Dr. Maya Ishizawa Escudero, ICCROM consultant
ISCCL Secretary General (Peru/Germany)
The 8th edition of the World Heritage Site Managers’ Forum took place in conjunction with the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee in Busan, Republic of Korea, from 16 to 23 July 2026. 74 World Heritage site managers from 45 countries gathered to exchange experiences and build connections across the global community of practice supporting World Heritage management. Organized by the Republic of Korea through the Korea Heritage Service and the National Research Institute of Cultural Heritage, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ICCROM and IUCN through the World Heritage Leadership Programme and in collaboration with ICOMOS, the Forum focused on the theme “Connection and Communication: Participatory Approaches to Managing World Heritage.”
I was part of the ICCROM delegation and participated as a resource person facilitating sessions, giving lectures and leading workshops. Among the forum activities, there were several site visits to World Heritage properties in the region, such as the Petroglyphs along the Bangucheon Stream; Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong; Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies; Gyeongju Historic Areas and the Gaya Tumuli. While learning from the South Korean heritage system, site managers could also share their own experiences in a diversity of heritage places, from cultural landscapes to archaeological sites, natural protected areas and historic towns. During this intense journey, our team of resource people supported participants in developing their statement which is each year since 2018 – when the first Site Managers Forum took place in Krakow, Poland – presented to the World Heritage Committee. Throughout the years, these statements have highlighted the importance of the role of site managers and requested further support to fulfill their function as stewards and custodians of World Heritage places.
This year, the World Heritage Committee responded by adopting a milestone decision (48 COM 7 para 7) requesting that the role, functions and responsibilities of World Heritage site managers be more clearly reflected in the Operational Guidelines of the World Heritage Convention, as outlined in the Managing World Heritage (2026) resource manual. This request will be reviewed by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies who will propose in the 49th session how to best reflect it within the procedures of the implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
More info here
Decisions taken by the 48 World Heritage Committee