Vietnam was elected member of the World Heritage Committee for the 2023 - 2027 tenure on November 22 with the highest number of votes among Asian-Pacific states. (Photo: VNA) Ngoc, who is also Chairman of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, saidthat this is an outcome of the effective implementation of the culturaldiplomacy strategy until 2030 as well as enthusiastic support from internationalpartners.
The election will contribute greatly to popularising the image of Vietnam as adynamic country in innovation and international integration process yet imbuedwith traditional identity, he stressed.
According to Ambassador Le Thi Hong Van, head of the Vietnamese PermanentDelegation to UNESCO, the event is a vivid illustration of internationalcommunity’s confidence in Vietnam’s roles and contributions at UNESCO’smultilateral forums.
She described this as a great opportunity for Vietnamto make further contributions to the world’s strategic issues and culturalpolicies, and share its experience in developing culture into an intrinsicstrength that creates a locomotive for resilient sustainable development.
Vietnam should capitalise on the support from foreign countries to turnheritage into asset and potential into resources to serve its socio-economicdevelopment, she said.
Meanwhile, Director of the World Heritage Centre Lazare Eloundou Assomo expressed his delight at Vietnam’s election tothe heritage committee, elaborating Vietnam is an outstanding example in the implementationof the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and NaturalHeritage.
Vietnam's experience in heritage preservation should be shared with othercountries, he stated.
Vietnam was elected memberof the World Heritage Committee for the 2023 - 2027 tenure on November 22 withthe highest number of votes among Asian-Pacific states.
Securing 121 of the 171 valid votes, Vietnam ranked secondamong the nine elected states from five regions. The election took place within the framework of the 24th session of theGeneral Assembly of States Parties to the Convention concerning the Protectionof the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (World Heritage Convention) in Paris.
This is the second time Vietnam has been elected to the most importantexecutive body for culture of UNESCO.
The high number of votes also reflected Vietnam’s prestige in the internationalarena, the international community’s trust in and support for its contributionand chairmanship capacity at global multilateral institutions, as well as therecognition of the country’s practical contributions to UNESCO and thepreservation and promotion of heritage values in Vietnam and the world.
Vietnam will join 20 other member states of the committee to supervise theimplementation of the convention, protect, preserve, and bring into play thevalues of 1,199 world heritage elements around the globe, and consider therecognition of new ones to uphold, promote, and pass down historical andcultural values to future generations and help with sustainable development inthe world.
The World Heritage Convention is the one with the biggestmembership in UNESCO, 194. Therefore, candidates have to face strongcompetition to be elected one of the 21 member states of the World HeritageCommittee.
With this election, for the first time, Vietnamis taking on the roles at five key mechanisms of the UNESCO at the same time:member of the UNESCO Executive Board for the 2021-2025 tenure, Vice Presidentof the 42nd session of the UNESCO’s General Conference, Vice Chairof the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee of the 2005 Convention on theProtection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions for the2021-2025 tenure, and member of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee of the2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage forthe 2022-2026 tenure, and member of the World Heritage Committee for the2023-2027 tenure.
They offer opportunities for the country to engage in the formation of policiesand import decision of UNESCO./.
VNA
