The president of the Region of Catania in Sicily, Raffaelo Lombardo, launched a Masters in the Management of UNESCO World Heritage Sites that the University of Catania is organising.

This Masters was designed by Dr Ray Bondin who is also its scientific director. The degree is also being done with the collaboration of UNESCO agencies.

In his speech Dr Lombardo thanked Ray Bondin for his constant collaboration with world heritage sites in Sicily. He said the administration would not only sponsor students for the course but will insist on officers attending this course.

Ray Bondin explained the background of the course. Sicily has one of the highest areas of recognised world heritage sites but still lacks enough expertise in the management of these sites. The objective of this international degree is to address this shortage and assure that a number of students will graduate every year as managers for world heritage sites.