News

The International Indigenous Peoples’ Forum on World Heritage (IIPFWH) was launched on 25 June 2018 during the 42nd Session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Manama, Bahrain. “Our newly established Forum will focus on capacity strengthening for effective participation of Indigenous peoples in World Heritage processes, and we hope to establish diverse partnerships in support of that," ...

The opening ceremony of the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee took place Sunday at the Bahrain National Theatre in the presence of Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa of Bahrain. It marked the beginning of the Committee's work, which will continue until 4 July. Several hundred people took part in the ceremony, which was opened by the President of the Bahraini Authority for ...

Taking place in Helsingør, Denmark the meeting prepared for the launch of the first sustainable travel website for World Heritage. The initiative is co-funded by the European Union. The World Heritage Journeys of the European Union platform showcases a selection of sites based around four thematic journeys – Romantic, Royal, Underground and Ancient Europe. Each journey features 8-9 World ...

The World Heritage Committee will inscribe some of the 30 sites nominated for inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during its forthcoming meeting in Manama under the chair of Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain from 24 June to 4 July. The proposed additions to the World Heritage List number five natural sites, including one extension to a site already inscribed, three mixed sites ...

The renewed agreement outlines the mandate and responsibilities in the field of World Heritage of the Regional Heritage Management Training Centre “Lucio Costa” located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as a Category 2 Centre under the auspices of UNESCO. The Lucio Costa Centre is recognized for its mandate focused on reinforcing the capacities of Member States for the conservation and management of ...

The stakeholders and partners of the project BIOsphere and Heritage of Lake Chad (BIOPALT) met in N'Djamena from 28 to 31 May 2018 to discuss their collaboration for the implementation of the project. Launched on 28 February 2018, the BIOPALT project aims to strengthen the capacity of the member states of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) to safeguard and sustainably manage the ...

This World Oceans Day, the World Heritage Centre highlights the power of art to inspire people all over the world to step up efforts to protect our Marine World Heritage for future generations. Since the first true marine site was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981, Marine World Heritage has grown into a global collection of 49 sites that stretch from the tropics to the ...

Standard Chartered Bank has informed the World Heritage Centre that as part of a review and update of their environmental and social framework, it has strengthened its policy regarding World Heritage sites. Standard Chartered has not only decided to stop financing or lending to any projects that may damage World Heritage sites, but has also stated that it will not provide financial services ...

Considering that the sky is the common heritage of all humanity, as well as recognizing the need to identify and reinforce the ties that exist between religious / sacred traditions and knowledge of the universe, that illustrate in many places the close relationship between spirituality, the skyscape and sacred places, experts from 18 States Parties from around the world and a wide range of ...

Join us in beating plastic pollution at World Heritage sites. If you plan to visit one of the 1073 World Heritage sites this year, help contribute to protecting the site by not using single-use plastic. 50% of consumer plastics are designed to be used only once, and nearly one third of the plastics we do use escape our collection systems. Once they’re in the environment, plastics don’t go ...

Following the regional strategy approved by the World Heritage Committee in Decision 38 COM 10B.4 (Doha, 2014), and contained in the regional Action Plan for World Heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean (PARALC), 2014-2024, a sub-regional meeting with the participation of Mexico and the countries of Central America was held in Zacatecas, Mexico. The objectives of the meeting were to ...

The Norwegian Parliament has adopted a resolution to halt emissions from cruise ships and ferries in the West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord World Heritage site by 2026 at the latest. This will make the fjords among the world’s first zero emission zones at sea. The decision is expected to have a positive impact on the local population, transport and tourism, climate and ...

An exceptional photo of the Namib Sand Sea presented by Mrinal Mohit won the first prize in the photo contest organized on Instagram by the World Heritage Centre (WHC) and the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) on the occasion of the third edition of the African World Heritage Day (5 May). The contest closed on Monday 30 April 2018 after three weeks of competition, and with the submission of ...

May 31, 1945 - May 5, 2018. Architect Augusto F. Villalon, one of Asia’s most renowned experts in heritage conservation, recently passed away in Manila, Philippines. During his long career, Arch. Augusto F. Villalon made an outstanding contribution to heritage conservation and to the World Heritage Convention in particular. A former President of ICOMOS Philippines, he was practically a lone ...

The “Warsaw Recommendation on Recovery and Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage” was developed at the ‘International conference on reconstruction: The challenges of World Heritage recovery’ held in Warsaw, Poland, from 6 to 8 May. The purpose of the international conference was to summarize previous discussions and experiences regarding the recovery and reconstruction of UNESCO World Heritage ...

This year’s World Migratory Bird Day is dedicated to the world’s major bird flyways—the flight paths of migratory birds that span continents and oceans. These flyways include World Heritage sites that are key stopover sites for birds, so the effective conservation of these sites are crucial for migratory bird conservation on a global scale. The three major flyways, shown below, contain ...

Today, for the third time, we celebrate African World Heritage Day. The Day was established to raise awareness of the immense potential of the African cultural and natural heritage. It also aims to alert the world to the vulnerability of this heritage: there are 21 African sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The preservation and enhancement of this heritage are essential factors ...

In keeping with UNESCO’s mandate to promote culture and education in Africa, the World Heritage Centre, in close collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund and the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa in Harare, organized a regional workshop entitled “World Heritage and Education Institutions in Africa” at the Great Zimbabwe, Masvingo (Zimbabwe) from 26 to 28 April 2018.  This ...

Barclays has announced their first public policy that will prevent the bank from financing projects in World Heritage sites and Ramsar Wetlands, following WWF’s call for the world’s banks to stop financing damaging activities in the planet’s most precious places.Despite being awarded the highest levels of protection by the United Nations, almost half of all natural and mixed World Heritage ...

Special Events in Host City St Petersburg The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock announced the programme for the 2018 edition of International Jazz Day, with events in Saint Petersburg (Russian Federation), a World Heritage site and this year’s Global Host City, and over 190 countries around the world. A series of educational and ...