United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), founded in 1945, is the UN’s premier committee for scientific and cultural cooperation between countries. UNESCO achieves this through education and promotion of free expression with the aim of greater dissemination of knowledge. In addition, UNESCO maintains several lists and databases of items of cultural and scientific importance, including the World Digital Library, a free database of thousands of important books, pictures, films, and other media; as well as the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites, which are sites important to Earth’s cultural and natural heritage. UNESCO also aims to protect such cultural treasures from being destroyed or from fading into obscurity. In this committee, delegates will discuss the protection and preservation of world heritage sites, as well as the revitalization of culture after natural disasters.

Topic A: Protection and Preservation of World Heritage Sites
The UNESCO World Heritage Sites are a group of 1,223 locations determined to be of great importance to cultural or natural heritage. These locations are very diverse, ranging from Australia’s Great Barrier Reef to India’s Taj Mahal. However, due to many factors, ranging from war to pollution to natural disasters, dozens of these sites are currently endangered. The number of endangered sites stands at 56, but this number is only stable by the removal of sites from the list and the addition of new ones happening at relatively equal rates. As the world evolves, UNESCO must find new ways to prevent new sites from becoming part of this list or being destroyed. There are many potential solutions, but these ideas bring complicated problems. One option is direct intervention to protect or restore sites, especially when their local governments are neglecting them or even deliberately trying to destroy them, but this would be difficult to do without Security Council approval and may create national sovereignty concerns. Other, less invasive solutions, such as “awareness days,” do exist, but how effectively these protect heritage sites is debatable. In addition to protecting endangered heritage sites, UNESCO must also determine how to maintain heritage sites so more of them do not become endangered. Whatever the body decides, delegates must find solutions that are quickly and easily implementable before great cultural and natural treasures are lost.

Topic B: Revitalization of Culture after Natural Disasters
In addition to causing great loss of lives and productivity, natural disasters can also cause cultural decline. There are many reasons for the decline of culture after natural disasters, such as the destruction of important sites, the displacement of people from their indigenous or inherited lands, and a lack of cultural priority when rebuilding efforts take place. This is especially pronounced in endangered cultures and cultures with a small geographic area, as a great portion can be destroyed by one natural disaster. Solutions to this issue bring their own complexities to the table. One solution is to return people to their homes as quickly as possible following natural disasters, but this must not be done too hastily, as areas can often remain dangerous for a time following disasters. Another possible solution could be trying to re-establish culture in new areas, though this could be difficult for cultures that are closely tied to their land. In addition to revitalizing cultures after natural disasters, UNESCO delegates may also want to discuss ways to protect culture against natural disasters before they occur so that their impact is less drastic. Whatever this committee decides, it must make sure that its plans are effective at protecting and restoring culture, but do not interfere with other aspects of natural disaster prevention and response.

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