2392 news
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Since the Kingdom of Bahrain became for the first time a member of the prestigious World Heritage Committee in 2007, one of the objectives has been to welcome the distinguished delegates of the States Parties to the Convention in our country. For the last four years, all the Bahraini authorities have been working on the preparation of this exceptional event and ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 30 March 2011
Kishore Rao has been appointed Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
An expert in forestry and natural resources policy and planning, Mr Rao has been Deputy Director of the World Heritage Centre since 2005, and has, in addition to overall management and programme coordination responsibilities, led the Centre's work on natural heritage protection. Mr Rao has Master's Degrees in ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 23 March 2011
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today called on both Libya and the coalition of States implementing a no-fly zone over the country to respect the Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict (1954) and its two (1954 and 1999) Protocols, as appropriate, and keep military operations away from cultural sites.
Of the ten states that make up ...
3 min read
Tuesday, 22 March 2011
In view of the forthcoming 11th World Congress of the Organization of World Heritage Cities in Sintra (Portugal), 22 to 25 November 2011, the OWHC has launched a Call for Posters on the congress theme World Heritage Cities and Climate Change.
This Call addresses all those who are engaged in the conservation and management of a World Heritage City - public servants and administrators, ...
1 min read
Monday, 21 March 2011
Following the kind invitation of the World Heritage Centre, I had the great pleasure to attend the meeting entitled "Follow-up to the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting in the Arab States: Regional Meting for the Elaboration of the Regional Programme", held in Rabat (Kingdom of Morocco), from 7 to 9 March 2011.
This meeting was a unique opportunity for me, as Chairperson of the World ...
2 min read
Friday, 18 March 2011
From 2008 to 2010, the Arab States Parties to the World Heritage Convention undertook the Periodic Reporting exercise, consisting in assessing the implementation of the Convention in their countries and in each of their sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. The Periodic Report was presented to the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee in Brasilia, in July 2010, and was warmly ...
1 min read
Friday, 18 March 2011
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism of the Democratic Republic of the Congo that the government of the DRC has suspended prospection for oil at Virunga National Park , inscribed as on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1979.
"I welcome the suspension of exploration activities. This ...
1 min read
Friday, 18 March 2011
Due to the prevailing situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain and following consultations with Bahraini authorities, the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has decided to change the venue of the forthcoming 35th session of the World Heritage Committee from its initially planned location in Bahrain's capital Manama, to UNESCO Headquarters in Paris.
This decision was reached following the ...
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to express its condolences for the loss of lives due to the devastating earthquake and tsunami which occurred near Japan on 11 March.
Immediately following the events, Francesco Bandarin, interim Director of the World Heritage Centre and UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, contacted Mr Isao Kiso, Ambassador of Japan to UNESCO, expressing ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Minor damage has been reported at Galápagos Islands World Heritage site following the earthquake and tsunami that occurred off the coast of Japan on 11 March. The tsunami struck at high tide, and manifested itself as a series of marine surges, rising over 1.7 metres above the normal high water mark, flooding coastal buildings. Residents of Galapagos had been warned and had taken ...
2 min read
Friday, 11 March 2011
[in French only] Vie de la CFU * Réunion de bilan technique, 3 Février 2011, UNESCO, Paris* Rapport sur les possibilités de financement européen pour les projets cultureles et développement Actualités sur l'avancement des projets cfu : * Le projet « NIGER - LOIRE : Gouvernance et Culture » se poursuit au Mali* ...
Thursday, 10 March 2011
The second title within the World Heritage Resource Manuals Preparing World Heritage Nominations (First Edition, 2010) series has just been published. It is a joint undertaking by the three Advisory Bodies of the World Heritage Convention (ICCROM, ICOMOS and IUCN) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The aim of this Resource Manual is to help States Parties to achieve good quality World ...
Monday, 7 March 2011
Afghan officials and international experts outlined plans for the future safeguarding of the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of Bamiyan Valley (Afghanistan) at the end of two meetings at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 2 to 4 of March. The meetings were held on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the tragic destruction of the giant Buddha statues of Bamiyan.
The ...
