Uttar Pradesh Tourism Launches Citizen Campaigns For World Heritage Week 2026: How To Participate

Not all heritage is in famous monuments. Sometimes it is a neighbourhood temple, a stepwell, or an old object preserved at home. This World Heritage Week, Uttar Pradesh Tourism spotlights these everyday links with two citizen-driven initiatives: ‘Heritage Through My Lens’ and ‘Share Your Personal Treasure’. Leading up to World Heritage Day on April 18, the campaigns invite people to share what heritage means to them, making it personal, accessible, and tied to real experience.

Citizen Campaigns Open Heritage To All

The initiatives invite people of all ages and backgrounds to engage with heritage in simple, creative ways.

‘UP Heritage Through My Lens’ focuses on visual storytelling. Participants are encouraged to capture lesser-known or overlooked sites through photographs and short videos. This could include a local shrine, an old market street, a forgotten structure, or any place that holds meaning within the community but remains largely undocumented.

Entries can be shot with mobile phones, letting students, creators, families, and newcomers participate without special equipment.

Tourism and Culture Minister Jaiveer Singh said the idea is to move beyond textbook definitions of heritage. “World Heritage Week is not only about celebrating monuments but about recognising the deeper cultural fabric that defines us,” he said, adding the initiative encourages people, especially the younger generation, to engage with heritage in their own way.

Personal Objects, Personal Stories

Running alongside the visual campaign is ‘Share Your Personal Treasure’, which highlights household heritage.

Participants can submit a tangible object of personal or family significance with a short written note. These may include heirlooms such as old coins, handwritten letters, traditional jewellery, utensils, or vintage photographs.

The focus is on memory and meaning, how objects link to family histories and daily life. By welcoming such entries, the campaign broadens heritage beyond public landmarks to private experiences.

Selected submissions will be displayed at the State Museum, giving participants a chance to see their stories as part of a larger narrative.

Shift Towards Participatory Tourism

Officials say these projects reflect a broader shift in tourism strategy.

Additional Chief Secretary for Tourism, Culture and Religious Affairs, Amrit Abhijat, noted that citizen-led documentation can help identify places and traditions with strong local relevance that are often overlooked. Over time, such contributions could feed into the state’s wider tourism landscape, bringing attention to new sites and experiences.

This approach also aligns with changing travel preferences, as audiences are increasingly attracted to authentic, community-driven narratives rather than only established tourist circuits.

By encouraging people to observe and document their surroundings, the campaigns aim to build a more inclusive and layered understanding of heritage, one that reflects both well-known landmarks and everyday cultural expressions.

How To Participate And What To Expect

Entries for both campaigns are open until April 18, 2026. Participants can submit photographs, short videos, or written stories via the official Uttar Pradesh Tourism website, following specified formats.

Top entries will be recognised with special prizes, while select submissions, particularly from the ‘Personal Treasure’ category, will be displayed at the State Museum.

Registration links are available through official UP Tourism platforms.

As World Heritage Week continues, the focus turns from visiting sites to noticing and sharing them. Uttar Pradesh Tourism puts storytelling in the people's hands, making heritage something to connect with.

FAQs

1. What are UP Tourism’s World Heritage Week campaigns?

They are citizen-driven initiatives encouraging people to share local heritage through photos, videos and personal stories.

2. What is ‘Heritage Through My Lens’?

It is a campaign inviting participants to capture lesser-known heritage sites through visual storytelling.

3. What is ‘Share Your Personal Treasure’?

It focuses on personal or family objects of heritage value, accompanied by short stories.

4. How can people participate?

Participants can submit entries through the official UP Tourism website before April 18, 2026.

5. What happens to selected entries?

Selected submissions will be showcased at the State Museum and may receive recognition.