International Workshop on Preliminary Assessment for World Heritage Nominations in African and Arab States Regions
On 8-11 September, an International Workshop on Preliminary Assessment for World Heritage Nominations in African and Arab States Regions took place in Algiers, Algeria. It was organised by the Algerian Ministry of Culture and Arts in close collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), UNESCO, ICOMOS and IUCN. This four-day event was the second step of a joint collaboration programme focused on enhancing capacities for the development of World Heritage nomination files by African countries.
Representatives from 27 African countries engaged in the first workshop of the programme, held online from July 28 to July 31. This session served as a prelude to the onsite workshop which aimed to provide further information and advice on Preliminary Assessment form filling methodology. It involved the participation of the aforementioned organising institutions as well as professionals from 15 African States Parties: Algeria, Namibia, Zambia, Burundi, Eswatini, Gambia, Guinea, Lesotho, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Gabon, Comoros and Cameroon.
On the first day, key notions such as the World Heritage Convention and its implementation within the region were discussed, particularly through the local case study of the Kasbah of Algiers. The outcomes of the online session were reviewed and developed with an additional overview of the Preliminary Assessment process. Gwenaëlle Bourdin, Director of the ICOMOS World Heritage Evaluation Unit, gave introductory remarks through a presentation of ICOMOS and its role within World Heritage nomination procedures. Later, she discussed the importance of Preliminary Assessment in reviewing potential Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) and establishing the feasability of a nomination.
She provided participants with a comprehensive analysis of the Preliminary Assessment form divided into 7 main points: an identification and a description of the property, information on its significance, its integrity and its authenticity, a comparative analysis, and details about the protection and management of the property. Gwenaëlle Bourdin concluded with a global overview of the key differences between Preliminary Assessment and World Heritage nomination dossiers.
The second day was dedicated to the presentation of Preliminary Assessment request forms by the States Parties. These requests were then revised based on recommendations from resource individuals and presented again on the third and fourth days of the workshop. Mapping methodology and key things to consider before the submission of requests were discussed on the last day. Finally, Gwenaëlle Bourdin provided insights on the reviewing process before the conclusion of the event.
