The ceremony was attended by Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director General of the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation (UNESCO), Mr Yves Coppens, Chairman of the Vocations Patrimoine NGO and a Professor at the Collège de France, Mrs Christine Albanel, Minister for Culture and Communication, Mr Patrick de Cambourg, President of the Mazars Group and Mr Henri de Castries, President of the Axa Group’s Board of Directors.

Mazars is delighted to be a sponsor of the “World Heritage Site Managers” programme, created by the Vocations Patrimoine NGOin partnership with UNESCO,   for the second consecutive year.

This programme was set up to distribute grants to young people from all over the world who are involved in projects which will enable them to manage and develop numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites in a sustainable manner in collaboration with the local population.

The UNESCO-VOCATIONS PATRIMOINE sponsorship programme has provided a new opportunity to preserve and manage the sites following the conception in Europe, specifically in Germany and Ireland, of a 2 year training programme harmonising academic study with on the ground experience.

The six recent winners from Georgia, Bhutan, Italy, Ecuador, Iran and France have been awarded fellowships for their innovative projects, combining research and studies into management, to devise planning and management models to ensure the better conservation of World Heritage Sites and other protected areas in Spain, China, Ecuador, the United States, Italy, the Czech Republic and France.

France is the world’s premier tourist destination, with 31 prestigious sites inscribed on the World Heritage list. France welcomed 78 million tourists in 2006 and 90 million are expected in 2010.

As a one off for this year, Vocations Patrimoine and its partners MAZARS and AXA, as well as the Ministry for Culture and Communication, have decided to award a special prize to support the work of the recently founded “Association of French World Heritage Sites” (L’Association des biens français du patrimoine mondial).
The aim of this association, founded following the meetings of French World Heritage site managers, is to structure a management network of the French Heritage sites.

This additional grant will enable a student attending the course at the University of Dublin to carry out practical field work through a case study on network management and to acquire more knowledge of the area.

Sophie Eberhardt will work with the Loire Valley Mission based in Tours. This Mission has been actively involved in the creation of a network by organising, since 2004, the initial joint meetings of representatives from French Heritage sites.

• Kinley Gyeltshen's project description
• Fellowships for "World Heritage site managers" leaflet
• Press kit: Unesco - Vocations Patrimoine fellowships 2007 laureates