GoUNESCO is an initiative to promote and create awareness about the world heritage sites as well as nominated/potential world heritage sites though fun tasks with a mission to make heritage fun. This program is financially aided by the UNESCO, Delhi.
How it started?
How many have you been to? Ticket to any World Heritage Site in India looks like this#incredibleindiainstagr.am/p/hu8Iv/
� Pallavi (@pallavisavant) January 16, 2012
This tweet posted above was the main driving force because of which GoUNESCO was initiated by Ajay Reddy. The tweet was posted along with a picture of a ticket depicting various monuments of India and identifying the ones one has been to. Ajay being disappointed for not recognising half of those monuments, felt the urge to travel these sites within in a year. He collaborated with a group of friends and started GoUNESCO.
Challenges:
- Travel challenge: Numerous open challenges have been declared by GoUNESCO and anyone can take up any challenge based on the convenience and interests of the person just by completing the entry task. The participant after uploading a proof, are awarded points, after the post being approved by the coordinators. Following challenges can be chosen by anyone who wants to accept a challenge:
- �Country challenge: Participants are required to visit all the world heritage sites of that particular country within one calendar year i.e. from 1st January to 31st People from different countries can participate in it and the participant with most points wins the challenge.
- � Cultural challenge: UNESCO has a list of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding and the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. The latter list consists of 282 heritage elements that are important for keeping a particular culture alive. Participants who undertake this challenge can upload a proof in the form of videos, pictures, documentaries, etc. of experiencing any of such elements. There is no time limit for this challenge.
- The epic challenge as the name suggests, is indeed an epic challenge which involves the participant to visit all the 962 World Heritage sights spread across 158 countries. This challenge is more of a lifetime aim one should aim for. Like cultural challenge epic challenge has no time limit.
- GoUNESCO also gives you an option to customize your own challenge by creating a challenge for yourself.
- Heritage runs: these runs are organised to make heritage experience more fun. These runs combine health, heritage and fun altogether. Currently these runs are organised in Ooty, Warangal, Hampi and Bidar.
- Campus Ambassador: selected applicants participate in this program with a basic aim of promoting heritage with fun. Participants are assigned tasks which enables them to build heritage knowledge and create awareness regarding various heritage sites. This 6 month program takes place every year with two batches of GCAs constituted under this program at the end of every 6 months.
Accolades:
- Appreciation from The German National Commission for UNESCO and the South African Heritage Research Association.
- GoUNESCO has partnered with EU Heritage Tour project, a project to encourage tourism to world heritage sites in Italy, Austria, Portugal, Cyprus and Netherlands.
- �Special Recognition by the Digital Empowerment Foundation, India
- �Special Recognition: Manthan Award.
References:
http://10yearitch.com/interviews/ajay-reddy/
http://www.ajaymreddy.com/the-gounesco-travel-project
http://www.cyark.org/