Introduction
Discover “The World Heritage Volunteers” initiative! It started in 2008 to inspire young people to take real actions and be actively involved in safeguarding, keeping, and promoting World Heritage sites.
It involves projects organised by youth organisations in collaboration with various partners, all working together to care for World Heritage sites.
The initiative brings together volunteers from different places to work on activities that directly contribute to preserving our shared cultural and natural heritage.
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre coordinates the initiative in collaboration with Better World.
A new call is available for organisations wishing to participate in the project! Read on to find out how to take part in this initiative and what are the requirements.
The call
This call invites organisations to participate in the WHV 2024 Campaign by sharing their project ideas.
They should consider hosting projects in their communities, preferably between May and November 2024.
These projects ought to foster teamwork, demonstrating how local communities and young people can actively engage in UNESCO World Heritage sites through various activities and cultural exchanges.
Aligned with the goals of the World Heritage Volunteers Initiative, these projects should:
- Raise awareness among young people, volunteers, local communities, and authorities about the significance of protecting and promoting World Heritage.
- Involve young people directly in real projects at World Heritage sites to contribute to preservation efforts.
- Empower young people by allowing them to learn skills, basic preservation techniques, and grasp their role as future decision-makers and active global citizens.
Overall, it aims to strengthen collaboration among nonprofit organisations, site management, communities, and authorities.
Additionally, it seeks to identify effective working methods and develop tools for informal education to engage people in World Heritage learning.
Micro-grants and mobility found
The 2024 Campaign will give small grants to make sure that chosen organisations get some money to help with the basic tasks needed for their involvement in the World Heritage Volunteers Initiative.
The funds will be given automatically after finishing the project and reporting and the amount given will be between 100 USD and 300 USD for each project.
Additionally, there will be a bit of money available to cover some costs for exchanges between organisations that work together on important World Heritage topics like:
- Climate Change
- Earthen architecture
- Marine heritage
- Forest Initiative
- Indigenous People
- Sustainable Tourism
- Small Islands
- Intangible Heritage.
The requirements
To be selected, applying organisations and proposed projects must meet the detailed set of mandatory criteria below:
- Organisations:
- To qualify, the applicant must be legally registered as a non-profit public or private organisation in the project’s country.
All activities related to WHV should be non-profit, and partnerships developed within WHV need approval from WHV coordinators.
First-time applicants should also provide two support letters from recognised organisations and institutions.
Each organisation can apply for a maximum of 4 projects at different sites. If applying for multiple projects at the same site, they’ll be counted as one unless they involve a different set of local partners and significantly differ in activities and theme.
Finally, organisations must have submitted the evaluation form for projects implemented in previous years.
- To qualify, the applicant must be legally registered as a non-profit public or private organisation in the project’s country.
- Projects:
- The project should be directly linked to a property listed on the World Heritage List or a site on the Tentative List.
It needs to last a minimum of 10 days, excluding arrival and departure dates, involving the same group of people throughout.
Ideally, it should start after May 1 and end by November 15, 2024 and it should engage international volunteers as much as possible.
Activities should also include awareness-raising, practical hands-on tasks, and skills related to UNESCO World Heritage sites.
The camp should offer practical hands-on skills training and reflection on World Heritage issues.
The camp must maintain gender balance among participants and geographical diversity.
- The project should be directly linked to a property listed on the World Heritage List or a site on the Tentative List.
The timeline
Specifically, the main timeline of the initiative is as follows:
- 16 February 2024: Deadline for submitting project applications
- 1 March 2024: Announcement of selected WHV projects; Confirmations sent to selected organisations; Applications for the Mobility Fund open.
- March/April 2024: Official communication sent to National Commissions for UNESCO, Permanent Delegations to UNESCO, UNESCO Field Offices, and site management authorities.
- 1 May 2024 – 15 November 2024: Project implementation and documentation.
- By 15 December 2024: Submission of the evaluation form, questionnaires, pictures, videos, and a signed copyright agreement by implementing organisations.
How to participate?
In conclusion, for more information on the initiative, the requirements and for the most frequently asked questions, see the official document of the call 2024!
To submit the application and take part in the initiative you must fill out the form on the official website
Please submit your application at the latest by 16 February 2024, 23:59 CET (Paris Time)!
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