News

The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when it meets for its 32nd session in Québec, Canada, from 2 to 10 July. During this year’s session, hosted by Canada to coincide with the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Québec City, 41 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention ...

The first phase of the re-installation works of the Aksum Obelisk, also known as Stele 2, in its original location at the World Heritage site in Aksum, Ethiopia was completed on 12 June 2008. The first of three blocks of the stele, which stands 24.3 metres high and weighs 152 tons, was successfully and smoothly mounted. The Aksum Obelisk re-installation project, funded by the Italian ...

Online images of World Heritage sites, an outdoor exhibit and a new book project are among the most recent developments of the partnership between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Our Place, the World's Heritage Ltd, launched in July 2006. Our Place is the first collection of World Heritage photographs developed in partnership with the World Heritage Centre. It includes photos of more ...

Officials continue to assess the damage following the devastating May 12 earthquake in China, where approximately 69,000 people were killed and 19,000 are still missing. The 8.0 magnitude quake affected Sichuan Province in southwest China. The worst affected areas were two counties where two World Heritage sites are located: The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries and the Mount Qingcheng and the ...

In coordination with the release of the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Friends of World Heritage (the UN Foundation, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Expedia, Inc.) have joined forces with Indiana Jones for an online campaign and contest to promote World Heritage education and sustainable travel. More than a dozen World Heritage sites have been featured in ...

The "Policy document on the impacts of climate change on World Heritage properties", adopted by the 16th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, has been published in English and French.The document was prepared with the participation of relevant climate change experts and practitioners of heritage conservation and management, appropriate international ...

Cultural Landscapes of the Pacific Islands: ICOMOS Thematic Study by Anita Smith and Kevin L. JonesThis is the first regional thematic study on Cultural Landscapes in the Pacific region. Published by ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites), it is an overview of cultural landscapes in the Pacific Islands and the defining characteristics that account for their commonalities as ...