We are looking for 15 international and 15 Chinese participants for the upcoming edition of the course Managing World Heritage: People, Nature, Culture (PNC25 Suzhou), taking place in Suzhou, China, from 15 to 21 September 2025 (excluding travel dates).
The course will be conducted in English.
PNC is the flagship course of the ICCROM-IUCN World Heritage Leadership Programme (WHL). It is open to site managers and coordinators, members of management teams and institutions, and heritage practitioners working with World Heritage properties and other heritage places around the world.
The course will be implemented by WHL, the National Cultural Heritage Administration of China and the School of Landscape and Architecture (SLA) of the Beijing Forestry University (BFU), Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Garden and Landscaping with the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region Suzhou Center (WHITR-AP Suzhou) and the Management Office of Suzhou Lingering Garden hosting the course.
Why is this course needed?
The course promotes a heritage place approach to heritage management, focusing on understanding how to manage and conserve the multiple heritage values of places within their broader social, environmental, and economic contexts. This includes adopting a place-based approach to heritage management and employing people-centred approaches when working with diverse actors and communities.
Participants will learn how effective management can give heritage places a dynamic and mutually beneficial role in society today and in the future, reflecting the vast array of people who care for, use, and enjoy them. Heritage practitioners, community members and networks, and policymakers within institutions are among the contributors to the management, conservation and use of a heritage place. Working with all these groups is essential for gaining benefits for society and heritage itself. It is important for all relevant actors to understand the values that different people associate with a heritage place, so they can collaborate on appropriate approaches and methods that holistically protect these values.
In this course, natural and cultural heritage conservation is seen as interrelated and interdependent, overcoming the artificial separation between the two concepts to promote quality management at World Heritage properties and other heritage places. Engaging actors and communities remains a considerable challenge at many heritage places, and linking nature and culture often faces real barriers, such as fragmented institutional and legal protection systems.
While there is no one-size-fits-all solution, a range of approaches can be explored and adapted to different contexts. The course brings together those involved in all facets of heritage management to share their experiences and learn from each other, advancing practice in the field.
What is the content of the course?
The course provides a general overview of what constitutes a heritage management system to assess their effectiveness in a rapidly changing world. Understanding how the system works enables evaluation of how it operates and performs, including how existing resources can be better utilized while exploring new ways of doing things.
During the course, participants will be introduced to key tools and resources to improve management, planning, and decision-making processes at World Heritage properties and other heritage places.
The course content is aligned with the forthcoming World Heritage Resource Manual on Managing World Heritage, the recently published Enhancing Our Heritage Toolkit 2.0, and the Operational Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
The course will draw on experiences and approaches implemented by participants at their World Heritage properties and heritage places, fostering a better understanding of heritage management in the international context and encouraging peer learning and knowledge sharing throughout the course. The World Heritage property of the ‘Classical Gardens of Suzhou’ will be used as a common case study for the fictitious implementation of a management effectiveness assessment using the methodology of the EOH 2.0.
The course will be structured around six learning modules that will tackle the following overarching topics:
- Heritage place approach and the World Heritage management system;
- OUV, heritage values and attributes;
- Boundaries, buffer zones and wider context of heritage places;
- Governance arrangements, including people-centred and rights-based approaches to heritage management;
- Factors affecting heritage places and their social, economic and environmental context;
- Management planning and implementation;
- Management effectiveness assessment for heritage places; and
- Heritage conservation and management results.
Where will the course take place?
The course will take place in Suzhou, China, from 15 to 21 September 2025.
Participants will have the chance to visit and learn more about the management of the World Heritage property of Suzhou and gain insight into the Chinese World Heritage management system.
What are the costs of participation?
There is no course fee to attend the course.
Participants will be responsible for their round-trip travel costs to and from Suzhou, China and any visa costs. Accommodation, meals and transportation within China will be provided by local organizers.
Candidates are strongly encouraged to seek financial support from government institutions, employers, and funding agencies.
In cases of proven financial need, a limited number of scholarships are available to support travel expenses.
Participants interested in a scholarship should submit their request in a letter to whl@iccrom.org. After submitting their application, they should explain why financial support is needed and how they anticipate the course will contribute to their work at World Heritage properties or other heritage places.
Who is the course for?
This course specifically targets:
- practitioners working at a specific cultural or natural World Heritage property, or other heritage place;
- individuals working in institutions with responsibilities related to managing World Heritage properties and/or other heritage places; and
- individuals involved more generally in World Heritage conservation and management (for example, those working in heritage at a regional or national level, policymakers and other representatives of institutions, non-governmental organizations, charities, local associations, community groups, etc.).
Applications are open to all regions and professionals.
How to apply for this course
Please submit your application by 30 July 2025.
The application process is as follows:
- complete the online application form in English
- upload a personal photo
- upload a brief version of your professional curriculum vitae highlighting your most relevant experience (in English; maximum two pages)
- upload the official endorsement of your institution, which confirms that you have the support of your workplace for taking the time to complete the entire course
- if applying for a scholarship, upload your letter of request together with all the above documents
Allowed formats: pdf, doc, docx, jpg, jpeg, png, tif, tiff; maximum file size 5 MB.
If you encounter any issues submitting your application through the ICCROM website, please email us at whl@iccrom.org.