Each year, the UNESCO Chair hosts internships for students from Durham University, principally those studying on the MA International Cultural Heritage Management course but also from other degree programs and from outside Durham University. If you are interested in becoming a UNESCO Chair intern, please contact either Prof Robin Coningham or Dr Mark Manuel.
From the MA International Cultural Heritage Management Program:
Ms Claudia Davies
Claudia is undertaking an assessment of physical accessibility within Durham UNESCO World Heritage Site and its immediate vicinity.
Ms Sophie Heath
Sophie is creating a database of planning applications relating to Durham World Heritage Site from 2011 to the present day. The database will record the types of appeals made and enforcement orders linked to planning for heritage and the built environment within the World Heritage Site.
Ms Colleen Gibbs
Colleen is curating a programme of online lectures on the topics of Climate Change and Heritage. Colleen will liaise with staff at IMEMS, the Durham UNESCO Chair and external speakers to develop the programme and promote it for online engagement through the IMEMS website and social media platforms.
Mr Jon Tucker
Jon is conducting surveys to ascertain the demographics of visitors to Durham City who utilise public transport in order to identify the main reason(s) for their visit, the length of their stay in Durham or the nearby area, and the amount of money they estimate they have/will spend during their trip.
Ms Moe Horikawa
Moe is developing online content in both English and Japanese language for the UNESCO Kathmandu Facebook page. Working with staff from the Department of Archaeology (Government of Nepal), Moe will develop 20 features illustrated with images, which develop ideas and themes regarding the history and archaeology of Lumbini and Tilaurakot, as well as contemporary issues surrounding their management and protection.
Ms Anu Shree Murali
Anu Shreee is developing an exhibition (online and physical) to promote the site of Chatradei (Nepal) to pilgrims, tourists and local communities as a heritage asset as well as advocate for its protection from encroachment and development.
Ms Gemma Wainwright
Gemma is researching and recording sites, locations and stories linked to the intangible heritage of mining within Durham City, working alongside Redhills Durham Miners Association.
Mr Minki Sung (2020-2021)
Minki created a GIS database of visitor movement and observations from over the past several years, looking at how visitor use of Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu has changed over time, and make recommendations on where further visitor infrastructure should be situated to alleviate congestion.
Ms Diksha Goel (2019-2020)
Diksha worked with local communities to create a database of local craft traditions in the area around Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu, as well as develop new display boards for the community gallery at Tilaurakot Museum. This gallery displays the intangible craft traditions of local communities and officially opened in March 2020.
Ms Sophie Pinto (2018-2019)
Sophie undertook an evaluation of present and potential souvenirs and gifts available at Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu. The survey sought to establish the purchasing preferences of tourists and pilgrims visiting the site in order to inform future strategies for improving the economic connection between the site, communities and visitors.
Ms ZuNing Tay (2018-2019)
Zu joined the team in Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu to develop a new methodology for monitoring the impact that different infrastructure interventions (such as walkways) have had at Lumbini and Tilaurakot. Through interviews and visitor observation, she was able to demonstrate changing patterns in site use and evaluate the efficacy of the interventions.
Ms Brijeshwari Gohil (2017-2018)
Brijeshwari joined the team in Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu to work on benchmarking museum visitor numbers and activities at both Tilaurakot and Lumbini Museums in advance of their planned redevelopments. This work has helped us identify which demographics were using the original museums, and allowed us to target new communities who might previously have not engaged with the museums.
Ms Anna Walker (2016-2017)
Anna was the first student from the MA ICHM to join the UNESCO Chair team, and was involved in designing new information boards for archaeological sites across the Greater Lumbini Area, as well as assessing areas around Tilaurakot-Kapilavastu that were deemed to be at imminent risk from development. The initial board designs from Anna have now been developed into new visitor information infrastructure at ten sites across the GLA.
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