News

Thursday, May 24, 2012
Government of Mali and UNESCO move to protect Timbuktu and other heritage sites in the north of Mali
The Government of Mali and UNESCO have defined measures to safeguard World Heritage Properties in the north of Mali, including the fabled city of Timbuktu, following reports of wilful damage to mausoleums in the World Heritage ...

Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Launching Of The Rivers And Heritage Website
The Rivers and Heritage website was officially launched on 15 March 2012 at the World Water Forum in Marseille (France), during the session “Water Culture in local governance” organized by the AIMF in partnership with ...

Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Director-General concerned about attacks on World Heritage site of Ghadamès (Libya)
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today called for the protection of Libya’s Old City of Ghadamès inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1986. “I am deeply concerned by information that the Libyan ...

Tuesday, May 22, 2012
UNESCO monitors damage to heritage in northern Italy following powerful earthquake
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today extended her condolences to the inhabitants of northern Italy for the loss of human life and suffering caused by the earthquake that shook the region on May 20. The Director-General also said ...

Wednesday, May 9, 2012
New Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape
On 7 May 2012, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and H.E. Ms Katalin Bogyay, Ambassador of Hungary and President of UNESCO's General Conference, signed the new Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape adopted by the General conference ...

Friday, May 4, 2012
Irina Bokova concerned about growing threats to cultural heritage in Mali
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova expressed her great concern following the desecration of the graves of Sidi Mahmoud in Mali by the Ansar Dine group on 4 May 2012. According to information UNESCO received, the front door of the mausoleum ...

Friday, April 20, 2012
Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site receives funding to restore portions of Hadrian’s Wall
The World Heritage property “Frontiers of the Roman Empire” has received £537,185 (US$ 850,406) in funding from SITA Trust to underwrite a conservation project that will restore dilapidated portions of the site located in the ...

Friday, April 20, 2012
Recommendations for transnational heritage corridors of Silk Roads site nomination
Members of the Coordinating Committee on the Serial World Heritage Nomination of the Silk Roads release recommendations for two priority transnational heritage corridors of Silk Roads Serial and Transnational Nomination Following their meeting ...

Monday, April 2, 2012
Sydney Opera House, other sites participate in Earth Hour 2012
Sydney Opera House was among the World Heritage sites around the globe participating in Earth Hour 2012, the environmental campaign to draw attention to the effects of climate change through turning off the lights for one hour, from 8.30 to ...

Monday, April 2, 2012
UNESCO Director-General expresses concern about the situation in Mali
  In reaction to recent events in Northern Mali, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova expresses her deep concern about the possible consequences of the ongoing armed conflict on the invaluable cultural World Heritage property located in ...

Friday, March 30, 2012
Archaeological discoveries
In the sacred place of Tenochtitlan, archaeologists from INAH-Conaculta (The Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History and the Mexican National Council for Culture and the Arts), have found 23 tombstones over 550 years old, with ...

Friday, March 30, 2012
Director-General of UNESCO appeals for protection of Syria’s cultural heritage
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today called for the protection of the cultural heritage of Syria.   ‘Following a number of media reports that Syria’s cultural heritage is threatened by the current conflict, ...

Friday, March 30, 2012
International World Heritage Expert Meeting on criterion (vi)
  The International World Heritage Expert Meeting on Criterion (vi)  and associative values which took place in Warsaw, Poland, 28-30 March 2012, adopted its recommendations at a closing session today. The conclusions and ...

Wednesday, March 28, 2012
UNESCO committed to stronger links between World Heritage and Tourism
UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova underlined the importance of better integrating cultural heritage preservation and sustainable tourism during the Roundtable on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism, held in Miami on 19 March. She ...

Wednesday, March 28, 2012
From World Heritage to Literacy, Philadelphia Embraces UNESCO
World Heritage and literacy were bookends to a day where Philadelphia opened its arms to UNESCO, during the second day of Director-General Irina Bokova’s visit to the United States on Thursday.Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar joined ...

Wednesday, March 28, 2012
World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Top Agenda in Miami Leg of Director-General’s Mission to the U.S.
With a stunning visit to the Everglades the day before serving as a strong reminder, Director-General Irina Bokova turned her attention to a private-public sector roundtable on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism in Miami on Monday. Joining a ...

Wednesday, March 28, 2012
World Heritage sites participate in Earth Hour
UNESCO will partner with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Earth Hour, one of the world's largest and most well-known environmental campaigns in the world. UNESCO has invited World Heritage sites to participate in this initiative by switching ...

Thursday, March 22, 2012
GIS boundaries of natural and mixed World Heritage sites available
IUCN and UNEP-WCMC have compiled a KML layer with key information on the natural and mixed World Heritage sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as of 1 January 2012. The information comes from the latest version of the World Database ...

Thursday, March 22, 2012
Jaeger-LeCoultre auction benefits Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park
From 12-15 March 2012, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre, partner of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre since 2008, organized its fourth online auction for the benefit of World Heritage marine sites. This year, the ...

Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Rapid Response Facility helping combat Mt. Kenya fires
On January 15th, forest fires were spotted on the slopes of Mount Kenya, the highest mountain in Africa.  Inscribed onto the World Heritage list in 1997, Mount Kenya is a critical refuge for a host of iconic species, ranging from the ...