The Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, Udaipur will organise the second edition of the World Living Heritage Festival (WLHF) 2014, from March 13 to 16, in association with UNESCO New Delhi. The Festival is conceputalised by Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar, the 76th custodian of the Mewar dynasty in Udaipur. He said, “Our heritage is something that each one of us is proud of. It is not enough to just say it but also take a step towards preserving it for generations that follow. We believe in the concept of ‘Living Heritage’, which is our guiding light. The World Living Heritage Festival 2014 is a step in this direction. We are optimistic this event will prompt the participants and attendees both to take up the cause of heritage conservation.”
On the occasion of the Festival, an International Conference will take place on March 13th and 14th to debate ‘How a City can Promote the Living Heritage’’ with the participation of several experts from India and abroad.
The Festival celebrates the many colours of life and the various shades of cultural diversity which the Mewar region has to offer. Within the setting of the Udaipur City Palace, this four-day-long Festival will feature photo exhibitions, panel discussions, a book launch, sound and light show, etc. The Holika Dahan, marking the spring festival of Holi and a musical concert will bring a colourful closure to the event.
The event will bring together experts from India and abroad to debate the key questions to inspire the future action plan for Udaipur. These questions are: How to mobilise the communities of heritage bearers and ensure their livelihood?, How spatial planning of the city can promote the living heritage?, What is the linkage between city space and communal harmony?, How to plan a holistic promotion of culture and heritage using the entire city space as a backdrop?
The speakers invited for the Festival include NGOs namely Barefoot College, Digital Empowerment Foundation and banglanatak dot com as well as experts including Minja Yang, President & Professor at Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation, KU/ Leuven (Belgium); Kai Weise, Conservation Architect (Nepal) ; Ravi Gundu Rao, Conservation Architect, Dr. Ravina Aggarwal, Ford Foundation; Dr Anjoo Sharan Upadhyaya, Malaviya Centre for Peace Research, Banaras Hindu University and Mary McCarthy, Director of the National Sculpture Factory, Cork, Ireland. The HRH Group of Hotels is the hospitality partner for WHLF – 2014.