Francesco Bandarin is the UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture. He is Professor of Urban Planning and Conservation at the University IUAV of Venice (currently on leave).
From 2000 to 2010 he was Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Secretary of the World Heritage Convention. From 2010 to 2014 he served as Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Culture. In October 2015 he was re-appointed in this position for an interim period.
In 2014, he was appointed President of the Jury of the Venice Architecture Biennale, curated by Rem Koolhaas and President of the Jury of the First Shenzen Creative Design Award (SCDA).
He is the Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal City, Culture and Society, published by Elsevier.
He is President of the Italian Association of Historic Cities (ANCSA), member of the Visiting Committee of the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles and member of the Steering Committee of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture.
His recent publications include: The Historic Urban Landscape: Managing Heritage in an Urban Century, 2012 and Reconnecting the City. The Historic Urban Landscape Approach and the Future of Urban Heritage, 2015, both published by Wiley-Blackwell.