Voices of the pioneers: UNESCO's World Heritage Convention 1972‐2000

Purpose – In partnership with UNESCO's Oral Archives Initiative, the authors have set out to capture the voices of those who have played a significant role in the creation and early development of the World Heritage Convention. The recorded interviews with the men and women who were active participants in this early period are designed to supplement the existing literature and voluminous documentation from the statutory and expert meetings. The uniqueness of this World Heritage research project is the important role that the voices of the pioneers will play in illuminating the successes and failures, the struggles and triumphs of the early years. This paper aims to share some of the findings.Design/methodology/approach – The selection of the first group of interviewees has been made on the basis of the importance of the person's involvement in World Heritage matters, age, diversity of interests and geographical distribution. The interviews are structured with specific questions to identify key issues and ...