High-Level Technical Review Workshop Advances Venn’s Town World Heritage Bid
VICTORIA, Seychelles — A high-level technical review workshop on the World Heritage nomination of the Mission Ruins of Venn’s Town opened yesterday at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort and Casino, hosted by the Seychelles National Institute for Culture, Heritage and the Arts (SNICHA) in collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF). The four-day session will allow different entities to engage in intensive, hands-on collaboration in reviewing, refining and strengthening the Venn’s Town Heritage Site dossier ahead of the submission deadline of 5pm on February 1, 2026.
Present at the workshop were the Minister for Education, Dr Justin Valentin; AWHF executive director Dr Albino Jopela; SNICHA secretary general David André; permanent secretary for culture Cécile Kalebi; and acting Mayor of Victoria, Lydia Charlie. The workshop brings together both individual expertise and institutional capacity, with participants expected to acquire enhanced skills in preparing World Heritage nomination dossiers.
In his opening remarks, Mr André shared that Seychelles has identified Venn’s Town as a priority for World Heritage nomination since 2011. ‘The process is rigorous, demanding a strong technical dossier that demonstrates outstanding universal value, integrity, authenticity, and a robust management framework,’ he noted. AWHF expert Rim Kelouaze elaborated that by the end of the workshop, the national team will have a concrete action plan and roadmap outlining the milestones, responsibilities and steps required to finalise the dossier. The nomination dossier will be significantly revised, with a stronger justification of the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV), an improved comparative analysis, and more robust sections on integrity, authenticity, protection and management. Director general of culture Julienne Barra said there is already a draft document and called on anyone with information on the Mission Ruins of Venn’s Town to come forward.
