46th World Heritage Committee Meeting to Highlight India’s Diverse Cultural and Natural Heritage: Union Culture Minister

“46^th World Heritage Committee Meeting will showcase India’s diverse and unique cultural and natural heritage to the world, taking India’s cultural glory to new heights,” said the Union Minister of Culture and Tourism, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat at a press briefing today in New Delhi.

The 46th Session of the World Heritage Committee, hosted by India for the first time, is scheduled to be held from 21st to 31st July 2024 at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi. The Session will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India Shri Narendra Modi on 21^st July 2024. In addition to this, the inaugural ceremony will be graced by Madam Audrey Azoulay, Director General, UNESCO and other senior officers from the UNESCO World Heritage Secretariat along with other high-level dignitaries like Culture Ministers, Ambassadors, and domain experts from various countries.

Shri Shekhawat highlighted that this is the first mega event of India under the third term of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. He applauded the Culture Ministry for organizing this meeting with a whole-of-government approach within the short span of 40 days. “The international meeting of this scale will further strengthen India’s soft power in the world and provide an opportunity for global audience and outreach,” he added.

Highlighting the logo of the 46^th World Heritage Committee meeting, the Culture Minister said that it is inspired by the World Heritage Site of Hampi. The stone chariot from the Vijaya Vitthala Temple is a testament to India’s architectural grandeur and sculptural prowess. The tagline of the logo is सह नौ यशः which means in English as ‘May our Glory Grow’. “The tagline has been derived from the ancient Sanskrit scripture ‘Taitiriya Upanishad’ (1.3.1) which is the testament to our ancestor’s wish of growth to one and all. The motto ‘May our Glory grow’ beautifully reflects India’s aspirations and genuine efforts in growing the ambit and scope of the World Heritage Convention even further by hosting this year’s Committee Meeting,” emphasized Shri Shekhawat.

The Union Minister was joined by Shri Vishal V. Sharma, the chairperson of the World Heritage Committee and ambassador and permanent representative of India to UNESCO, and Shri Yaduvir Singh Rawat, the Director General of ASI, in the curtain raiser Press Conference.

The 46^th World Heritage Committee meeting is being organized by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), on behalf of Ministry of Culture. It will bring together delegates from across the globe to discuss and collaborate on preserving our shared cultural, natural and mixed heritage. It is a significant step towards India’s ever-increasing stature in fostering global cooperation and ensuring the protection of our World Heritage properties.

Shri Janhwiz Sharma, Additional Director General, ASI briefed the media on the history and functioning of the World Heritage Convention and the World Heritage Committee.

The World Heritage Convention of 1972 sets out the duties of States Parties in identifying potential Cultural / Natural sites for inscription on the World Heritage List. 195 Countries (member states) have ratified the Convention as of date. India ratified the Convention in November 1977. As of date, 1199 Properties are inscribed by 168 State Parties in the World Heritage List. All matters related to World Heritage Conventions are taken during the Session of the World Heritage Committee.

The World Heritage Committee comprises representatives from 21 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention (1972) elected by the General Assembly of UNESCO. Current members of the World Heritage Committee are as follows:

Argentina	Belgium	Bulgaria
Greece	India	Italy
Jamaica	Japan	Kazakhstan
Kenya	Lebanon	Mexico
Qatar	Republic of Korea	Rwanda
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Senegal	Türkiye
Ukraine	Vietnam	Zambia

Shri Sharma also elaborated on the agenda of the 46^th WHC Meeting, which is to:

• Identify, based on nominations submitted by States Parties, cultural and natural properties of Outstanding Universal Value and inscribe those properties on the World Heritage List.
• Monitor the State of Conservation of properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, in liaison with the States Parties.
• Decide which properties included in the World Heritage List are to be inscribed on or removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger; decide whether a property may be deleted from the World Heritage List.
• Examine requests for International Assistance financed by the World Heritage Fund.

Parallel meetings have also been scheduled at the 46^th Session of the WHC, including:

1. World Heritage Young Professionals Forum: Running from July 14^th to 23^rd 2024, this forum brings young people and heritage experts together to foster intercultural learning and exchange. It provides youth with opportunities to discover and discuss common preservation concerns and explore new roles in heritage conservation.

• In the fully Government of India-funded Young Professionals Forum, which is being held at Pt. Deendayal Institute of Archaeology at Greater Noida, 50 young professionals are participating from across 31 countries.

1. World Heritage Site Managers’ Forum:  It is being held from 18^th July to 25^th July, 2024, it focuses on the importance of collaborative and sustainable management practices.

• The theme of this year’s session of the forum is “Heritage and Communities: inclusive and Effective Approaches for the Sustainable Management of World Heritage Properties.”
• 82 World Heritage Site Managers’ from around 35 countries are participating in this year’s 6^th edition of the Forum.

To showcase India’s rich and diverse culture and heritage, side events and exhibitions have been organized on the sidelines of the WHC meeting from 22^nd July 2024. These side events and exhibitions are organized by various ministries of the Government of India and State Governments. These exhibitions will highlight India’s abundant cultural and natural heritage, India’s leap in digital transformation, and curative medicinal practices.

UPI-ONE World – India has taken various initiatives to showcase our revolutionary Digital India initiatives and UPI-One World to the delegates. Through this event, foreign delegates will be encouraged to use the UPI-One World App which makes it accessible for even foreign nationals to do instant digital transactions.

Indian exhibitions focusing on hands-on demonstration of traditional crafts and artistry from various states along with the sale of handicrafts products are also planned by the Ministry of Tourism.

An exhibition is being curated by the Ministry of Ayush on the world-famous ancient tradition of Ayurveda and its holistic practice in diagnostic, therapeutic, and overall wellness of humankind. Apart from this, morning Yoga and meditation sessions for the delegates are being organized at the hotels to spread the message of Sarve Santu Niramaya even further. The Committee Meeting will also see a series of Side Events by India and several other Host Countries. Apart from this, a few international exhibitions are also being held by some of the State parties.

A host of curated local tours and excursions to heritage sites for the delegates have been planned during and after the conclusion of the Committee Meeting to showcase India’s rich heritage.

Background:

• India was elected to the 21-member World Heritage Committee (WHC) in the 23rd General Assembly in 2021 for a period of four years (2021-2025). This is India’s fourth term on the World Heritage Committee.
• India was the WH Committee member earlier for three terms: 1985-1991, 2001-2007 and 2011-2015
• India has inscribed 42 Properties in the World Heritage List which include 34 Cultural, 7 Natural, 1 Mixed Heritage Sites
• 12 Sites have been added in the last 10 years that includes last year’s inscriptions of the Santiniketan (West Bengal) and Sacred ensembles of the Hoysalas (Karnataka) during the Extended 45^th Session of the World Heritage Committee which was held in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia)
• India is the 6^th country on the list and 2^nd in the Asia Pacific Region based on the numbers of the World Heritage List.
• In addition, India has 57 Sites on the Tentative List of the World Heritage.