An Opportunity for Organizations to Participate in the World Heritage Volunteers 2019

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the Call for Projects for the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Campaign 2019. This Call welcomes the participation of all interested organizations and institutions. In the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Program, the initiative is led by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) in collaboration with the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS), European Heritage Volunteers (as a branch of Open Houses) and Better World.

Organisations that wish to get involved in the WHV Initiative can apply for a one-year project in 2019, as well as organisations that already applied in 2018 for a two-year cycle 2018-2019, can confirm their commitment for 2019.

Project's Aims:

The World Heritage Volunteers Campaign 2019 shall aim to:

1. Raise awareness among young people, volunteers, local communities, and concerned authorities of the need to protect and promote World Heritage.
2. Involve young people in World Heritage preservation through concrete projects at sites.
3. Empower young people allowing them to learn skills, basic preservation and conservation techniques and raise their capacity as future decision-makers and global active citizens.
4. Strengthen sustainable cooperation between non-profit organisations, site management, communities and authorities.
5. Identify best practices and develop non-formal education tools to facilitate stakeholders’ participation in the World Heritage education.
6. Mainstream gender equality in all stages of the projects and geographical diversity among the World Heritage properties where the action camps take place.

Selection Criteria for Projects:

For selection, proposed projects must fulfill the set of criteria below:

1. Should be organised in immediate connection to a property inscribed on the World Heritage List or a site inscribed on a Tentative List.
2. Should have a minimum 10 day duration (excluding arrival and departure dates).
3. Should include the same group of people for a minimum 10-day duration, consecutive or not.
4. Should ideally start after the 15 June and end by the 15 December.
5. Should involve as much as possible international volunteers.
6. Should include awareness activities, practical hands-on activities and skills related to World Heritage sites where the action camp will be conducted.
7. Should be developed in consultation with site managers and local authorities in planning details of the activities.
8. Should include practical hands-on skills training activities as well as reflection on issues related to World Heritage.
9. Should involve the community in order to deepen their knowledge around issues related to World Heritage and the World Heritage Volunteers Initiative.
10. Should respect participants’ gender equality (ideally equal number of male and female) and geographical diversity (ideally from different countries and regions).

Selection Criteria for Organizations:

1. Should be legally registered as a public or private organisation or institution in the country where the project takes place.
2.  All activities of the organisation related to WHV should be no profit. All local, national and international partnerships developed by the applicant in the framework of the WHV should be submitted for approval to the WHV coordinators.
3. First time applicants should submit two letters of support from recognized organizations and/or institutions recommending the applicant on the basis of past or current proven cooperation.
4. First time applicants should submit a copy of their Constitution / Bylaws and of their most recent activity report in one of the UN official languages..