The theme of the 2015 UNESCO World Heritage Youth Summit is ‘How can we use World Heritage to change the place we live in for the better?’. Understanding World Heritage can help us become aware of our own roots, and of our cultural and social identity, which can help us to create meaningful and lasting social innovation and change, building peace in the minds of men and women.

During the UNESCO Summit young people will share their experiences and enthusiasm for their local World Heritage Sites and their ambitions for the future of the World they live in. There will be an exciting programme where the teams will visit key attractions within Blaenavon Industrial Landscape such as Big Pit National Coal Museum, Blaenavon Ironworks, visit the industrial landscape, and the Blaenavon World Heritage Centre.

The Summit will see many of Britain’s World Heritage Sites represented by young people aged between 13 and 17 (25 in special education). The groups of between 2 and 6 young people must submit a piece of creative artwork or media answering one of the questions ‘What is the value of World Heritage to you?’ or ‘How can we use World Heritage to change the place we live in for the better?’

The Egypt Centre volunteers entry has been put on the organisers Facebook page, and the more “Likes” and “Shares” they get on the actual picture, the more chance they have of winning (it also goes to a panel of judges, but they take the social media into attention into consideration when making their decision).

Lauren Wale (BAHons, MA) who is the Egypt Centre Front of House & Gift Shop Manager said: “World Heritage sites belong to everyone, they span many different countries and cultures and they are the shared history of the world.

“ When exploring World Heritage sites such as the Sphinx, you encounter people from many different countries who have all come together to enjoy a shared experience at these wonderful sites.

“ We use World Heritage sites at the Egypt Centre to bring all different types of people together through their shared fascination of Ancient Egypt. Our visitors and volunteers come from different cultures, backgrounds, ages, ethnicities, religions and countries, all with a shared interest and love for ancient Egypt.

“ There are many different archaeological missions working on World Heritage sites throughout Egypt, from many different countries. They work alongside each other, sharing information and knowledge to record and preserve these unique sites for the future.

“ The volunteers wanted to create an artwork that encapsulates this spirit of togetherness, unity and multi-nationalism, and decided to create a sphinx using recycled materials and papier-mâché, and cover it with flags of the world, to symbolise that if everyone took on some of those qualities in their own lives that the world would be a better place.”

Facebook link to the entry where you can vote by “liking” or “sharing” their picture - http://tinyurl.com/pzhgveg

More information about the Egypt Centre, based at Swansea University, can be found here http://egypt.swan.ac.uk

Pictures: Egypt Centre Volunteers and their UNESCO Youth Summit entry.