingBeethoven, a creative educational challenge from Europeana Foundation
• Levent Tökün  - Role of Museums in the Fight Against Illicit Trafficking

On the 4rth episode of the #FISHpodcast of The Future is Heritage, you can listen to the interview with our vice-president Carlota Marijuan Rodriguez, talking about the challenges young and emerging professionals face in the heritage field. And the work we, at ESACH, are doing to find solutions!

Have a look at this  entertaining discussion on social cohesion, accessibility and interpretation in heritage, heritage education, and much more brought to you by Ankie Petersen & Robin Hoeks.

Find the podcast here