The research, carried out between 2019 & 2024, was carried out through a desk-top analysis of World Heritage Sites globally and then focussing on all 35 World Heritage Sites in the UK. It found that while a minority acknowledged UNESCO’s founding principle in their management policies and other official documents but this did not pull through into Site objectives, management plans, or on-site interpretation.
This was then followed by interviews with representatives from 16 Sites. This revealed that while most were aware of UNESCO’s founding principle, few were making any public reference to it or carrying out activities in support of it. However, many did express interest in exploring examples of best practice from other World Heritage Sites.
Among the recommendations made in the report is that an international project be set up to improve awareness and understanding of how World Heritage Sites can act as ‘ambassadors for peace’. As part of this, resources developed to assist UK Sites would be tested in a wide variety of situations and, if necessary, modified for local audiences to help them understand what UNESCO is and does, what World Heritage Sites are, and issues such as how World Heritage relates to UNESCO’s primary objective of promoting peace.
