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17 news
MonthFebruary 2015close
Saturday, 28 February 2015
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has welcomed the UN Security Council's statement denouncing the attack on the Mosul Museum. "This statement is a strong testiment to the unity of the international community regarding the tragic destruction of irreplaceable heritage for all mankind," said the Director-General. "The members of the Security Council have reaffirmed the deep ...
access_time 1 min read
Saturday, 28 February 2015
"The reopening of the Baghdad Museum is a powerful symbol, coming in the wake of the destruction perpetrated in Mosul. To fight violent extremism and attacks against cultural heritage, we need more than ever to nurture the power of culture, supporting its fundamental role for dialogue and for social cohesion in Iraq and around the world." "I welcome this historic reopening, coming just a few ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 27 February 2015
"It is time to get serious about wildlife crime" This year’s theme for World Wildlife Day is right in line with one of the key goals of the World Heritage Convention: protecting sites which are home to threatened plant and animal species. These invaluable sites are threatened more than ever, and illegal human activities such as poaching and illegal logging are some of the most worrisome. ...
access_time 2 min read
Friday, 27 February 2015
“I was filled with dismay by images of the attack on the Mosul Museum, as well as on other archaeological sites in the Nineveh region in Iraq,” said the Director General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova. She spoke at a press conference following the release of a video showing the devastation of the Mosul Museum in Iraq. Terrorists based in Iraq defaced many statues and bas-reliefs with an ...
access_time 1 min read
Thursday, 26 February 2015
“I am deeply shocked by footage released today showing the destruction of statues and other artefacts of the Mosul Museum. I condemn this as a deliberate attack against Iraq’s millennial history and culture, and as an inflammatory incitement to violence and hatred,” said the Director General. “This attack is far more than a cultural tragedy – this is also a security issue as it fuels ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
A major international conference was organized by ICOMOS Oman at Dhofar University in Salalah, Sultanate of Oman to review archaeological heritage identification, management, and conservation, and to explore new approaches. Among the participants were experts from different parts of the world, representatives from Ministries and heritage agencies, Ambassadors of UNESCO Member States, the ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Established as a Category II Centre under the auspices of UNESCO in October 2009, the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) is an inter-governmental organisation which was jointly initiated by the African Members States of UNESCO and the African Union. Its mission is to support the effective conservation and protection of natural and cultural heritage of outstanding universal value in Africa. ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 18 February 2015
Prior to the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee, a Young Experts Forum will be held from 18 to 29 June 2015 in the Upper Middle Rhine Valley World Heritage site and in Bonn, former capital of Germany. Young heritage experts from around the world from 20 to 30 years old will exchange ideas and provide input to the theme of this year’s Forum Towards a Sustainable Management of World ...
access_time 3 min read
Thursday, 12 February 2015
The Director-General of UNESCO, Ms Irina Bokova, welcomed the adoption of a new UN Security Council Resolution 2199 that condemns the destruction of cultural heritage and adopts legally-binding measures to counter illicit trafficking of antiquities and cultural objects from Iraq and Syria. “The adoption of resolution 2199 is a milestone for enhanced protection of cultural heritage in Iraq ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
Over 900 participants, including over 45 Ministers and Vice Ministers of Tourism and Culture, international experts, speakers and guests from 100 countries, gathered at the UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture in Siem Reap, Cambodia, to explore and advance new partnership models between tourism and culture (4-6 February 2015). Tourism, moving more than one billion people ...
access_time 4 min read
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
With support from UNESCO’s World Heritage Marine Programme, the Banc d’Arguin National Park in Mauritania organized a series of educational activities for students from four local schools who are located in the park. Throughout 2014, about 100 students participated in three-day excursions in which they learned about the biodiversity, the socioeconomic importance of the Park and the need to ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
The secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) is currently recruiting a Director General (DG).  SPREP is the regional organisation established by the Governments and Administrations of the Pacific charged with protecting and managing the environment and natural resources of the Pacific. It is based in Apia, Samoa, with about 95 staff and an annual budget of USD $20 ...
Friday, 6 February 2015
On Wednesday, 28 January, the cargo ship Floreana stranded near San Cristobal, an island that is part of the Galápagos islands World Heritage site. The vessel transported 1,400 tons of cargo and 50,000 liters of fuel among other, potentially hazardous, products. Accordingly to early government reports, products leaked from the ship. Actions are being taken to define the impacts on the marine ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 6 February 2015
The latest version of the World Heritage map, produced by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and National Geographic Maps with the generous support of Germany, can now be ordered for a modest fee from the World Heritage Centre website. The featured image on the Map presents the Upper Middle Rhine Valley in Germany, country hosting the next session of the World Heritage Committee in June ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 3 February 2015
Since their first agreement signed in 2011, UNESCO and Panasonic have worked together to educate young people about  protecting natural and cultural heritage. Long-term success of the program depends on the children of today, hence their involvement is of key importance. As part of the cooperation with UNESCO, Panasonic China hosted 50 pupils and teachers in a school excursion from 3 to 6 ...
access_time 1 min read
Monday, 2 February 2015
World heritage site managers and tourism stakeholders from Zambia and Zimbabwe came together for the first time to initiate the process to develop a sustainable tourism strategy for the Mosi-oa-Tunya/Victoria Falls World Heritage site. The workshop was held in Livingstone, Zambia from 22 to 24 January 2015. The workshop takes place within the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage and ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 2 February 2015
Issue 74 of World Heritage magazine World Heritage sites are exposed to a wide variety of natural and human-induced hazards, such as earthquakes, cyclones or fires, which can have devastating effects on their value as well as on the lives and assets of the communities concerned. This issue explores the risks that sites are exposed to and different aspects of disaster risk management, ...
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