The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) is a globally recognized institution, ranked 1st in Australia and 11th globally among young universities by the Times Higher Education and QS rankings.
UTS co-hosts the UNESCO-UNITWIN Network on Culture in Emergencies. UTS is among the top 100 universities worldwide according to the 2025 QS World University Rankings and is considered Australia’s leading university for research impact across the humanities, law, design, business, science, and engineering. Known for its commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, UTS is a co-host of the UNESCO-UNITWIN Network on Culture in Emergencies and has hosted the UNESCO Chair in International Law and Cultural Heritage since 2019.
UTS is dedicated to addressing cultural challenges during polycrises, including armed conflicts and climate change, through impactful research, lifelong learning, and capacity-building initiatives. It contributes significantly to the UNITWIN Network’s mission to protect and promote cultural heritage during crises.
Meet our team
Ana Filipa Vrdoljak is co-coordinator of the UNESCO-UNITWIN Network on Culture in Emergencies. She is Professor of Law and the UNESCO Chair in International Law and Cultural Heritage at the Faculty of Law, University of Technology Sydney. She is the author of International Law, Museums and the Return of Cultural Objects (Cambridge University Press, 2006 and 2008, forthcoming 2e) and editor of Oxford Handbook on International Cultural Heritage Law with Francesco Francioni (Oxford University Press 2020), The Cultural Dimension of Human Rights (Oxford University Press, 2013) and International Law for Common Goods: Normative Perspectives in Human Rights, Culture and Nature with Federico Lenzerini (Hart Publishing, 2014), and Oxford Commentary on the 1970 UNESCO and 1995 UNIDROIT Conventions with Andrzej Jakubowski and Alessandro Chechi (Oxford University Press, 2024).
Professor Vrdoljak is a General Editor of the Oxford Commentaries on International Cultural Heritage Law (Oxford University Press) and book series entitled Cultural Heritage Law and Policy (Oxford University Press). She is Director of the International Cultural Property Society (U.S.) and member of the Management Committee, International Journal of Cultural Property (Cambridge University Press). She has been Fernand Braudel Senior Fellow, Marie Curie Fellow and Jean Monnet Fellow, Law Department European University Institute, Florence, and visiting scholar at the Lauterpacht Centre for International Law, University of Cambridge and Global Law School, New York University. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy (in Law) from the University of Sydney.