HYDERABAD: In a bid to encourage civic engagement in the upkeep of heritage, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), in collaboration with the GHMC and the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD), will be conducting a series of workshops with the participation of local communities and civil society groups.
UNESCO’s programme specialist for culture, Junhi Han was recently in Hyderabad taking stock of the heritage sites in the city on invitation from the State government. She had then proposed that there should be a people-centric approach to heritage conservation.
Han said: “In 2007, the ‘local communities’ became one of the strategic objectives of the World Heritage Convention. While this has been a crucial element in heritage at the international level, this human dimension has been missing in the Indian-subcontinent.” Despite the push by UNESCO, no efforts have been made to include those from lower economic backgrounds in heritage conservation efforts in the city.