Roerich and get acquainted with an example of such activity
Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947), also known as Nikolai Konstantinovich Rerikh was a Russian mystic, painter, philosopher, scientist, writer, traveler, and public figure. He created thousands of paintings (many of them are exhibited in well-known museums of the world) and about 30 literary works. Roerich was an author and initiator of an international pact for the protection of artistic and academic institutions and historical sites and a founder of an international movement for the defence of culture. Roerich earned several nominations for the Nobel Prize. In 1929, Roerich in collaboration with doctor of international law from Paris University G.G. Chklaver prepared a draft of an agreement dedicated to protection of cultural values (Roerich’s Pact). Coupled with the Pact Roerich proposed a distinctive sign for identification of protected objects – Banner of Peace which was a white cloth containing a red ring and three red circles inscribed in it. The sign symbolized a unity of the past, present and future into the ring of eternity. Banner of Peace on the painting “Pax cultura”. 1931 The paragraphs of the Pact run as follows:
Roerich’s Pact has large educational value. “A pact for protection of cultural treasures is not Only needed as an official body, but as an educational law that, from the very first school days, will educate the young generation with noble ideas of preservation of the whole mankind’s true values”, – wrote N. Roerich. Roerich’s Pact became the first international act especially devoted to protection of cultural values. It was a unique agreement in this field, which was accepted by a part of international community before the second World War. The idea of the Pact was welcomed by R. Rolland, B. Shaw, R. Tagore, A. Einstein, T. Mann, H. Wells.
The Pact was signed in the White House in Washington, on April 15, 1935 with the participation of US President F. Roosevelt. Originally, the document was ratified by 21 countries of the American continent. Later the Pact was validated by 15 countries more. In a few years after the war, Roerich’s Pact played an important role in forming of international law standards and public activity in the field of protection of cultural heritage.
✶ Nicolas Roerich –Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org.>wiki/ Nicolas Reorich
29. Get acquainted with the abstracts from the UNESCO World Heritage Site * to develop your own project. Pay attention to the ‘Election criteria’ section.
Of-course, you’ve recognized these historical sites. They are protected and maintained by the International World Heritage Program which is administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee
❐ A White House conference in 1965 called for a "World Heritage Trust" to preserve "the world's superb natural and scenic areas and historic sites for the present and the future of the entire world citizenry." A single text was agreed on by all parties, and the "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO on 16 November 1972. ❐ The World Heritage Sites are places that are significant culturally and naturally; they vary in type but include forests, lakes, monuments, buildings and cities. World Heritage Sites can also be a combination of both cultural and natural areas. Today the World Heritage Committee is the main group responsible for establishing which sites will be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Committee meets once a year and consists of representatives from 21 State Parties that are elected for six year terms by the World Heritage Center’s General Assembly. ❐ Nominating process The World Heritage Centre offers advice and help in preparing the Nomination File. At this point, the file is evaluated by the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union. These bodies then make their recommendations to the World Heritage Committee. The Committee meets once per year to determine whether or not to inscribe each nominated property on the World Heritage List, and sometimes defers the decision to request more information from the states. There are ten selection criteria - a site must meet at least one of them to be included on the list. ❐ Election criteria Nominated sites must be of "outstanding universal value" and meet at least one of the ten criteria: § I. "to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius"; § VII. "to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance";
including the record of life, significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms, or significant geomorphic or physiographic features";
30. “ Nomination of the Russian Cultural Property to the UNESCO World Heritage List “ :
✸ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World Heritage Site
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