Under the Punjab Tourism for Economic Growth Project, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Government of the Punjab and United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) was signed on 19th February 2018 by Ms. Vibeke Jenson, Country Director, UNESCO and Mr. Iftikhar Ali Sahoo, Secretary P&D Punjab. In line with the agreement, UNESCO, guided by its international instruments on conservation and management and capitalizing its over 70 years of experience, will engage its network of local and international experts/institutions to support the Government of Punjab to introduce sustainable management policies of the cultural and religious sites and museums.
Specifically, UNESCO will work towards achieving the following two outcomes:
I. Selected Cultural, Religious Sites, and museums, protected through sustainable management policies, plans, and practices in the context of broader institutional reform.
- Development of Site Management Plans for the protection and management of the selected properties.
- Develop Management plans for Taxila and Lahore Museums.
- Technical capacity of the conservation practitioners, institutions and communities enhanced in protection & management of the sites.
II. Economic growth and pluralism evidenced as a result of heritage protection and promotion.
- The cultural & creative Industries documented and promoted in the target areas.
- Respect for cultural diversity and pluralism promoted through formal and informal education.
- The heritage Component for the overall communication strategy developed.
- Capacity of Lahore and Taxila Museums strengthened to promote inter-cultural dialogue, transmit knowledge and contribute to tourism.