Tag: Vigan

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UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund supports the conservation of the Historic City of Vigan in the Philippines

Syquia Mansion, one of the historical buildings in Vigan damaged by the earthquake in July 2022. It is among the historical buildings that benefits from the support of the Heritage Emergency Fund. Photo credit: MNL Solutions, Inc., August 9, 2023

23 October 2023, City of Vigan, Philippines – With the support of the Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF), UNESCO Jakarta, in partnership with ICOMOS Philippines, launched a 12-month project to enhance the protection of the Historic City of Vigan, a World Heritage Site since 1999. This activity aims to support post-earthquake technical standard enhancement on the conservation and protection of heritage houses and structures and contribute to the long-term recovery of the city following the earthquake in July 2022. It is also the first HEF activity implemented in the Philippines.

On 23 October, representatives of national and local government agencies, universities, NGOs specializing in heritage and conservation, private companies, homeowners and technical experts attended the official launch of the project.

Official project launch of the first UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) project
in the Republic of the Philippines at the Historic City of Vigan, Ilocos Sur

“We are so excited to be one of the recipients of the UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund project. The research and evaluation of the different teams will assure us that we will be able to restore the Syquia Mansion back to its glory days. Gregorio Syquia and all our other ancestors are beaming from up there!” – Ms. Maria Milagros “Mitos” P. Belofsky, Ancestral Homeowner, Syquia Mansion

“The critical concern now is how to protect the integrity and authenticity of the UNESCO World Heritage Site as homeowners plan to repair, restore, and rehabilitate their damaged properties; thus, the assistance from UNESCO and ICOMOS Philippines for restoration studies and plan for the two selected representatives is a welcome development” – Ar. Fatima Nicetas Rabang-Alonzo, a member of Vigan Conservation Council

Within the framework of this activity, the structural, architectural and materials assessments will be carried out for the representative houses (pilot sites), namely, the Syquia Mansion and Cabildo (Old) house, which will contribute in proposing technical standards for post-disaster damage assessment, and shoring and repair design for the future restoration of the entirety of the Historic City of Vigan’s beneficiary houses.

The findings of the two pilot sites assessments will be shared with the local government, the ancestral homeowners and the Vigan Conservation Council through a series of lectures, training-workshops and town hall meetings, and support the update of Vigan’s existing 2010 Heritage Homeowners Preservation Manual with an addendum. The outcome of the assessment and technical studies will also contribute to enhancing the skills of practitioners, craftsperson and homeowners on the effective repairing methods compatible with original building systems and materials.

The Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) is a multi-donor funding mechanism, established by UNESCO in 2015 with the goal of assisting Member States in responding quickly and effectively to crises resulting from armed conflicts and disasters all over the world. Its objective is to strengthen the ability of Member States to prevent, mitigate and recover the loss of cultural heritage, harnessing the potential of culture to strengthen resilience and support recovery. Since its establishment, the HEF has enabled UNESCO to support 84 countries through more than 120 emergency preparedness and response activities.

UNESCO thanks the donors of the Heritage Emergency Fund who make the activities possible: The Qatar Fund for Development, the Government of Canada, the Kingdom of Norway, the French Republic, the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of Estonia, ANA Holdings INC, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the Slovak Republic, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the Principality of Andorra, the Republic of Serbia.

More about the HEF:

https://www.unesco.org/en/culture-emergencies/heritage-emergency-fund

About UNESCO

UNESCO is the UN specialized agency with a mandate to protect and preserve cultural and natural heritage, in line with the international conventions.

Website: www.unesco.org/jakarta, Instagram, Facebook, X ➡️ @unescojakarta

Media contact: Eliana Bantchev e.bantchev@unesco.org

About ICOMOS Philippines

The International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) is a non-governmental international organization dedicated to the conservation of the world’s monuments and sites. ICOMOS Philippines is an SEC registered non-stock corporation and the duly recognized National Committee (NC) of ICOMOS International in the country from 113 worldwide.

