phia University’s selection as a UNESCO Chair on Education for Human Dignity, Peace and Sustainability, Sugimura noted, aligns closely with the theme of the symposium. Sugimura further mentioned that Sophia University anticipates actively participating in events related to the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) hosted by Japan this year. “We sincerely hope that today’s symposium will serve as a meaningful opportunity to strengthen our ties with Africa,” she said. end, Hayashi underscored the continuous efforts re-quired of World Heritage Convention’s signatory countries to understand and act according to the Policy Document on Climate Action for World Heritage, designed to assist countries in implementing climate action “in an effective, ambitious, and active way.”Hayashi explained that the Policy Document establishes two pri-mary goals: first, climate risk assessment, encompassing the de-velopment of essential tools and regular reporting, and second, the development, establishment, and implementation of “robust climate adaptation frameworks for World Heritage sites that can demonstrate measurable progress on monitoring climate hazards, assessing and reducing climate risks and vulnerabilities, enhanc-ing adaptive capacity, and building climate resilience.”Hayashi then shared some examples of ongoing projects that align with this Policy Document, including M’Zab Valley in Algeria, the town of Grand-Bassam in Côte d’Ivoire, and the town of Djenné in Mali, where the engagement of local people and communities is actively promoted to build resilience against the impacts of climate change. he cautioned that some of the natural materials defining these sites are facing accelerated degradation due to impacts of climate change. Abungu pointed out that the significance of World Heritage sites in Africa lies in their presence as living sites, where people and communities flourish, and where tangible and intangible assets coexist and support each other. “There are traditional knowledge systems for repairing and maintaining the sites,” he said, stress-ing the importance of transmitting this accumulated knowledge to future generations. However, Abungu cautioned, traditional methods alone may prove insufficient to counter the escalating risks posed by cli-Sharing images of the Cliff of Ban-diagara in Mali, the historic sculp-tures of the Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove in Nigeria, and the mud tower-houses of Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba in Togo, In her opening remarks, Sophia University President Miki Sugimura said, “In 2024, Sophia University had the honor of be-ing selected a UNESCO Chair, allowing Sophia to further advise UNESCO’s ini-tiatives in Education for Sustainable De-velopment (ESD) and Global Citizenship Education (GCED).” A UNESCO Chair is “a team led by a higher education or re-search institution that partners with UNESCO on a project to ad-vance knowledge and practice in an area of common priority.” So-The first keynote speaker, UNESCO’s Nao Hayashi, a Sophia University alumna, discussed the impact of climate change on World Heritage sites. She described how these properties in themselves, with the active involvement of UNESCO and lo-cal communities, can contribute to efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. “Climate change has become one of the most significant threats against World Heritage properties, affecting their integrity and authenticity, and the ability of local communities to meet their economic and social development needs,” she said. She further noted that extreme weather events and rising sea levels have al-ready caused damage to some of the world’s historically signifi-cant properties. Hayashi also pointed out that World Heritage sites are “impor-tant repositories of knowledge for countering climate change,” holding keys to adaptation strategies. She emphasized that nat-ural heritage sites and landscapes provide essential ecosystem mechanisms such as water and climate regulation, while cultural heritage sites offer “traditional knowledge that inspires innova-tion and provides lessons and tools for a sustainable future.” The utilization and preservation of World Heritage site bene-fits must be integrated with effective climate action. To this Professor George Abungu, Emeritus Director General of the National Museum of Kenya, and Honorary Professor of Her-itage and Museum Studies at Australian National University, Canberra, Australia presented examples of African World Heri-tage sites such as the Mijikenda Kaya Forests in Kenya, empha-sizing their significance as centers of both culture and biodiversity. 20 SOPHIA MAGAZINE Vol. 20From CampusWorld Heritage Sites Are Reservoirs of KnowledgeTraditional Knowledge and Science Preserving Humanity’s Assets
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