UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation

The Awards celebrate private sector projects and public-private partnerships that demonstrate excellence in preserving historical sites while fostering community engagement.

Since 2000, the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation have honored 305 projects across 27 countries for their thorough understanding of historical significance, technical achievements, and impact at local, national, and regional levels. By spotlighting best practices, the Awards have helped shape regional conversations on heritage’s role in sustaining cities, societies, and the environment.

Objectives

• There are two award categories:
  • Cultural Heritage Conservation
    • The UNESCO Asia-Pacific Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation (“the Awards”) recognize the achievement of the private sector and public-private initiatives in successfully conserving or restoring structures, places and properties of heritage value in the region.
  • New Design in Heritage Contexts
    • In addition to the announced Awards, the Jury will, through its special Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts, recognize newly-built projects which demonstrate outstanding design that is well-integrated into heritage contexts.

Award Levels

• Cultural Heritage Conservation
  • The Awards shall consist of a number of winners to be determined by the Jury in the following categories:
    • Award of Excellence, which demonstrates exceptional achievement in all criteria and has a major catalytic impact at the national or regional level;
    • Award of Distinction, which demonstrates outstanding achievement in all criteria and has a significant impact at the national or regional level;
    • Award of Merit, which demonstrates superior achievement in all criteria;
    • Special Recognition for Sustainable Development, which demonstrates noteworthy achievement in all criteria and has a significant impact in contributing to sustainable development.
• New Design in Heritage Contexts
  • The Awards shall consist of a number of winners to be determined by the Jury in the following categories:
    • Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts, which demonstrate outstanding achievement in all criteria;
    • Special Recognition for Sustainable Development, which demonstrates noteworthy achievement in all criteria and has a significant impact in contributing to sustainable development.

Eligible Projects

• Examples of eligible projects include:
  • Houses, commercial and institutional buildings
  • Historic towns and villages
  • Archaeological sites and cultural landscapes

Expected Results

• The project will focus on achieving the following main following results:
  • Identification and promotion of exemplary practices in the heritage conservation through the UNESCO Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation with increased participation from under-represented areas (East Asia, Central Asia, and Pacific countries) and a wide representation of various forms of heritage;
  • Improved exchange of research and professional practice related to heritage;
  • Capacity building in heritage conservation using the exemplars and standards of the UNESCO Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation;
  • Improved engagement of youth, both professionals and the public, in protecting and promoting cultural heritage;
  • Improved knowledge management of Asian heritage, including regional best practices from the UNESCO Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation, through video, online and print formats.

Eligibility Criteria

• Cultural Heritage Conservation
  • The following are eligible for consideration: residential, commercial and institutional buildings; religious properties; urban and rural settlements, historic towns and villages; archaeological heritage; cultural landscapes, parks and gardens; military properties; modern heritage; agricultural, industrial and technological properties; burial monuments and sites; cultural routes; vernacular architecture; and symbolic properties and memorials.
  • The project must be the result of private sector initiative or public-private partnership. The involvement of private individuals or organizations in terms of ownership, tenancy, financing or other contributions to the project should be clear. Projects that are financed, owned and undertaken wholly by government entities are not eligible.
  • The work must have been completed within the preceding 10 years at the time of submission. For buildings with a new use, the project must also have been occupied or put to viable use for at least one year (finished in or before May 2024) at the time of submission.
  • Entries that have been previously submitted will not be eligible for resubmission unless invited to do so by the Jury, or unless substantial additional restoration has been carried out since the previous submission.
  • Projects that are submitted for consideration to the new design category of the UNESCO Heritage Awards in the same year are not eligible for submission for the conservation category. Projects submitted to both categories will be disqualified.
• New Design in Heritage Contexts
  • Projects should have been undertaken within the framework of a larger conservation project or should be located within or adjacent to a historic area.
  • Building annexes, new extensions, new buildings, new public spaces and new structures such as bridges are all eligible for consideration.
  • To be considered for the Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts, the work must have been completed within the preceding 10 years at the time of submission. The project (finished on or before May 2024) must also have been occupied or put to viable use for at least one year.
  • The submission must demonstrate that no structures of heritage significance were adversely affected for the purpose of the project submitted for the Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts.
  • Entries that have been previously submitted will not be eligible for resubmission unless invited to do so by the Jury.
  • Projects that are new structures built as historic replicas, built against historic facades and historic theme parks will not be considered within the scope of the Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts.
  • Projects that are submitted for consideration to the conservation category of the UNESCO Heritage Awards in the same year are not eligible for submission for the Award for New Design in Heritage Contexts. Projects submitted to both categories will be disqualified.

For more information, visit UNESCO.