AXA renews its support for the international world heritage program developed by Vocations Patrimoine

Since October 2005, AXA has been sponsoring a training program focusing on the world heritage site management profession, funding grants awarded to students with innovative projects. Once again this year, AXA will be co-financing four new grants.

In October 2005, AXA announced that it would be sponsoring an international world heritage protection program. This program, developed by the Vocations Patrimoine¹ association, aims to train up the future curators of UNESCO world heritage sites through the awarding of research grants.

In March 2006, five grants, including three funded by AXA, were awarded to the winning students with the most innovative projects. The aim: to enable these students to complete a European Masters in site management and receive higher-level multidisciplinary training on management, ecotourism and museology.

On November 5, 2007, the second series of UNESCO-Vocations Patrimoine grants were awarded in Paris in the presence of the two founding partners, AXA and Mazars².

Here are the profiles and research programs for the four students that AXA will be supporting this year:

• Gonzalo Banda-Cruz (Ecuador), University College Dublin, Ireland
  Project: comparative study into the management of protected areas in the Galapagos and the Channel Islands National Park in the US;
• Giuseppe Ciambrone (Italy), University College Dublin, Ireland
  Project: study into the management of the Palais Royal de Caserte and its gardens dating back to the 18th century, the Vanvitelli aqueduct and the San Leucio belvedere, in the Campanie region in southern Italy;
• Rusudan Mirzikashvili (Georgia), University College Dublin, Ireland
  Project: comparative study into the global heritage conservation in Georgia through Mtskheta's historic monuments and the sites in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia;
• Sophie Eberhardt (France), University College Dublin, Ireland
  Project: accompanying the organization of the new association for French world heritage sites (Association des Biens Français du Patrimoine Mondial), notably facilitating the permanent exchange of knowledge and experience.

For reference, out of the list of 851 designated sites, 30 have been declared in danger. More specifically, the development of tourism, real estate pressures in towns and cities, and global warming are making more effective site management a necessity. The specific training programs supported by the site management program represent the first created in order to act in this area and bring about change.

¹ The "Vocations Patrimoine, l'héritage du future" association, chaired by Professor Yves Coppens, can trace its roots back to the creation and launch over 10 years ago of a program to restore and develop the Peking Man site.

² International, integrated and independent organization specialized in auditing, accounting, taxation and corporate services.

Contact: emmanuelle.sand@axa.com