UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on the 2001 Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage
Hong Kong, 20 November 2003
Action Plan
The participants of the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Regional Workshop on the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001 held in Hong Kong from 18th – 20th November 2003 have adopted the following Action Plan:
1.Member States of UNESCO should examine the Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage 2001 to establish its benefits, costs and implications, including all concerned Ministries in this discussion, with a view to its ratification as soon as possible.
2. Members of this workshop in Hong Kong should create an informal network to facilitate the exchange of information on legislation and create a checklist of technical points on legal implications.
3.Participants in this meeting will encourage their home states to voluntarily adopt and apply the Annex to the Convention as the set of guiding principles for best practice and professional standards, and as an instrument to facilitate eventual ratification of the Convention.
4.Non-governmental organizations should build awareness among the legal profession.
5.National Commissions for UNESCO should build awareness of the Convention among national decision-makers, and in particularly between relevant Ministries, government agencies, as well as the general public.
6.Participants should, and States in the region are invited to, immediately follow up this Workshop by organizing sub-regional or regional meetings or working groups at regular intervals.
7.The proposal for a regional on site training programme in the World Heritage city of Galle (Sri Lanka) is supported and as a first step a meeting of educators should be held to decide what kind and level of courses is needed and could be provided (conservation, diving training, underwater techniques etc.). The scientific community and other Member States are invited to contribute particular expertise in this respect.
8.ICUCH should investigate and list other training courses currently available in the region.
9. At least one museum or other heritage management agency in each State should be responsible for interpreting and promoting the underwater cultural heritage (including wrecks, sites of importance to indigenous peoples and other sites) of the State, as well as the maritime history, and life of the coastal and maritime communities as part of the heritage of the people of that country.
10.That museum and/or agency should seek to find allies at different levels, such as heritage workers, young people, archaeologists and others who will give or generate political support for the underwater cultural heritage, and sponsors for museum programmes such as exhibitions. It will also work for synergy with bodies such as PADI and ICUCH to maximize public support.
11.The museum or other national institutions will work to create awareness at local, national and regional levels by exhibitions including, where possible, a traveling exhibition.
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