What Does it Mean to Belong in a World Heritage Educational Building? Analysing a Student-led Initiative at University CityCentral Campus in Mexico

Higher education institution buildings are living-breathing witnesses of change through generations of students. The International Committee for Universal Museums and Collections (UMAC) mentions that Universities can become part of UNESCO’s World Heritage List in two ways. a) whether part of the university is listed or, b) that the location of the institution is within a listed space. The case study for this research is the student-led initiative “Central Campus: Lectures of a Living Heritage”. This initiative occurred at Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) located in Mexico City, which is part of UNESCO’s list due to the “Central University City Campus”. UNAM is one of the most important educational institutions of the country and Latin America because of its political, social, historical, architectural, and artistic commitment towards society. Belonging to this institution is of great value to their community, and heritage has a big part on this. The crux for this work will be using first-hand experience of the researcher in the initiative, the analysis of the student-led project, and a semi-structure interview to the project leader. The aim is to answer the following question: What does it mean to belong to a World Heritage Educational Building? This research highlights the importance for the community within this particular case study to understand that the place in which they are learning is not only an architectural gem that marked the beginning of a new Mexican culture. But a building that speaks history through its walls and open spaces, a building that has survived earthquakes, political movements, olympic games, and a world-wide pandemic.