News

Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Belgium reinforces its engagement for World Heritage Sites in Danger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Belgian government has recently given its financial support to the 3rd phase of the project "Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict: Conserving World Heritage sites in the Democratic Republic of Congo" with a total amount of ...

Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Beijing Appeal for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change at World Heritage properties in the Asia and the Pacific region
National Government Officials and World Heritage site managers, essentially from 24 countries in the Asia and the Pacific Region, but also from other continents of the world, gathered together at the World Heritage Institute of Training and ...

Friday, December 18, 2009
Germany gives 3.2 million dollars for the safeguarding of Ivorian parcs and reserves
Germany has just offered the Côte d'Ivoire's Park and Reserves Foundation 1,5 billion CFA Francs (US$ 3.2 millions). According to Mr Stephen Keller, German Ambassador in Côte d'Ivoire, this donation is justified by the fact that "the ...

Thursday, December 17, 2009
Director General presents UNESCO climate change initiative at Copenhagen Conference
Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, yesterday presented UNESCO's climate change initiative at a press briefing held during the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ...

Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Restoration works continue despite violent storms at the Great Mosque of Djenné
Restoration works begun on the site the Great Mosque of Djenné, Mali in January 2009, financed by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, continue with traditional masons and consolidation works to ensure the survival of this exceptional but ...

Monday, December 14, 2009
Enhancing our Heritage Toolkit now available in Spanish
The publication 'World Heritage Paper Series n°23 - Enhancing our Heritage Toolkit, Assessing management effectiveness of natural World Heritage sites' is now available in Spanish. This document provides several tools to assist site ...

Tuesday, December 8, 2009
UNESCO saddened by loss of Goodwill Ambassador Professor Ikuo Hirayama
Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, expressed her deep sadness at the death of Professor Ikuo Hirayama, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, on 2 December at the age of 79. "UNESCO has lost a friend," she said. "For more than 20 years, Professor ...

Thursday, December 3, 2009
Google and UNESCO announce alliance to provide virtual visits of several World Heritage sites
Sites of outstanding universal value inscribed on the World Heritage List - the Palace of Versailles in France, the historic centre of Prague in the Czech Republic and the old town of Cáceres in Spain, for example - can now be explored ...

Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Natural Science courses open at the new Jurassic Studies Centre in Lyme Regis
On the occasion of the launch of the new Jurassic Studies Centre, situated at the centre of the natural World Heritage Site of Dorset and Devon's Jurassic Coast, in Lyme Regis, United Kingdom, a range of natural science courses will take place ...

Monday, November 30, 2009
Ifugao Province, Philippines and Italy's Cinque Terre Park sign Twinning Program
On 25 November 2009, the UNESCO World Heritage sites of the Ifugao Rice Terraces in the Philippines and Cinque Terre in Italy signed the Twinning Program of Exchange and Cooperation agreement at the Kiangan municipality in ...

Thursday, November 26, 2009
Exhibition of Aksum Obelisk Re-installation opens in Rome
On 25 November 2009, the exhibition 'Aksum Rediscovered: the Re-installation of the Obelisk' was opened in Rome, Italy at the Headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The exhibition illustrates the re-installation of the ...

Friday, November 13, 2009
Business Skills training sessions begin for World Heritage sites
The Business Skills for World Heritage Programme, a collaboration between international environmental charity Earthwatch, global energy company Shell and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, was kicked off with a training course held in Borneo from ...

Tuesday, November 10, 2009
'Patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO : les sites marocains' is published
The book 'Patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO : les sites marocains' ('UNESCO World Heritage: the Moroccan sites') is a voyage to an exceptional part of Moroccan heritage. Ancient traces, fairytale wanderings, exquisite landscapes: ...

Thursday, October 29, 2009
General Assembly elects 12 new members to World Heritage Committee and sets priorities for future of Heritage Convention
The General Assembly of States Parties to the 1972 World Heritage Convention replaced more than half the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee during its biennial session, which took place at UNESCO Headquarters from 23 to 28 October. The ...

Thursday, October 29, 2009
Poland is the Denkmal national partner 2010
Denkmal, European Trade Fair for Conservation, Restoration and Old Building Renovation 18 - 20 November 2010 After Italy (2004), France (2006) and Hungary (2008), the Denkmal trade fair's new national partner is now confirmed. The Republic of ...

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Twelve members elected to World Heritage Committee
Twelve new members were elected to the World Heritage Committee during the 17th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France from 23 to 28 October. The new members of the ...

Friday, October 23, 2009
UNESCO and online travel giant TripAdvisor launch World Heritage partnership
TripAdvisor, the world's largest on-line community of travellers, and UNESCO launched a partnership on Thursday to mobilize travellers' support to preserve natural and cultural sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. At the launch of ...

Thursday, October 15, 2009
A 7000 Euro Grant For the Realization of a Cultural Project Concerning the Mediterranean World
You are a native of a Mediterranean country. Born after 31 December 1980 you will be under 30 years of age in 2010. You wish to undertake a project furthering the knowledge and understanding of Mediterranean cultures. Every year the Marc de ...

Thursday, October 8, 2009
Statement by UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre on mission to study conservation and infrastructure development in Ibiza
Representatives from the national, regional and local authorities led by Spain's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador María Jesús San Segundo, met Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre, on 8 October to ...

Tuesday, October 6, 2009
17th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention and the 35th UNESCO General Conference
The 35th session of the General Conference is meeting from 6-23 October 2009, and the 17th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention will meet from 23 to 28 October 2009 at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. At ...