The goal of the Programme is to support the sustainable agenda in Africa through the research, protection, utilization and reinterpretation its modern heritage and to contribute to improving the implementation of the World Heritage Convention on the African continent. Specifically, the Programmes aims to:
- examine the meanings of Modern Heritage of Africa and to understand the role this heritage can play in promoting sustainability, notably SDG 11, of the human settlement in Africa;
- develop skills among heritage practitioners and other public and private sector stakeholders in associated fields, including research, training, conservation, advocacy and management;
- raise awareness about the significance of Modern Heritage of Africa amongst different stakeholders, including academics, heritage practitioners, developers, policy makers and civil society, especially amongst women and youth;
- address the underrepresentation of the Modern Heritage of Africa in the World Heritage List by building capacity amongst heritage practitioners in the identification and presentation of properties to be inscribed on Tentative Lists and potential future World Heritage nominations.
Focussing on the correlation between modern heritage and the Anthropocene, this initiative will employ a transdisciplinary approach to generate circular knowledge and undertake critical research on the definition, identification and sustainable conservation of Africa’s modern heritage.
