Cultural Heritage Law: Past, Present, Future 2013
this course has helped me develop my knowledge through teachings by well-known UNESCO and universities experts...
The 2013 Summer School called “Cultural Heritage Law: Past, Present, Future” of University of Geneva was a unique opportunity to deepen my knowledge regarding the protection of cultural expressions and intangible cultural heritage. This specific course was a necessary asset to my master’s degree research in International Law since the cultural heritage is studied and analyzed in its interactions with women’s rights law. The goal of my thesis is to provide a better understanding of international women’s rights instruments, and in this way to ensure their adaptability and application within local justice conditions. I am working within an innovative framework of legal anthropology of public international law. The Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expression, the Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage and the Convention of the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women are central in my research to understand the intersections and the tensions between those two conventions.
Through my research on women and cultural rights, this course has helped me develop my knowledge through teachings by well-known UNESCO and universities experts. The key speakers were not only giving lectures: They were sharing with enthusiasm their expertise and they were encouraging students to actively participate to the class through questions and comments. There were also some interesting debates that opened the doors to future research subjects. The Summer School on Cultural Heritage Law was also a great opportunity to develop a network of contacts with students and young researchers in the field. In brief, my master's research has been greatly improved by the in-depth study of the conventions on cultural heritage and its related issues and by the exchanges with professors, experts, and students.
Isabelle Bourgeois, Université de Montréal
