April 18th is officially the ICOMOS International Day for Monuments and Sites . Often it’s just known as ‘World Heritage Day’.
This year the theme is Complex Pasts: Diverse Futures reflecting in particular the huge rise in interest in contested heritage of all types including the Black Lives Matter movement and the debate around decolonising our history in the UK.
Many of our members are engaging in the debate with work going on in Bath and Edinburgh in the UK and the Town of St George in Bermuda. We hope to share their stories in the future and engage in a wider debate about how our World Heritage Sites such as Maritime Liverpool, Cornish Mining and more have shaped the story of the UK and their global impact.
The ICOMOS website provides more information on what is taking place around the World to celebrate our built heritage.
World Heritage UK (@WorldHeritageUK) will be using #WorldHeritageDay2021 on Twitter and sharing the posts of our members and partners.
Look out for the excellent series of tweets from @BathWHS sharing stories of how this World Heritage city has been enhanced and protected. @HistEnvScot will be celebrating World Heritage Day with a photo challenge including some amazing backgrounds you can download to use at home. Why not surprise your colleagues at your next virtual meeting by appearing from St Kilda?
Look out for the posts on Twitter and Facebook. Join us with a post from your own favourite UK World Heritage Site or share your story celebrating complex pasts and diverse futures.