ICOMOS Austria – Irmengard MAYER
The developments around the so called Heumarkt-project have not only placed Vienna as a UNESCO World Heritage Site into the centre of public debate, but, first of all, have sparked questions in the wider Viennese population about what it means to be a World Heritage site. What is the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) that makes Vienna something special and therefore a World Heritage Site? What changes are possible and to what extent. And if yes, where within the core and the buffer zone are they possible? Are some changes even welcome as long as they do not damage the OUVin the long term. What structural measures are to be prevented under all circumstances because these would damage the OUV? Is the Austrian legal situation on monument protection sufficient to preserve Vienna as UNESCO World Heritage Site? What can or should the Austrian administration undertake to save Austrian World Heritage Sites for future generations? And at what moment or under what circumstances must ICOMOS intervene to prevent long term damage or even the destruction of World Heritage.
Besides answering these and many more questions the team under the new presidency of ICOMOS Austria is trying to find ways to ease the procedures and streamline the workflows related to the protection of our World Heritage Sites for many generations to come.
The monitoring of World Heritage Sites is not the only scope of ICOMOS. The organisation, including its 28 International Scientific Committees, is engaged in the general protection of human cultural heritage around the world and the advancement of the theoretic, scientific, practical and economic aspects that such work entails.
Different presentation techniques are used to represent and explain the variety of tasks of ICOMOS Austria with a focus on the Austrian world cultural heritage. An interactive presentation explains the tasks and the structure of ICOMOS International and the Austrian National Committee of ICOMOS in an intelligible way.
Using an interactive platform the visitor can chose short video sequences presenting different topics on world cultural heritage generally and the nine Austrian World Heritage Sites in particular. This allows the visitor to get an insight into the tasks auf UNESCO and ICOMOS. The Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), the task of a Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) or the correct workflow to submit a natural or cultural heritage to the World Heritage List is explained.
Another platform will present the participative world heritage game about the World Heritage Fertö/Neusiedlersee Cultural Landscape.
Very important is that the presence of a member of ICOMOS Austria is given for the duration of the fair to answer questions of interested visitors.