News

Application Deadline: 8 January 2024 (Midnight Paris Time).  Application materials: CV and Motivation letter to be sent to: WH-Africa@unesco.org with copy to Jessica Roland Williams j.roland-williams@unesco.org The need to enhance capacities of African experts in heritage management and conservation is urgent. The World Heritage Capacity Building Strategy has acknowledged that States ...

On 1 December 2023, the Director of World Heritage at UNESCO and H.E. Ms Kerstin Pürschel, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Germany to UNESCO signed an agreement for a contribution to the World Heritage Convention, for a total amount of 600 000 Euros.  This generous contribution has been provided by the German Federal Foreign Office to support UNESCO activities linked to the World ...

On 5 and 6 December 2023, World Heritage focal points in the Arab States region, along with representatives from ICOMOS, ICCROM and IUCN, came together in Manama, Bahrain, to review and discuss progress in the implementation of the Regional Action Plan for the Arab States (2021-2027). The Action Plan was endorsed at the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee in 2021, and a ...

On 17 November 2023, a session on culture and digital technologies was organized by UNESCO in the framework of the Partnerships Hub at the sideline of the 42nd session of UNESCO’s General Conference, with the support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The session highlighted the UNESCO innovative approaches to the implementation of six different cultural projects funded by the Kingdom of Saudi ...

In 2018, the region of Gävleborg, Sweden, created the international World Heritage Residence Scholarship at the World Heritage site ‘Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland’. The 6th call for applications is now open until 15 February 2024. One aim of UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention is to create links between people and promote international cooperation with peace as a central concept. The ...

On 14 December 2023, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre organized the Third Coordination Group meeting on ‘Post COVID-19 World Heritage Site Management: Integration of Conservation, Tourism and Local Livelihood Strategies at World Heritage Sites’, a project funded by the government of Japan through the UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust. The Deputy Director of World Heritage welcomed Tunisia as a ...

Approximately 200 participants – World Heritage secretariat, Advisory Bodies, National Focal points, Site managers and category 2 Centres representatives from the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region –  took part, on 11 December, in the launching of the World Heritage Action Plan for the LAC region (2023–2029). The launching was held in the form of an on line 3-hour meeting where the ...

The World Heritage community deeply mourns the death of Jukka Jokilehto who passed away on 23 November 2023. Jukka Jokilehto was a Finnish architect and urban planner and his involvement in World Heritage dates back to 1972 when he joined the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) as coordinator of the programme in architectural ...

The UNESCO Chairs Workshop on "Protecting Historic Cities and Landscapes - Compatible Design for New Interventions" was held from 28 to 29 September 2023, marked with the 15th anniversary of the inscription of ‘Mantua and Sabbioneta’ on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The event was organised by UNESCO Chair in Architectural Preservation and Planning in World Heritage Cities, with support from ...

On 14 November 2023, UNESCO and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Netherlands signed a new four-year (2023-2026) Funds-in-Trust Agreement for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, for a total amount of 1.5 million Euros. The Netherlands Funds-in-Trust (NFiT) at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre started in 2001 and is one of the longest and continued FiT ...

In the face of Africa's modernization and socioeconomic transformation lies the intrinsic challenges of nurturing sustainable development that considers the invaluable threads that weave through the continent’s diverse heritage. Recognizing this pivotal moment, the Strategy for World Heritage in Africa aligned with UNESCO Global Priority Africa, Flagship Programme 3 (Fostering Cultural ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is seeking an evaluator to carry out the “External Evaluation of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes (2017-2023)” to be carried out from January to February 2024. The UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes was ...

UNESCO has published a report, "Urban Heritage for Resilience", reflecting the results of the third consultation with the Member States on implementing the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL). The consultation was conducted between June and November 2022, through which Member States informed their implementation efforts at the national (country) and local (cities and ...

The 24th General Assembly of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention is meeting from 22 to 23 November 2023 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, convening the 195 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention. During the session, the General Assembly elected nine members to the World Heritage Committee: Ukraine, Republic of Korea, Viet Nam, Kenya, Senegal, Lebanon, ...

On 22 November 2023, the Republic of Kenya and UNESCO signed the Letter of Agreement to establish a partnership for the implementation of the UNESCO Thematic Indicators Culture in the 2030 Agenda (UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators) in Kenya. The UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators is a framework to measure and monitor culture’s contribution to the national and local implementation of the UN 2030 ...

UNESCO and the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee - ICCROM (International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property), ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) and IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature)- have released a newly revised toolkit for assessing the effectiveness of management systems of World Heritage ...

The 2023 edition of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes was awarded to the Gunditjmara community for its long-standing efforts to safeguard and manage the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape, a property inscribed on the World Heritage List since 2019. The laureate will receive US$30,000 as prize. The jury recognized the ...

UNESCO is deeply concerned about the allegations in the report of Amnesty International regarding the population relocation programme in Angkor carried out by the Cambodian authorities. UNESCO reiterates that at no point did it request, support, or participate in this programme. It is important to note that the Angkor site is not only a heritage site, it is also a living site: the presence ...

In the framework of UNESCO’s Global Priority Africa (Flagship Programme 3: “Fostering cultural heritage and capacity development” ), the Mentorship Programme for African Heritage Professionals was developed in collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) and the three Advisory Bodies (ICOMOS, ICCROM and IUCN) to expand the roster of Africa experts and create opportunities for ...

From 16th November - 2nd December 2023, AlUla will host the annual Ancient Kingdoms Festival, a fortnight of unique immersive experiences across a network of ancient sites in the ancient landscapes of AlUla. This year, the Festival shines an especially bright light on the cities of the Incense Road including Dadan and Hegra. These sites carry a rich legacy of being a historic crossroads ...