Inaugurating the 5th International Biennial Conference of Indian Heritage Network (IHCN), Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said, “Along with development of modern amenities and facilities, our cities should also be vibrant with the socio-cultural life, centered around heritage, art and craft.’’
“There are several cities in India and abroad where this has been done and I am hopeful that the conference will be a platform for exchange of ideas and best practices in this field. At the same time, I also hope more cultural sites of Odisha to come into the purview of the
Unesco World Heritage Sites. My Government is committed towards taking steps towards identifying, preserving and protecting these sites through listing and documentation, preparation of tourism promotion and conservation plans and developing heritage resource management plan,” he observed.
The Chief Minister also inaugurated a students’ competition on theme "Smart strategies for maintaining the culture and identity of historic cities". Students from Odisha displayed two beautiful plans for Dhauli near city and Chandragiri in Gajapati district.
Shigeru Aoyagi, Director and UNESCO representative to India, Bhutan, Maldives and Srilanka said there would be better coordination now between IHCN and Bhubaneswar after the event.
Former Unesco Director, New Delhi, Minja Yang said the city authorities can have more heritage-linked activities and exchanges with other partner cities through IHCN for knowledge-sharing and experience gathering.
IHCN Chairman Dr M Ramachandran, who was a former Secretary MoUD, welcomed the guests and, State HUD Secretary G Mathi Vathanan offered a vote of thanks.