Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site

WORLD HERITAGE EDUCATION

Why is it important that young people learn about World Heritage?

Young people will become the leaders and decision-makers of tomorrow. The future of our remaining heritage will depend on the actions and decisions that are made today, tomorrow and in the future.

Article 27 of the World Heritage Convention declares ‘...State parties to this Convention shall endeavour by all appropriate means, and in particular by educational and information programmes, to strengthen appreciation and respect by their peoples of the cultural and natural heritage ...’

In 1994 UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, launched the Young People’s World Heritage Education Project, ‘World Heritage in Young Hands’, through the Associated Schools Project (ASPnet).

The project has produced a Resource Kit for Teachers,‘World Heritage in Young Hands’, to help them teach World Heritage Education.

The contents of the pack are as follows:

Educational approaches to World Heritage
The World Heritage Convention
World Heritage and Identity
World Heritage and Tourism
World Heritage and the Environment
World Heritage and a Culture of Peace.

In the preface to the Resource Kit, Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO said:

‘Education is the key to personal fulfilment, development, conservation, peace and well-being. Through education, young people can find new ways to build commitment and strengthen action in favour of preserving our cultural and natural heritage,our tangible and intangible heritage, and our local and world heritage. Their efforts will benefit not only the present generation but also the generations of the future.

World Heritage Education advocates the reaffirmation of identity, mutual respect, dialogue, unity in diversity, solidarity and a positive interaction among the cultures of the world. I hope that this material will be widely used by classroom teachers throughout the curriculum – by teachers of history, science, geography, art, mathematics, language, and other subjects and fields of study. By using this material, by developing additional material and by enriching their classroom practices, teachers can help to mobilise today’s youth in ways that bring the peoples of the world closer together in a climate of trust, mutual appreciation and solidarity’.

This pack is available from:

Young People’s World Education Project, UNESCO, at
7 place de Fontenoy,
F-75352
Paris 07 SP (France)

ISBN 92-3-103843-5
E-mail: wh-info@unesco.org or aspnet@unesco.org www.unesco.org/education/asp

UNESCO Young People’s World Heritage Education Project is an interregional project jointly co-ordinated by UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Education Sector ASPnet Co-ordination unit with the primary aim of introducing World Heritage Education into school curricula in all regions of the world to ensure greater understanding of the values of World Heritage sites and their conservation.

The UNESCO Associated Schools Project Network (ASPnet) web site includes general information about the Network, its objectives, number of participating schools and countries, flagship projects, available documentation, texts of ASPnet Practical Manual and brochures.

List of some of the reference materials available from UNESCO free of charge

World Heritage Map (folding poster) available in English, Spanish and French.
World Heritage List available in English and French
Brief Descriptions of World Heritage Sites available in English and French
The World Heritage (information sheets) available in English, French and Spanish
Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage available in English, French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic
World Heritage Newsletter (bimonthly)
World Heritage Education Brochure – a four page leaflet briefly describing World Heritage Education and ASPnet
ASPnet introduction sheet

Education Resource published by English Heritage

World Heritage Sites – a Teacher ’s Guide

One of the books in the Education on Site series;that is written especially for teachers, tutors and students to help them make the best use of the historic environment.

The book concentrates on the cultural sites on the World Heritage List and describes briefly the international organisation that supports the List. It then uses a series of examples from the United Kingdom and elsewhere to highlight many of the problems that face these heritage sites including conflicting claims over the ownership of, and control over cultural property, pollution, war damage and the pressure of increased tourism. It argues that all pupils should have a knowledge of the World Heritage Convention and List and it suggests ways in which such a study can be introduced into the curriculum. In doing so it raises questions as to the value of keeping such a list and what it tells us about both the monuments of the past and about our modern preoccupation with them.

This book includes sections on the following:-

The World Heritage Convention
The Identification of Cultural Sites in the United Kingdom
The Cultural Sites of the United Kingdom
Some other World Heritage Sites
Cultural Tourism:Benefits and Problems
The need for Visitor Facilities –a case study
The Protection of Cultural Sites –a case study
The need for long-term Management -a case study

ISBN 1-85074-446-7.English Heritage

Education Service
429 Oxford Street,
London
W1R 2HD

Education Resources published about the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site.

Tel: 0171 973 3442

Family Activity Books

A series of Family Activity Books is being planned. These eight page activity books are intended for use by families who are planning to make a number of visits along the Derwent Valley over several weekends or outings, to discover the heritage of the mills and their communities. Book One, which is available now at sites throughout the valley, is called Famous People. This book is full of activities that would help a family find out about John Lombe, Richard Arkwright, Peter Nightingale, the Evans family and the Strutt family, all the famous industrialists who began the industrial revolution in the Derwent Valley. The intention is that by visiting the sites connected with each person, the family or school group, will discover what made them famous. John Lombe is connected with The Silk Mill – Derby’s Museum of Industry and History, Richard Arkwright with Cromford village, Cromford Mill and Masson Mills at Matlock Bath, the Evans family with the mills and village of Darley Abbey, the Strutt family with North Mills, Belper Town and Milford, and Peter Nightingale with Lea Bridge.