Philadelphia World Heritage Week May 22-27, 2022

Philadelphia celebrated seven years as a World Heritage City with a week of festivities for the whole family!

World Heritage Week is a city-wide celebration of the World Heritage City designation of

Philadelphia. This year, we shaped the program around the idea of Sankofa, a

cultural ideology originating in west Africa (Ghana). Sankofa represents the practice of

looking into the past for inspiration and taking what is of value into the future. GPA successfully

promoted both in-person and virtual events and programs throughout the week to

celebrate the global heritages of Philadelphia.

Philadelphia World Heritage Day was instituted by Mayor Jim Kenney in 2016, and is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of each May. This annual event is an important part of bringing awareness of Philadelphia's World Heritage City to all city residents. Each year, the celebration is carried out in a different location and in a different way. In 2022, we will celebrate our 7th year as a World Heritage City by holding a week of activities and event to be held May 22-27th.

SUNDAY, May 22nd

Woodmere Art Reception

Picturing Philadelphia's Heritage: Young Artists at Work

Building on our Educating Global Kids with Roots program, we worked in partnership with Woodmere and with area school children in Philadelphia schools to create an art exhibit of children's art from local primary schools showcasing their personal heritage showcasing the theme of Sankofa.

The art opening celebrating the works of art will be held at the Woodmere Art Museum from 2:00 - 4:00 pm. This will consist of a short program at 2:30 pm followed by a reception.

Local Philadelphia Schools Participating:

Alexander K. McClure Elementary School
Anna L. Lingelbach School
Samuel Gompers School
Solomon Solis-Cohen School
Mary McCloud Bethune School

What the event was all about...

The physical gallery will be on display until August 28th.
Photos from the reception can be found here.
The digital archive can be viewed here.

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MONDAY, MAY 23rd

Global Philadelphia Host Live Discussion

GPA hosted a “Young Professional Seminar: Navigating Global Careers" for a conversation for young professionals working in or towards a globally-focused career.

This was a live virtual event.

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TUESDAY, MAY 24th

Preview of the West Chester Exposition

West Chester Univerity will be hosting an exhibit featuring artifacts from local Philadelphia community organizations dedicated to UNESCO world heritage. Through a partnership with GPA, the exhibit designers connected with dozens of community organizations and representations from six continents.

The exhibition, "Beyond the Liberty Bell: Philadelphia's Many Heritages" commemorates the 50th anniverary of the establishment of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. It highlights the mosaic of heritages within Philadelphia which has reinforced the international standing of the city over time.

The campus exhibit hosted a preview ceremony on the 24th at 2 pm. The exposition will open at the university on September 16th and remain open throughout the fall.

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WEDNESDAY, MAY 25th

Two Virtual Conversations with Philadelphia 250 and ACANA Bicentennial

Two exciting live virtual conversations were featured by GPA.

Philadelphia 250

A conversation with Philadelphia250 CEO Danielle Delio Kim about the connection between World Heritage Week and the upcoming 250th anniversary

of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Philadelphia250 is planning a year-long celebration. This was a live virtual event.

ACANA Bicentennial

"Liberia celebrating 200 year bicenntenial: an intellectual discourse of history and culture"

A live virtual event, hosted on Africa Day, for the bicentennial

celebration of the country of Liberia’s liberation featuring Liberian historians and scholars from Lincoln University, Cheyney University, and Temple University. This was a live virtual event at Lincoln Graduate Center.

If you missed the event, you can watch it here.

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THURSDAY, MAY 26th

SDG #11 Sustainble Cities and Communities Unveiling

*Sponsored by TD Bank Foundation

GPA hosted an SDG mural unveiling at the Kipp School at 5:00 pm during World Heritage Week.

The SDG mural program highlights murals designed by Philadelphia artists' interpretations of the of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. This unveiling's artist is Nazeer Sabree.

These murals are sponsored by local community partners and showcased around the city.

Check out photos from the event on GPA's Flickr.

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Kipp Elementary School

5700 Parkside Avenue

Philadelphia, PA 19131

FRIDAY, MAY 27th

National Historic Landmarks Highlight Video

In honor of World Heritage Week, Global Philadelphia released a video from our International Day of Monuments and Sites that was celebrated on April 18th. This event showcases some of the 67 National Historic Landmarks in Philadelphia contributing to the international importance of our region.IDMS is an international day celebrated all over the world and activated in Philadelphia.