Living Heritage and Sustainable Development

Dr. Harriet Deacon is a distinguished historian and heritage expert whose work spans tangible and intangible heritage management, intellectual property law, and sustainable development. With a PhD in History and an MSc in Management of Intellectual Property, she has established herself as a leading voice in cultural heritage preservation. Since 2010, she has played a pivotal role in UNESCO's capacity-building program for the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, facilitating workshops across Central Asia, Western and Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Her extensive research portfolio includes projects in India and Kyrgyzstan exploring intangible cultural heritage's role in sustainable development. Currently affiliated with the University of Cape Town, South Africa, and Coventry University's Centre for Dance Research, she has worked in diverse locations including Algeria, Bangladesh, China, India, Japan, and numerous other countries. Her expertise has been recognized through over 3,000 academic citations, and she continues to shape the field through her research on the intersection of culture, health, and heritage management while working as an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of South Africa.

Deirdre Prins-Solani stands as a pioneering figure in cultural heritage preservation and education, bringing over three decades of expertise in both tangible and intangible cultural heritage to her role as a UNESCO Global Network Facilitator. Her work spans continents, conducting vital capacity-building training across Africa, the Caribbean, and Asia Pacific regions while pursuing groundbreaking research as an MPhil student in Southern Urbanism at the African Centre for Cities, UCT. Her innovative approach to heritage preservation integrates living heritage, memory, and interior worlds into transformative urban planning, making her a sought-after expert in sustainable development and policy design. As the former Director for Heritage Development in Africa and co-creator of the International Council of Museums' first massive open online course on inclusive museums, she has significantly influenced heritage education and preservation practices globally. Her expertise in conflict resolution and peace-building methods has enhanced heritage preservation work, while her emphasis on gender perspectives and community-based approaches has promoted more inclusive heritage practices. Currently moderating UNESCO's global facilitators network and continuing her research on integrating living heritage into spatial planning, she remains at the forefront of developing innovative approaches to cultural heritage preservation and urban development, ensuring that heritage practices remain relevant and transformative in contemporary contexts.

Anna Wai-Yu Yau is a distinguished heritage specialist with extensive experience in cultural heritage management and sustainable development. As a Project Manager at the Centre for Civil Society and Governance at The University of Hong Kong, she leads the award-winning HSBC Rural Sustainability Programme, which received UNESCO's Special Recognition for Sustainable Development in 2020. Her expertise spans multiple areas including built heritage conservation, intangible cultural heritage safeguarding, and heritage entrepreneurship. As an accredited heritage conservationist with both ICOMOS and HKICON certifications, and a certified Project Management Professional (PMI), she has made significant contributions to heritage conservation across the Asia-Pacific region, working in countries including Brunei Darussalam, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, and Timor-Leste. Her achievements were recognized when she was appointed as a jury member for the UNESCO Asia Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation in 2021. She is also actively involved in developing socio-economic models for sustainable rural landscape heritage and integrating cultural heritage into both formal and informal education systems, while serving as a member of Hong Kong's Museum Advisory Committee and the Hong Kong Institute of Architectural Conservationists.

Dr. Ahmed Skounti is a prominent anthropologist and heritage expert serving as Professor at the National Institute of Archaeology and Heritage Sciences in Rabat, Morocco, with over two decades of experience in cultural heritage preservation. His academic credentials include a PhD from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, and he has made significant contributions to cultural heritage preservation both nationally and internationally. As the Focal Point of World Heritage in Morocco from 2000 to 2014, he played a crucial role in drafting the 2003 UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. His expertise has been recognized through various prestigious appointments, including his role as Chair of the Evaluation Body of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2015 and 2017. His contributions to the field were acknowledged with the Jeonju International Award in 2019 for his work in safeguarding and promoting intangible cultural heritage. As a facilitator of the UNESCO Global Network of Facilitators and a member of the Scientific Board of the International Journal of Heritage Studies, Dr. Skounti continues to shape policies and practices in cultural heritage preservation while teaching social anthropology and cultural heritage at INSAP and previously at the University of Marrakech

Dr. Cristina Amescua Chávez is a distinguished anthropologist and researcher at the Regional Center for Multidisciplinary Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), where she holds the prestigious UNESCO Chair on Research on Intangible Cultural Heritage and Cultural Diversity. Her academic excellence is evidenced by her award-winning PhD dissertations in anthropology from UNAM and her receipt of the National University Distinguished Recognition for Young Academics in social sciences research in 2014. Throughout her career since 2001, she has been instrumental in establishing and advancing the field of intangible cultural heritage studies at UNAM. Her scholarly contributions include seven books as editor or co-editor, 27 book chapters, and multiple journal articles, demonstrating her significant impact on the field. As a UNESCO collaborator since 2007, she has led various initiatives in intangible cultural heritage preservation and recently coordinated research for UNESCO's publication "Celebrating the Living Heritage of Indigenous Peoples," where she emphasized the importance of recognizing indigenous cultural strength and sustainable futures. Her work bridges academic research with practical applications in cultural heritage preservation, making her a leading voice in both national and international contexts.