7 July

The 43rd session of the World Heritage Committee, held from June 10th to 30th in Baku, Azerbaijan, designated Bagan as a World Heritage Site yesterday.

Present at the event were representative teams comprised of officials from the ministries of Religious Affair and Culture, Education, Natural Resource and Environmental Conservation and Foreign Affairs.

The team was led by Myanmar Ambassador to UNESCO U Kyaw Zeya. Individuals and organizations promoting Bagan also attended. Additionoally, a group of photographers, known as “ Bagan From Our Heart”, travelled at their own expense to support the designation.

Earlier, the 38th session of the World Heritage committee was held in Doha, Qatar, and designated three ancient Pyu cities: Han Lin, Beikthano (Vishnu) and Sri Ksetra, as World Heritage Sites, while Bagan was the second site to be designated in Myanmar.

Buddhism has been practicing in Myanmar since the Bagan era.

This collaboration by officials from Regional Governments of Magway and Mandalay, officials from related departments, local and international experts, and citizens promoting Bagan, sought Bagan joining the World Heritage List to preserve its religion-based architecture, along with stuccos, murals, pagodas and stupas.

The application processes, including courses, workshops, management meetings, thesis related meetings, collecting GIS and research data, were conducted since 2014.

The application to the Committee states that Bagan is a living heritage meeting with the world’s cultural values.

It also included the significance of Bagan, including its customs, philosophy, faith, art and literature, which is recognized as meeting world standards. — MNA

(Translated by Zaw Min)