Bursa’s 8th Anniversary with UNESCO

On the 8th anniversary of Bursa being declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, an event titled “Cultural Heritage, Climate Change, and Sustainability Panel and Exhibition” was organized in collaboration with Bursa Metropolitan Municipality and Bursa Site Management as part of the ICOMOS International Day for Monuments and Sites.

The opening of the exhibition at the Tayyare Cultural Center, which featured photographs of 19 sites in Turkiye that have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, was attended by Deputy Governor Mustafa Gündoğan, Deputy Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality Halide Serpil Şahin, UNESCO Bursa Site Manager Prof. Dr. Neslihan Dostoğlu, Regional Director of Foundations Haluk Yıldız, Turkiye’s ICOMOS Representative Zeynep Gül Ünal, and many other guests.

In the opening speech of the Cultural Heritage, Climate Change, and Sustainability Panel held after the exhibition, Deputy Mayor Halide Serpil Şahin noted that Bursa is an ancient city that has hosted Byzantine, Seljuk, and Ottoman cultures from an 8,500-year-old environment to a 2,500-year-old urban settlement. Emphasizing Bursa’s cultural richness, Şahin stated, “Being part of this project increases our responsibility. We have a rich cultural heritage with our unique customs, traditions, and practices. We continue to work on preserving and passing on this heritage to future generations.”

UNESCO Bursa Site Manager Prof. Dr. Neslihan Dostoğlu also mentioned that they are celebrating the 8th anniversary of Bursa’s inclusion in the world heritage list. She noted that Bursa was placed on the tentative list in 2000 and was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2014, stating, “A great deal of effort went into this process. It is a significant responsibility, and the necessary measures must be taken to sustain it.”

Following the opening speeches, the Cultural Heritage, Climate Change, and Sustainability Panel was moderated by UNESCO Bursa Site Manager Prof. Dr. Neslihan Dostoğlu.

Speakers such as ICOMOS International Vice President Prof. Dr. Zeynep Gül Ünal, Dr. Sibel Yıldırım Esen from METU’s Department of Architecture, Dr. Banu Gökmen Erdoğan from Trakya University’s Department of Architecture, and Associate Prof. Dr. Nejan Huvaj from METU’s Department of Civil Engineering discussed ways to achieve sustainability in cultural heritage sites with examples from Turkiye and around the world.