Website:  https://philippines.icomos.org/, Instagram, Facebook, X ➡️ @icomosph

More about the UNESCO Jakarta – ICOMOS Philippines HEF Team ➡️ https://bitly.ws/YgER

Media contact: Ar. Kenneth Javier Tua kenneth.javier.tua@icomosphilippines.com

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Call for Papers: ICOMOS ICTC Vigan Conference on Cultural Tourism & 2012 Annual Meeting

ICOMOS ICTC VIGAN CONFERENCE ON CULTURAL TOURISM

Cultural Tourism for Community Development

Vigan, Philippines November 5-10, 2012

The international seminar/workshop on cultural tourism organized by the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Cultural Tourism (ICTC) will be held at the City of Vigan, Philippines on November 5-10, 2012. The event is organized by ICOMOS Philippines. Vigan is a historic city and World Heritage site located in the northern part of Luzon, Philippines. The city as venue for the seminar/workshop is most apt as it is an example of a WH site as an emerging tourism destination.

Through this event, expert members of ICTC will establish association with ICOMOS Philippines and representatives from developing countries of Asia and the Pacific to discuss present day issues on tourism and heritage. The topic on the benefits of community participation in conservation and cultural tourism programs as an essential aspect of cultural tourism will become the underlying theme of the seminar/workshop.

It is envisioned that the event will have a training component where students and participants from the Philippines including ICOMOS Philippines members and participants from developing countries, especially in Asia and the Pacific, will draw inspiration from the different case studies and presentations for adaption to Philippine, Asian and the ICTC members countries’ cultural tourism contexts. Thus, it will be an opportunity for Philippine ICOMOS members, students of Philippine universities, participants from these developing countries as well as ICTC members to learn from the exchanges and experiences shared during the presentations.

In this line, we are inviting case studies of actual projects done by ICTC members on the theme while a few case studies of actual situations on tourism in heritage sites are expected to come from Philippine ICOMOS members. The topic of ‘destination management’ as a presently relevant topic and will become one of its important sub-themes.

As actual case studies and projects are to be presented, it is encouraged that topics focus on the issue of community participation in cultural tourism. The following are the sub-themes that maybe considered within the context of community tourism, for the presentations and case studies:

1. Social and Economic Community development through sustainable cultural tourism
a. Sustainable Community-based tourism practices
b. Benefits of community participation in conservation and cultural tourism programs
c. Can join Economics of Tourism topics here

2. Values-based tourism
a. Culture and nature Interpretation for tourism
b. Information and education development for tourism

3. Economics of Tourism
a. Honing cultural industries as tourism by-products
b. Accommodations and home-stays development for economic development
c. Communities and stakeholders involvement in tourism activities
d. Government and/or NGOs initiatives in tourism
e. Ticketing and tour packaging of heritage sites for tourism

4. Challenges and concerns of Tourism in Heritage Sites
a. Tourism in-flux and its effects on heritage sites
b. Over development and build-up outcomes in heritage sites
c. Management of tourism destinations

5. Promotions and Marketing of Heritage for tourism
a. Experiences and good practices in the marketing of heritage sites
b. Challenges in marketing and advertisement of hard to sell heritage sites
c. Enhancing heritage for tourism (facilities development, heritage information enhancement, etc)

Call for Abstracts

Abstract submission
Abstract submissions are required for the sessions and individual papers. A one-page abstract that includes a brief outline explaining the content of the presentation is encouraged.

Deadline for abstracts shall be June 30, 2012
Selected papers shall be announced through the seminar/workshop website.

To afford time for printing and incorporation into a seminar/workshop booklet/ brochure, submission of final papers shall be no later than July 31, 2012. This shall include a power point presentation that will cover no more than 20 minutes.

Abstracts should be sent to:
Ma. Joycelyn B. Mananghaya
E-mail: jbmananghaya@yahoo.com

For registration to the conference:
E-mail: info@icomosphilippines.com

For more details, visit the ICTC Meeting Vigan 2012 page.