News

Doha, 16 June – UNESCO and cruise operator Seabourn today announced a six-year, $1 million partnership agreement aimed at reinforcing protection for World Heritage and promoting sustainable tourism. The partnership will work to foster wider support and understanding in the travel industry and among travelers, for UNESCO’s mission of identifying, safeguarding and promoting ...

Qatar announces $10m donation for new heritage protection initiative. Doha, 15 June —The Prime Minister of Qatar, Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, today announced a $10 million donation to a new fund to protect World Heritage sites affected by conflict or natural disaster. The Prime Minister made the announcement during the opening ceremony of the annual meeting of the World ...

UNESCO has welcomed the announcement by SOCO international this week to halt oil exploration activities in the Virunga National Park, a World Heritage Site in Danger in the Democratic Republic of Congo. In a joint statement with the World Wildlife Fund, the British company agreed “not to undertake or commission any exploratory or other drilling within Virunga National Park unless UNESCO and ...

Using its revolutionary 360-degree panoramic underwater camera, the Catlin Seaview Survey aims at revealing the hidden wonders of our oceans. This technology will for the first time provide a comprehensive snapshot of the exceptional values of marine sites on the World Heritage List. Through its dive expeditions, the survey captures stunning imagery every few seconds allowing anyone with ...

In celebration of World Oceans Day, the World Heritage Centre presents "A virtual dive in six marine World Heritage sites" By Richard Vevers, CEO, Underwater Earth And an address on the World Hertiage Convention and its contribution to ocean conservation by His Excellency Michael Worbs, Ambassador of Germany to UNESCO Tuesday, 10 June 2014 at 5:30 p.m. Restaurant, 7th floor, UNESCO, 125 ...

At the occasion of the 38th session of the World Heritage Committee, held from 15 to 25 June 2014 in Doha (Qatar), a special issue of World Heritage is dedicated to Al Zubarah Archaeological Site, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2013, which flourished as a pearling and trading centre in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and offers outstanding testimony to an urban trading and ...

From 23 to 24 May 2014, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group organized the workshop “Strengthening South-South collaboration on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism” in Hongcun Village, China. Hongcun Village is one of the Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000. The event gathered World ...

On 15 May 2014, the Government of the Bahamas officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, its instrument of ratification for the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Convention will enter into force for the Bahamas on 15 August 2014, making the island country the 191st State Party to the Convention, ...

The report resulting from the workshop held in Oslo, Norway from 1 to 3 April 2014 on the theme “Building capacity to support rights-based approaches in the World Heritage Convention: Learning from practice” is now available (see attachment below). In April this year an international invitation-only workshop was held for about 30 IUCN, ICCROM and ICOMOS experts representing most ...