Belarus eager to inscribe unique wooden buildings into UNESCO World Heritage List
BREST, 18 June (BelTA) – Wooden architectural objects in the Belarusian Polesie boast a high cultural and historical potential, Chairman of the National Commission for UNESCO Affairs in Belarus Vladimir Schastny told BelTA. Vladimir Schastny took part in an international meeting of experts of Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and Poland in Brest. The meeting tabled the preservation of outstanding wooden architectural objects in the transboundary region of Polesie.
Like no other buildings the wooden ones are fragile. “We must do our best to preserve them for the generations to come,” remarked Vladimir Schastny. It is vital for the authorities, the public and their owners to understand the importance of these architectural objects. It is important to preserve their originality and the uniqueness that permeates the region, said the official.
At the Brest meeting the experts shared their practices used to preserve wooden architectonics and talked about possible transboundary projects in this area. It was decided to ask the ministries of culture and the national commissions for UNESCO affairs to consider the possibility of making files of the wooden architecture objects in the transboundary territory of the Brest and Gomel oblasts for the sake of their inclusion into the World Heritage List. In turn, when the nomination files are prepared, the Brest and Gomel oblast executive committees are supposed to enter the suggested unprotected wooden architecture objects into Belarus’ state list of historical and cultural legacy. The work is supposed to be accomplished in 2010-2011.
The third international conference of representatives of the Brest and Gomel oblast executive committees, the national commissions for UNESCO affairs and the government agencies in charge of protecting cultural and historical monuments in Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, and Poland is supposed to take place in Gomel in summer 2011. The conference is supposed to review the progress in preparing the nomination file for including the wooden architecture objects in the transboundary territory of the Belarusian Polesie into the UNESCO World Heritage List.
