From May 7 to 13, 2026, the Regional World Heritage Institute in Zacatecas (RWHIZ), a Category 2 Center under the auspices of UNESCO, in coordination with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), through its Zacatecas and Oaxaca Centers, held the Intermediate Level Course on Digital Photogrammetry Applied to Cultural Heritage in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean: Drone Piloting and Recording.

This activity was part of the Photogrammetry Program for Cultural Heritage in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, promoted by RWHIZ since 2023. This initiative seeks to strengthen technical capacities for the documentation, monitoring, and conservation of World Heritage through the use of accessible digital technologies and tools.

 

 

The activity took place at the facilities of the Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca and also had the collaboration of the Institute of Cultural Heritage of the State of Oaxaca (INPAC), the Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca and the Department of the Historic Center of the City Council of Oaxaca de Juárez.

The course was attended by Carlos Augusto Torres Pérez, Director General of RWHIZ; Raúl Pacheco Pérez, Director of the INAH Center in Zacatecas; José Manuel Bañuelos Ledesma, Director of the INAH Center in Oaxaca; and Manuel Rufino Aguilar Martínez, Director of the Museum of Cultures of Oaxaca. The academic and practical activities were coordinated by archaeologist Jorge Cuauhtémoc Martínez Huerta and historian Juan Carlos Basabe Bañuelos, professors and researchers at the INAH Center in Zacatecas and responsible for delivering the training.

 

 

Throughout the course, participants developed knowledge and skills related to the use of drones for aerial image capture, photogrammetric processing, and the generation of three-dimensional digital models. As part of the practical activities, participants conducted fieldwork in components of the Historic Center of Oaxaca and the Monte Albán Archaeological Zone, as well as in the archaeological zones of Yagul and Mitla, associated with the World Heritage Site Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla. Practical exercises were also carried out at the former Convent of Santo Domingo de Guzmán.

Since 2023, the RWHIZ Photogrammetry Program for Cultural Heritage in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean has trained more than 120 specialists and contributed to the creation of more than 35 three-dimensional models of heritage sites. Through this initiative, RWHIZ has strengthened the use of accessible digital tools for the documentation, conservation, and sustainable management of world heritage, in accordance with the objectives of the 1972 Convention.