UNESCO Brussels Office takes part in the International Conference World Peace City Lumbini
UNESCO LIAISON OFFICE IN BRUSSELS
UNESCO Liaison Office in Brussels Director Paolo Fontani attended the International Conference World Peace City Lumbini on November 27 and drew participants’ attention to UNESCO’s conservation efforts.
On November 27, the Director of the UNESCO Liaison Office in Brussels, Paolo Fontani, addressed the International Conference World Peace City Lumbini (Nepal), held to promote the peace and non-violence message of Buddha and promote Lumbini, the birth place of Buddha. Featured in the above picture, the Ambassador of Nepal to Benelux and the European Union and the organizer of the conference, M. Damodar Prasad Acharya, President of Lumbini-Kapilvastu Global Campaign.
During his keynote, M. Fontani underlined the relevance of World Heritage Site (1997) of Lumbini as symbol of peace and a testimony to a rich spiritual and cultural life since ancient times. Various events and activities, including Lumbini’s population growth and rapid industrialization, are adding pressure to the UNESCO World Heritage site and will need to be managed in order to balance heritage, development and the spirituality of the site. UNESCO, in cooperation with Nepal’s Department of Archeology and the Lumbini Development Trust, is implementing a programme to strengthen the conservation of Lumbini. Particularly following the devastating earthquake of 2015, conservation management efforts have become of paramount importance in order to safeguard Nepali World Heritage Site.
M. Fontani concluded by encouraging to harness the heritage power and energy of Lumbini to foster sustainable development, decent jobs and livelihoods for all: ‘Heritage can be a driver to learn new skills and knowledge, developing new capacities for the whole population.’