First phase of workshop on cultural heritage ends

LAHORE:The first phase of the four-day workshop aimed at preservation of cultural heritage of Punjab concluded with thought-provoking sessions and discussions at the Institute for Art and Culture (IAC) on Friday.

The workshop was held under the Pakistan Tourism Economic Global Program (PTEGP), a UNESCO-WB-funded project, implemented by the IAC under the main project "Development of an Integrated Site Management Plan and Capacity Building for Sustainable Tourism Management of Selected Sikh Sites in Punjab.”

The themes of the workshop were the community and cultural heritage. The introductory session hosted by Prof Sajida Vandal, Project Heritage Site Planning expert and vice-chancellor of IAC, focused on introducing concepts of community participation. A seminar on methods and approaches for community mobilisation and community engagement was led by Ms Ottavia Arenella, Project Disaster Risk Management expert, Santagata, Italy, and Ayesha Iftikhar.

Andrea Porta, Project Tourism and Visitor Management expert, Santagata, Italy, led a session “Community’s Economic Growth through Tourism Initiatives” and gave examples of successful practices and case studies. The closing session marked the strategies around establishing the gap that participants need to have addressed in the follow-up workshop planned on October 21, 2020.