Celebrating World Heritage Inscriptions 2016
 The 40th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee which was held in Istanbul, Turkey from 10th – 17th July, 2016, inscribed 21 new sites on the World Heritage List. It was especially memorable for India as 3 of its most remarkable Sites were declared as World Heritage Sites. These included the Archaeological Site of Nalanda Mahavihara (Nalanda University) at Nalanda, Bihar, as a Cultural Site; The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement (Complexe du Capitole in Chandigarh) as a transnational Cultural Site; and Khangchendzonga National Park, Sikkim, as India’s first Mixed Cultural and Natural Site.
To celebrate the new Indian World Heritage Site Inscriptions, an event was organised by the UNESCO Category 2 Centre on World Natural Heritage Management and Training for Asia and the Pacific Region, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun at the India International Centre, New Delhi on 4th August, 2016. Nearly 40 eminent Personalities from Government of India’s Ministry of Human Resources, Culture, Environment and Forest, and representatives from UNESCO, ICOMOS and IUCN and other organisations participated in the event. The programme was initiated by Dr. VB Mathur, Director UNESCO C2C, WII who welcomed the gathering and informed that it was for the first time that in a single WHC Session India got three of her sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. He acknowledged the significance of the ‘upstreaming’ process by UNESCO in the successful nominations. On this occasion, Shri Janhwij Sharma, Joint Director General (Conservation/ World Heritage), ASI, New Delhi underlined India’s long current and potential association with World Heritage and the apt recognition of Nalanda’s tradition. Dr. S.S. Negi, Director General of Forest & Special Secretary, MoEFCC emphasised the importance of nature and culture working together for conservation. The Chief Guest at the event, Shri Vinay Sheel Oberoi, Secretary, MoHRD, and former Permanent Representative of India to UNESCO, Paris shared information about the origin and evolution of World Heritage Sites and their growing diversity. He observed how India has played a constructive role in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. He also spoke about the importance of strengthening museums and establishing digital heritage.
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The highlight of the evening was the ceremonial handing over of the Inscription Certificates of the new World Heritage Sites by the distinguished Guest of Honour, Dr. Mechtild Rössler, Director of UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Paris to the Indian representatives. The event was marked by an interesting talk on “Linking Nature and Culture: Cultural Landscapes and Mixed Sites in the framework of the World Heritage Convention” delivered by Dr. Mechtild Rössler. The programme was brought to a close by a Vote of Thanks offered by Dr. Sonali Ghosh, IFS and Scientist ‘F’, UNESCO C2C at Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.Last Updated: August 8, 2016
