Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre considers Vietnam a notable example of heritage conservation

Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo. (Photo: Thanh Long)

This is your second visit to Vietnam as the Director of the World Heritage Centre. What is the special significance of this visit in the context of cooperation between the two sides?

I'm pleased to be back to Vietnam for the second time because UNESCO and Vietnam are having excellent cooperation, particularly in the field of world heritage protection as Vietnam is one of the World Heritage Committee members. We have 21 members of the World Heritage Committee who decide on the inscription of UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

Being here for the second time shows that our cooperation for world heritage is going very well and we can regularly review the work that Vietnam is doing to preserve heritage sites. It's a pleasure to be here and I was pleased to also be having a meeting with the General Secretary of the country.

One of Vietnam’s major challenges lies in preserving, safeguarding, and promoting heritage values. What advice would you offer to heritage managers and local authorities on how to balance conservation efforts with sustainable development?

The challenges of preserving world heritage sites are global. They are not only in Vietnam but they are in many countries around the world. What is important is to have this approach of placing communities at the center of preservation and trying to find a balance between the preservation and improvement of people’s well-being. And I think Vietnam is making a huge effort to place its communities at the center and protect its heritage. The heritage in Vietnam is very important for its communities, for its people and I think it's a good example.

In recent years, Vietnam has always received strong, active and effective support and cooperation from the World Heritage Centre. With this visit, what are your expectations for the cooperation between UNESCO and Vietnam in the coming period?

Our cooperation is going very well. We have some key projects. Vietnam is supporting the work of UNESCO and the work of the World Heritage Center. We have an important project in Vietnam to revive the whole history of Thang Long Citadel, the Imperial City, to understand this long and important history of several dynasties. I think this is a project which we are going to work on together in the coming years.

If you could share a brief message with Vietnamese people about the importance of heritage preservation, what would you say?

I encourage Vietnamese people to continue supporting the preservation and protection of cultural and natural sites that are the testimony of Vietnam's history, and culture. I think it's important to celebrate because preserving heritage contributes to the well-being of the people, contributes to country development, and for that, Vietnam is a good example.

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