Vietnam to Run for Seat in UNESCO World Heritage Committee: FM

Vietnam will run for a seat in the World Heritage Committee in the 2023-2027 tenure and expects to get support from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).

Rosy Huong

huongthhd@gmail.com September 06, 2022 | 00:00

Vietnam to Run for Seat in UNESCO World Heritage Committee: FM

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son and UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay. Photo courtesy of Foreign Ministry

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son hosted a reception for UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay in Hanoi on September 5, VietnamPlus said.

Expressing his delight at the robust growth of cooperation between the two sides, Son lauded UNESCO’s assistance to Vietnam in its conservation and promotion of cultural heritage sites, global geo-parks, and biosphere reserves as well as in its participation in the networks of global creative and learning cities, among others.

The diplomat affirmed that Vietnam will continue to be an active, responsible member and fulfill its international commitments to make more substantive and effective contributions to the common affairs of UNESCO.

For her part, Azoulay highly appreciated Vietnam's practical and effective contributions to the organisation's operations as well as its proactive, active and responsible role as a member of the UNESCO Executive Board for the 2021-2025 term.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son hosted a reception for UNESCO Director General Audrey Azoulay in Hanoi on September 5. Photo courtesy of Foreign Ministry

She also congratulated Vietnam on being elected with the highest number of approval votes to the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for the 2022-2026 tenure.

The Director General recommended Vietnam to continue keeping a balance between conservation and development.

She pledged to encourage the sharing of scientific achievements between developed and developing member countries and to further support Vietnam in education, culture, science and information-communications.

The host and guest also exchanged views on the world situation and the role of current multilateral forums in solving global problems and challenges.

Azoulay is paying a visit to Vietnam from September 5-7.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay beats the drum to open the new school year at Ngo Si Lien Secondary School in Hanoi. Photo: NDO

Also on September 5, she attended the new school year opening ceremony at the Hanoi-based Ngo Si Lien Secondary School, Nhan dan (People) newspaper said.

Ngo Si Lien is among the schools selected for the "education for sustainable development" project included in the UNESCO Associated Schools Network.

The World Heritage Committee meets once a year, and consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention elected by their General Assembly. At its first session, the Committee adopted its Rules of Procedure of the World Heritage Committee.

The Committee is responsible for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, defines the use of the World Heritage Fund and allocates financial assistance upon requests from States Parties. It has the final say on whether a property is inscribed on the World Heritage List. It examines reports on the state of conservation of inscribed properties and asks States Parties to take action when properties are not being properly managed. It also decides on the inscription or deletion of properties on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Effective cooperation model

Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Audrey Azoulay. (Source: thethaovanhoa)

Azoulay has hailed Vietnam as a model of effective cooperation with UNESCO, saying since Vietnam’s entry to UNESCO in 1976 following its national reunification, both sides have built a solid relationship with various joint scientific projects, most recently two training and research centres for maths and physics that debuted in 2021.

The two sides have also supported education development, especially for girls, she said, as cited by The World & Vietnam Report.

In terms of culture, Vietnam’s eight destinations have been named in the list of World Heritage Sites and 13 others in the list of Intangible Cultural Heritages. The country also has 11 UNESCO-recognised biosphere reserves.

Vietnam is also an active member of the UNESCO Executive Board after being elected in 2021 with a four-year tenure, she said.

According to her, Vietnam has built a development model based on substantial investment in education and made specific commitments to protecting heritages. In both areas, the country has made important progress, but these efforts also need to be sustained to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Azoulay said as for climate change - one of the biggest challenges today - Vietnam in July last year adopted the National Climate Change Strategy to 2050./.

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