2018 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation - call for entries

Submissions are now being accepted for the 2018 Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.

Since the Awards were established in 2000, UNESCO has received 720 entries from 25 countries. A total of 209 projects have received awards in cultural heritage conservation, while 14 have received the Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts (previously known as the Jury Commendation for Innovation).

This year’s awards cycle will mark the launch of a three-year partnership with Think City, a Malaysian urban renewal body that will support the programme and host the annual Awards Jury meeting in Penang, Malaysia. UNESCO Bangkok Culture Unit Chief Duong Bich Hanh said that the partnership reflects the complementary missions of both organizations to promote heritage preservation.

“UNESCO and Think City share common objectives of wanting to promote culture for sustainable development and creating liveable cities through community-based urban regeneration,” she said. “The goal of our Heritage Awards programme has always been to encourage all stakeholders to take pride in and ownership of their heritage and this collaboration reflects that spirit.”

The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation celebrate exemplary efforts by individuals and organizations to restore or conserve structures, places and properties of heritage value in the region. Winning projects demonstrate a thorough understanding of the place, sound technical achievement and significant social and policy impact.

Eligible projects must have been completed within the last 10 years. Houses, commercial and institutional buildings, historic towns and villages, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes, for example, are all suitable for entry.

Winners will be announced in early November 2018 in the following categories: “Award of Excellence”, “Award of Distinction”, “Award of Merit”, “Honourable Mention” and “Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts”. The “Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts” is given to newly-built structures that demonstrate outstanding design which is well-integrated into historic contexts.

The deadline for receipt of materials is 15 May 2018.

Entries for the 2018 Awards programme must be submitted to UNESCO Bangkok using an official entry form, a description of the project in the official format, drawings and photographs in hard and softcopy formats.