On February 2, the Third Ordinary Meeting of the Board of Directors of the Regional World Heritage Institute in Zacatecas, a Category 2 Center under the auspices of UNESCO, was held in Mexico City. The purpose of the meeting was to report on the activities carried out during 2023 and to present the proposed Work Plan for the Institute for the current year.

 

 

The working session, held in the Francisco I. Madero Room of the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was chaired by Le Roy Barragán Ocampo, Secretary of Tourism for the Government of Zacatecas, who represented David Monreal Ávila, Governor of the State of Zacatecas and President of the IRPMZ Board of Directors. Carlos Augusto Torres Pérez, Director General of IRPMZ, participated as Technical Secretary of the Board of Directors and was responsible for presenting the 2023 Activities Report and the proposed 2024 Work Plan to the board.

 

 

UNESCO was represented by Rochelle Roca-Hachem, Programme Specialist for the Latin America and the Caribbean Unit of the World Heritage Centre, and the Advisory Bodies were Nicole Franceschini of ICCROM and Saúl Alcántara Onofre of ICOMOS.

 

 

Participating from Mexican federal agencies were Mauricio Torres Córdova, Coordinator for Specialized International Organizations of the UN System, representing Eduardo Jaramillo Navarrete, Director General for the United Nations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Susana Garduño Arana, Head of the Culture Sector of the Mexican Delegation to UNESCO; Héctor Manuel Monges Morán, from the General Directorate of Educational Policy, Best Practices, and Cooperation at the Ministry of Education; Miguel Ángel Zerón Cid, Head of the International Affairs Coordinating Unit at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources; Arturo Balandrano Campos, Director General of Cultural Heritage Sites and Monuments at the Ministry of Culture; Luz de Lourdes Herbert Pesquera, Director of World Heritage at the National Institute of Anthropology and History; Francisco Vidargas Acosta, Deputy Director and National Focal Point for Cultural Heritage; Sara Alejandra García Martínez, Specialist Advisor on World Heritage at CONANP and Dolores Martínez Orralde, Deputy Director General of Immovable Artistic Heritage at the National Institute of Fine Arts and Literature.

 

 

Representatives from the Zacatecas government included José Luis de la Peña Alonso, Secretary of Public Works; Josué Rubén Hernández Huerta, Technical Secretary of the Ministry of Water and Environment; Clara Verónica Delgado Vanegas, Technical Secretary of the Zacatecas State Education Secretariat; and Uriel Márquez Romo, Secretary of the Ramón López Velarde Zacatecas Institute of Culture.

 

 

The State Parties included Francisco de la Cruz, Minister Counselor of the Dominican Republic; Ariana Ninel Pleitez Quiñonez, Cultural Counselor of El Salvador; Dennis Miguel Mccoy Dubón, First Secretary of the Embassy of Honduras; Erik Cajar Grimas, Minister Counselor of the Embassy of Panama; and Juan Carlos Gutiérrez Madrigal of the Embassy of Nicaragua.

At the end of the presentation of the IRPMZ's 2023 Work Report, led by Carlos Augusto Torres Pérez, the members of the Board of Directors recognized the commendable work of this Category 2 Center in 2023 and highlighted the importance of continuing to strengthen both its networks and its work at the local and international levels.

In light of the latter, and in view of the IRPMZ's consolidation, it was shared with those present that, as part of the 2023 work results, Mexico will host the International Meeting of Category 2 Centers sponsored by UNESCO and related to World Heritage in 2025. This meeting will bring together the 11 such centers worldwide, thereby confirming Mexico's leadership in this field.

 

 

Regarding the 2024 Work Plan, the sixteen proposed actions were approved by consensus and unanimously. These actions were based on the Action Plan for Latin America and the Caribbean (2023-2029), recently approved by UNESCO. Additionally, a series of proposals made by the National Institute of Anthropology and History were added.

 

 

Also relevant among the proceedings was the presentation of the progress of the Tripartite Agreement between UNESCO, the Government of Mexico, and the IRPMZ. This document stems from the recommendation made by UNESCO in 2021, following an evaluation process, to renew the IRPMZ's status as a Category 2 Center. Based on this, the likelihood of this Agreement being signed in 2024 was considered good.

Finally, the Council members welcomed the proposal to hold a session next year in Zacatecas City, within the framework of the 15th anniversary of the IRPMZ's creation.

 

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