UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards 2023 for Cultural Heritage Conservation

The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation recognizes exemplary efforts by individuals and organizations to restore or conserve structures, places and properties of heritage value in the region. It encourages property owners to undertake conservation projects within their communities, either independently or by public-private partnerships.

Since it was first established in 2000, the Awards programme has recognized 278 projects from 27 Asia-Pacific countries for their thorough understanding of their sites; their sound technical achievements; and their demonstration of social, economic and environmental impacts at all levels. In recognizing these practices, the Awards programme has contributed to meaningful achievements in advancing a regional conversation about what constitutes cultural heritage, who has a stake in its stewardship, and how cultural heritage can contribute to the sustainable well-being of cities, societies and the environment.

Benefits

Winners will be announced in November 2023 according to the following levels of achievement: Award of Excellence, Award of Distinction, Award of Merit, Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts; and Special Recognition for Sustainable Development.

• The Award of Excellence represents the highest recognition in the Awards programme, and is presented to projects that display exceptional achievement in all criteria, and that demonstrate a major catalytic impact at the national or regional level.
• The Award of Distinction is given to projects that demonstrate outstanding achievement in all criteria and are making a significant impact at the national or regional level.
• The Award of Merit recognizes projects that demonstrate superior achievement in all criteria.
• The Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts is given to newly-built projects that demonstrate outstanding design and are well integrated with historical contexts. Submissions of completed new architecture and designs that enrich an existing heritage setting are encouraged. Building annexes, new extensions, new buildings, new public spaces, and new structures – such as bridges – are all eligible for consideration.
• The Special Recognition for Sustainable Development was introduced in the 2020 Awards cycle to recognize projects that demonstrate noteworthy achievement in the overall Awards criteria and promise a significant contribution to sustainable development. Projects that are submitted to either the Conservation or the New Design category of the Awards programme are eligible for this recognition.

Eligibility 

• Projects entries must have been completed within the last 10 years (February 2013 – June 2023 if pre-existing use was retained, or June 2022 if a project has a new use).
• Houses, commercial and institutional buildings, historic towns and villages, archaeological sites and cultural landscapes, for example, are all suitable for submission.

Method of Application