Prof. Minja Yang, is facilitated with Col. James Tod Award - A National Award of The Maharana Mewar Foundation 32nd Annual Awards 2013
Prof. Minja Yang is President of the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation of the Catholic University of Leuven (RLICC/KU Leuven) of Belgium since 2010 following a 30-year career at the United Nations, notably at UNESCO.
Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1952, Ms Yang completed her high school education in Tokyo before attending universities in Paris, Washington DC, Geneva and London. She obtained her BA degree in Development Sociology (Georgetown University, USA); MA and post-graduate degrees in Asian Studies and Politics at the University of London. She joined the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1979. She served in the Cabinet of the Director-General of UNESCO, then as Chief of Emergency Unit (1990), as Chief of Unit for the safeguarding of Angkor and concurrently Head of the Intersectoral Task Force on Cambodia (1991), prior to joining the World Heritage Centre in 1994 as Chief of the Asia-Pacific Region and of the Information and Documentation Unit. She initiated and coordinated the Special Programme for the Safeguarding and Development of Asian World Heritage Cities which subsequently became a global World Heritage Cities Programme. Promoted as Deputy-Director of the World Heritage Centre in 1999 she assumed responsibility for the coordination of all programmes for cultural properties at the Centre. Appointed Director for Museum Development at the Culture Sector of UNESCO in 2004, she then became Director of the UNESCO Sub-regional Office for South Asia based in New Delhi from 2005-2009.
She played a vital role in establishing the UNESCO-led Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN) with the endorsement of the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, to provide a platform for sharing experience and expertise for the sustainable socio-economic and cultural development of India’s historic cities. Udaipur became one of the first member cities of IHCN in 2006.
Under her guidance, Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), Udaipur; UNESCO New Delhi Office and Udaipur Municipal Council (UMC) entered into an agreement on the Joint Co-operation Programme for heritage-based urban development of Udaipur. The first phase of the agreement, signed on 1 December 2006 at Udaipur and completed on 31 December 2007 was followed by another agreement in 2011, which includes the French city of Strasbourg. Recognizing the vital cultural dimension of development, the JCP framework aims to support the people and local authorities of Udaipur in meeting the challenges of rapid urbanization and globalization. The programme includes capacity building activities amongst UMC officials through training seminars relating to protection and management of Udaipur's cultural and natural heritage assets in the process of urban development. She has been instrumental in organizing several workshops and conferences with national and international experts, technical advisory missions to Udaipur, as well as study tours to French cities. The on-going second phase of the Joint Co-operation Programme 2011-2013 focuses on imparting skills in the elaboration of heritage-sensitive urban and territorial planning tools as well as in the designing and implementation of projects to optimize the rich living heritage assets of Udaipur and its region in the socio-economic development process.
Ms Yang's interest in India and commitment to its people have been demonstrated by her professional and personal efforts spanning over the past twenty years in mobilizing international technical cooperation for the benefit of numerous historic cities in India.
In addition to her university functions, she serves as Member of Board of the Association of World Heritage Sites in France (ABFPM) and as Senior Advisor at the Association of Centres of Cultural Encounter (ACCR).
Ms Yang has been awarded as Chevalier and Officier of Arts and Letters by the French Government, and also awarded by the Government of Vietnam and Government of Laos for her work on cultural exchange.
Prof. Minja Yang, is facilitated with Col. James Tod Award - A National Award of The Maharana Mewar Foundation 32nd Annual Awards 2013
Prof. Minja Yang is President of the Raymond Lemaire International Centre for Conservation of the Catholic University of Leuven (RLICC/KU Leuven) of Belgium since 2010 following a 30-year career at the United Nations, notably at UNESCO.
Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1952, Ms Yang completed her high school education in Tokyo before attending universities in Paris, Washington DC, Geneva and London. She obtained her BA degree in Development Sociology (Georgetown University, USA); MA and post-graduate degrees in Asian Studies and Politics at the University of London. She joined the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 1979. She served in the Cabinet of the Director-General of UNESCO, then as Chief of Emergency Unit (1990), as Chief of Unit for the safeguarding of Angkor and concurrently Head of the Intersectoral Task Force on Cambodia (1991), prior to joining the World Heritage Centre in 1994 as Chief of the Asia-Pacific Region and of the Information and Documentation Unit. She initiated and coordinated the Special Programme for the Safeguarding and Development of Asian World Heritage Cities which subsequently became a global World Heritage Cities Programme. Promoted as Deputy-Director of the World Heritage Centre in 1999 she assumed responsibility for the coordination of all programmes for cultural properties at the Centre. Appointed Director for Museum Development at the Culture Sector of UNESCO in 2004, she then became Director of the UNESCO Sub-regional Office for South Asia based in New Delhi from 2005-2009.
She played a vital role in establishing the UNESCO-led Indian Heritage Cities Network (IHCN) with the endorsement of the Ministry of Urban Development, Government of India, to provide a platform for sharing experience and expertise for the sustainable socio-economic and cultural development of India’s historic cities. Udaipur became one of the first member cities of IHCN in 2006.
Under her guidance, Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), Udaipur; UNESCO New Delhi Office and Udaipur Municipal Council (UMC) entered into an agreement on the Joint Co-operation Programme for heritage-based urban development of Udaipur. The first phase of the agreement, signed on 1 December 2006 at Udaipur and completed on 31 December 2007 was followed by another agreement in 2011, which includes the French city of Strasbourg. Recognizing the vital cultural dimension of development, the JCP framework aims to support the people and local authorities of Udaipur in meeting the challenges of rapid urbanization and globalization. The programme includes capacity building activities amongst UMC officials through training seminars relating to protection and management of Udaipur's cultural and natural heritage assets in the process of urban development. She has been instrumental in organizing several workshops and conferences with national and international experts, technical advisory missions to Udaipur, as well as study tours to French cities. The on-going second phase of the Joint Co-operation Programme 2011-2013 focuses on imparting skills in the elaboration of heritage-sensitive urban and territorial planning tools as well as in the designing and implementation of projects to optimize the rich living heritage assets of Udaipur and its region in the socio-economic development process.
Ms Yang's interest in India and commitment to its people have been demonstrated by her professional and personal efforts spanning over the past twenty years in mobilizing international technical cooperation for the benefit of numerous historic cities in India.
In addition to her university functions, she serves as Member of Board of the Association of World Heritage Sites in France (ABFPM) and as Senior Advisor at the Association of Centres of Cultural Encounter (ACCR).
Ms Yang has been awarded as Chevalier and Officier of Arts and Letters by the French Government, and also awarded by the Government of Vietnam and Government of Laos for her work on cultural exchange.