Francesco Bandarin

Former Director, UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Francesco Bandarin served as Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, where he oversaw the implementation of the World Heritage Convention, coordinated the inscription of sites. He also launched thematic programmes on forests, cities, and islands, and promoted research and training centres worldwide. He also held the position of Assistant Director-General for Culture at UNESCO.

In his role as Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, he promoted the conservation of urban heritage in a broader sense, contributing to the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape adopted by the UNESCO General Conference in 2011, which integrates heritage preservation into urban planning and development. In his role as Assistant Director-General for Culture, he advanced the recognition of culture as a pillar of sustainable development, leading to the 2013 Hangzhou Declaration and the 2016 Global Report Culture: Urban Future. He chaired the juries of the Venice Biennale of Architecture (2014) and the Prix Versailles (2019–2020), and is an Advisor to the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage, and the Aga Khan Trust for Culture.

He has been professor of Urban Conservation at the University IUAV of Venice, and is currently teaching at SciencePo in Paris.

His main publications include The Historic Urban Landscape (2012), Reconnecting the City (2014), Reshaping Urban Conservation (2019) and Changing Heritage (2024).