Bermuda To Celebrate World Heritage Day
Tomorrow, 18th April, Bermuda will join 31 other UK UNESCO World Heritage Sites and many more such sites around the globe in recognizing World Heritage Day.
“And against the backdrop of the devastating fire which consumed much of the historical Notre-Dame Cathedral in Tournai in Paris, the importance of preserving such significant cultural sites could not be more timely or poignant,” the Government said.
Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs Walter Roban said, “Bermuda and other UK UNESCO World Heritage Sites will mark the occasion by raising awareness of the ‘Historic Town of St. George and Related Fortifications’ and nearly 1,100 other World Heritage Sites of outstanding universal value to humanity.”
“As we celebrate World Heritage Day, the current five-year review of the Bermuda World Heritage Site Management Plan aims to ensure proper management of the ‘Historic Town of St. George and Related Fortifications’ as “an outstanding example of a continuously occupied, fortified, colonial town dating from the early 17th Century, and the oldest English town in the New World.”
“The Bermuda World Heritage Site Management Committee through the coordination of the Department of Planning, is working diligently to develop a consultation draft of the 2020-2025 Bermuda World Heritage Site Management Plan. That draft will be shared with the public this summer.
“Additional public consultation sessions are also planned once the consultation draft is released, following up an initial session held in St. George’s in January. As I have noted previously, the World Heritage Site Management Plan is a critical tool to maintain and utilise our UNESCO World Heritage status. It’s important that our 2020-2025 plan for the World Heritage Site is co-created with the community.”
The worldwide celebration was first proposed in 1982 as the International Day for Monuments and Sites by the International Council on Monuments and Sites [ICOMOS], which is UNESCO’s key advisor on cultural World Heritage Sites.
