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When the going gets tough, that’s when we need to get tougher. And doing it innovatively is just like a pinch of salt!
The drastically evolving urban landscape is forcing people to flow with it. Those who happily take the plunge find their shores. Or just barely stay afloat all their lives and basically get nowhere. Those who don’t, suffer the most. Why, in the first place, do we want to change banks when we already have our ship anchored so perfectly? Maybe all that is required is to take what we have and plug it into the new urban ways of life. And make a completely unique identity for ourselves. And yet stay proud of our roots!
To get answers to questions alike and to find an innovative way towards that perfect urban-historic ecosystem is need of the hour. The Indian Heritage Citites Network (IHCN) has taken an initiative to strengthen Indian historic cities and towns to cope with these changes that threaten to destroy India’s diverse living heritage. As part of this inititiave, IHCN is hosting a student competition in partnership with UNESCO New Delhi in conjunction with the 4th Biennial Conference. This competition aims to challenge students to design a Living Heritage Urban Revitalisation Plan. Revolving around the theme ‘How can living heritage contribute to people?’ the competition will make students think beyond traditional heritage conservation and study the physical features and the socio-economic problems faced by these cities and come up with smart and feasible solutions.
The jury comprising of national and international experts will select a winner and two runner-ups being awarded cash prizes of INR 50k, 30k and 20k respectively. MMCF is glad to support this initiative as part of its own endeavour to protect and preserve its own heritage and spread the message to the world.
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Udaipur Field Workshop on Heritage-Based Urban Strategy: Roadmap to Implementation
Organized by IHCN-Foundation, UNESCO New Delhi in association with City of Strasbourg, ANVPAH (French Association of Cities & Regions of Art & History), Urban Improvement Trusts, Udaipur and Udaipur Municipal Corporation; Supported by Government of Rajasthan, ANVPAH, The French Embassy in India; Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, Udaipur and DRONAH Foundation
Objective: To promote heritage-based sustainable urban development of Udaipur.
Duration of the Workshop: February 4-15, 2013
Participants:
- France: 6 Professors and experts from Strasbourg and 13 Masters-level students of the School of Architecture of Strasbourg (ENSAS) under the coordination of Prof Minja Yang; Prof. Francois Nowakoski and Prof. Serge Sentelli.
- India: 12 students of Architecture from the University of Jodhpur; 10 students from Buddha School of Architecture, Udaipur
- Government officials from UMC; UIT etc.
The workshop started ion 04.02.2013 and schedule for 15.02.2013 will be presentation of initial findings and discussions on follow-up actions by the respective students; Restitution day with determination of follow-up work schedule.
Background:
Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation (MMCF), Udaipur; UNESCO India Office, New Delhi and Udaipur Municipal Council (UMC) entered into an agreement to collaborate on a Joint Co-operation Programme (JCP) for the sustainable development of Udaipur . The first phase agreement was signed on 1st December 2006 at the office of the District Collectorate, Udaipur by Ms. Minja Y ang, Director - UNESCO India Office, New Delhi; Mr. Shikhar Agarwal IAS, District
Magistrate, Udaipur; Mr. Ravindra Shrimali, Chairperson – Udaipur Municipal Council and Secretary - Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, Udaipur
The first phase was completed on the 31st December 2007. The JCP framework recognizes India's cultural heritage and the character of Indian cities as people meet the challenges, ideas and thoughts that are required to adapt to the rapid urbanization and globalization in the 21st Century . Agreement was reached to contribute towards the collective benefit of all member cities and their associated partners.
The JCP was established in 2006 by Shriji Arvind Singh Mewar of Udaipur, Chairman and Managing Trustee of Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, Udaipur and Ms. Minja Y ang, Ex-Director UNESCO India Office, New Delhi at an international workshop held at The City Palace Museum, Udaipur . UNESCO led IHCN, UMC and MMCF successfully collaborated on a Joint Co-operation Programme and its Plan of Action for 2007 on various heritage activities in Udaipur , namely ,
the formation of a heritage cell in UMC together with the review of Udaipur City Development Plan by IHCN.
The programmes will include capacity building amongst UMC officials i.e. training in communications,
organizational behavioral seminars to develop teamwork and management orientation schedules. It was also agreed to hold numerous workshops and conferences with national and international expert missions to Udaipur .
In 2011, a Joint Co-operation Programme (JCP) was signed between Indian Heritage Cities Network Foundation, UNESCO India Office, New Delhi; Udaipur Municipal Council; The City of Strasbourg (Municipalite de Strasbourg), France and Maharana of Mewar Charitable Foundation, Udaipur for three years 2011-2013 to strengthen Udaipur's knowledge base, develop a framework and undertake activities to preserve its heritage and develop international collaboration and partnerships for heritage-based projects in Udaipur . A signing ceremony was held at The City of Strasbourg, France on the 2nd October 2011. The JCP was signed by Mr. Roland Ries, Mayor of The City of Strasbourg; Ms. Rajni Dangi, Chairperson, Udaipur Municipal Council; Ms. Rathi Vinay Jha, Chairperson, IHCN, New Delhi and Dr . Mayank Gupta, Deputy Secretary MMCF- Development, MMCF , Udaipur. Other dignitaries present at the ceremony were, His Excellence Mr. Rakesh Sood IFS, The Ambassador of India to France; Mr. Dinesh Kothari RAS, Commissioner, Udaipur Municipal Council; Mr. Manish Arora, In-charge, Heritage Cell, Udaipur Municipal Council and Deputy Mayors and Council Members from the City of Strasbourg.
