World Heritage Watch mourns the loss of Marie-Theres Albert
It is our sad duty to announce the passing this morning of Prof. em. Dr. Marie-Theres Albert.
Prof. Albert broke academic ground through establishing an international World Heritage Studies Master Program at the Brandenburg Technical University at Cottbus-Senftenberg in 1999, the first such study course in Germany, responding to the growing need of professional expertise in managing UNESCO World Heritage sites worldwide. She was the Director of this program until 2010 and since 2003 was also the Chair of the UNITWIN/UNESCO Chair in Heritage Studies. Since 2010 she has been the founding director of BTU’s PhD Program „International Graduate School: Heritage Studies at Cottbus University“. After her retirement, Marie-Theres Albert continued her professional commitment in the “Institute Heritage Studies” which she also founded.
Marie-Theres Albert
Marie-Theres Albert had an infectious enthusiasm for her field of work and for her students which quickly got around in the academic world, and students from all over the world flocked to Cottbus who sought a career in managing cultural heritage and could not find an adequate education in their home countries. The genuine international character of the World Heritage Master Program became its greatest asset and source of attraction. Not the least, Marie-Theres was instrumental in creating an alumni organization, the “International Association of World Heritage Professionals” (IAWHP), realizing that creating lasting professional networks was a dire necessity in a fast globalizing world. It was due to Marie-Theres’ charisma that BTU Cottbus became a household name in the global heritage community. Her legacy will live on in the hundreds of students from every corner of the planet who graduated at the BTU Cottbus.
Marie-Theres Albert also was a founding member of World Heritage Watch and our always critical but enthusiastic supporter. She was one of the few voices in academia who were not shy to denounce that unsustainable development and tourism too often were given priority over the protection of the World Heritage. Her professional curiosity, her straightforwardness and her fighting spirit were an inspiration for many. World Heritage Watch and the global heritage community owe a lot to Marie-Theres Albert.
Maritta Koch-Weser, President
Stephan Dömpke, Chair of the Board
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