1) Are we allowed to propose sites previously listed in the Top 50?
What purpose would this serve? Not only will we continue to pay attention when these site are inscribed, my idea would be they would automatically carry forward into whatever 2020 list we finally decide upon (not included in voting). For the 2020 version any sites between 66 - 117 could be submitted again by our community in their selections (if that suites you). Because these sites listed below are 40% from Europe and North America, many of the outstanding sites from these regions will not even need to be considered when you make your new selections. If we just go about picking many of the same sites as 2014, there really is not much point. I keep coming back to, what do we want from this activity -
Top Missing 2020?
For me it comes down to:1) Highlight Top Missing sites that are perhaps a bit less known or even obscure (doing some research), including both tentative nominations and aspiring sites (non-listed). Indeed, it was particularly rewarding to see our 2014 sites that were put forward by our community that eventually became tentative nominations and some even were inscribed!
2) Pool our knowledge of world heritage (I benefit greatly when hearing your perspectives about outstanding sites around the world). Els seemed to take all of 10-20 minutes to make her selections. Yet, for less "seasoned travelers" this could easily take hours of research and my opinion could easily be swayed once I read about your selections.
3) Improve on the 2014 version which was heavily favored toward Europe and North America (not saying those selections were not deserving). However, arguably a few "less deserving" sites from around the globe did make it onto our list between 66 - 117.
4) Participate in a dialogue, share and learn about new potentially deserving world heritage sites, and ultimately have fun.
5) In some ways take on the role of the Advisory Bodies (ICOMOS and IUCN) in creating our own improved World Heritage List, which we can revisit and discuss as new sites are inscribed in the coming years.
I highlighted in bold 11 of 25 of Els new picks that are found in our "remaining" Top 50 Missing List. While these are undoubtedly excellent selections, we already generally know these sites are very deserving. I would be curious to know what Els (and all of our community) chooses when these sites from our 2014 voting are off the table. In some ways re-voting on some of the best sites from 2014, inevitably lessons the value of our original list, which I thought was pretty great!
2 Historic University Towns of Oxford and Cambridge (UK)
5 Minoan palaces of Crete (Greece)
6 Neuschwanstein Castle (Germany)
7 Varanasi (India)
8 Cultural Landscape of Santorini (Greece)
9 Mecca, Kaaba (Saudi Arabia)
11 Lake Titicaca (Peru, Bolivia)
12 Dzongs of Bhutan (Bhutan)
13 Shwedagon Pagoda (Myanmar)
14 Amritsar (India)
15 Panama Canal (Panama)
17 Transiberian Railway (Russia)
19 Alexandria, ancient remains and the new library (Egypt)
20 Pharaonic Temples of Kom Ombo and Edfu (Egypt)
22 Death Valley National Park (USA)
23 Scrovegni's Chapel (Italy)
24 Suez Canal (Egypt)
25 Torres del Paine National Park (Chile)
26 The Soviet Architecture of Moscow (Russia)
27 Svalbard (Norway)
28 Golden Gate Bridge (USA)
30 Jericho (Palestine)
31 Sites Mégalithiques de Carnac (France)
33 Cenotes of the Yucatan (Mexico)
34 Mount Rushmore (USA)
35 Chernobyl (Ukraine)
37 Petrified Forest National Park (USA)
38 Naica Cave: Cave of the Crystals (Mexico)
39 Atacama Desert (Chile)
40 Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Frank Gehry (Spain)
41 Baikonur Cosmodrome / Cape Canaveral (Russia, USA)
42 Tana Toraja Cultural Landscape (Indonesia)
44 Mt Kailash (China)
46 City of Herat (Afghanistan)
47 Great Gobi Desert (Mongolia)
48 Klondike and the Gold Rush Trails (Canada, USA)
49 Westhoek: places of memory and monuments of the Great War (France, Belgium)
52 Marine Reserves of Sinai (Egypt)
53 Rainforests of Polynesia (transnational - multiple Pacific Island nations)
55 Chicago School of Architecture (USA)
56 Huaca de la Luna and Huaca del Sol (Peru)
57 Fortified City of Famagusta (Cyprus)
58 Railways of the Andes (Peru)
59 Tower of Silence (Iran)
60 Ciudad Perdida, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Columbia)
61 Middle and Upper Sepik (Papua New Guinea)
62 Andaman Islands (Myanmar)
63 Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period (Myanmar)
64 Ross Island (claimed by New Zealand)
65 Kaieteur National Park, Iwokrama Forest and the Kanuku Mountains (Guyana)