2 min read
Thursday, 3 March 2011
UNESCO will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the tragic destruction of the giant Buddha statues of Bamiyan with a forum on the event and a two-day experts' meeting which will examine ways to preserve and present to the public the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley.
Ahead of the 10th anniversary, the Director-General, who will open the commemoration at ...
3 min read
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
On behalf of the World Heritage Committee, I was deeply saddened by the news of the earthquake that has caused loss of life and the destruction of the beautiful city of Christchurch. I send my sincere condolences and sympathy to the people of New Zealand.
To many of us who were present at the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee in June 2007, we fondly remember the warm welcome of ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 23 February 2011
A mission was organized from the 30th January - 5th February 2010 in view of strengthening Spanish Funds-in-Trust technical cooperation, focusing on the Spanish Funds-in-Trust programme for indicators of sustainable development at World Heritage Historic Centres. The objectives of the mission were:
Guide the roadmap to finalize the management plan of the city, as requested by the World ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
The International Meeting "The Chinchorro Culture from a Comparative Perspective ", took place in Arica, Chile, 5-8 January, 2010.
As a result of this meeting the World Heritage Centre is preparing a publication that will work in tandem in support of the process of the preparation of the nomination file of the Archaeological sites of the Chinchorro culture, Chile, focusing on ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova's Special Envoy on the Preah Vihear Temple, Koïchiro Matsuura, will travel to Bangkok and Phnom Penh between 25 February and 1 March to discuss the safeguarding of the World Heritage site with the Thai and Cambodian prime ministers.
Mr Matsuura, a former Director-General of UNESCO (1999-2009) and a former Chair of the World Heritage Committee (1999), ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 16 February 2011
Pratapur Temple in the Swayambhu Monument Zone of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site, Nepal suffered damage from a lightning strike at around 5 a.m. on 14 February, during a sudden thunderstorm.
A team of engineers from the Department of Archaeology of Nepal inspected the temple the following day, and the preliminary report will be available shortly thereafter. Experts from the UNESCO ...
1 min read
Thursday, 10 February 2011
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova regretted the continuing tension between Cambodia and Thailand over the issue of the Temple of Preah Vihear. "The world's cultural heritage should never be a cause for conflict," she said.
She announced that she would shortly send a Special Envoy on a mission of good offices to Bangkok and Phnom Penh, following appropriate consultations with both ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 8 February 2011
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today reiterated her call for calm and restraint around the Temple of Preah Vihear, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008. A border dispute between Cambodia and Thailand caused several deaths and damage to the site in recent days.
"I intend to send a mission to the area as soon as possible to assess the state of the temple," she said. ...
1 min read
Sunday, 6 February 2011
UNESCO Director- General Irina Bokova expressed her deep concern at the sudden escalation of tensions between Cambodia and Thailand on the issue of the Temple of Preah Vihear, inscribed on the World Heritage List.
Reports indicate that troops on either side have exchanged fire resulting in the loss of life and also some damage to the temple.
The Director-General expresses her distress at ...
Thursday, 3 February 2011
UNESCO's Director-General Irina Bokova today received assurances from Egypt's new minister for antiquities Zahi Hawass that every possible measure was being taken to protect Egyptian cultural heritage.
In a telephone conversation, the minister informed Irina Bokova that the Egyptian Museum in Cairo is safe and that the army and firefighters have established a cordon around the ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Secretariat to the World Heritage Convention, wishes to extend its best wishes to the Secretariat for the Ramsar Convention (Convention on Wetlands of International Importance) on World Wetlands Day, celebrating the 40th anniversary of its adoption. Like the World Heritage Convention, the Ramsar Convention is a site-based intergovernmental treaty ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 1 February 2011
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today launched an appeal to protect cultural heritage and to respect freedom of expression in Egypt.
"My compassion goes first to the victims of the civil unrest and their families," said Irina Bokova, deploring the deaths of 190 people during the protests.
The Director-General called on all parties to protect Egyptian cultural heritage, symbol ...
2 min read
Friday, 28 January 2011
On 24 January 2011, three park guards and five soldiers were killed in a violent attack against one of the patrol vehicles of the Congolese Wildlife Authority (ICCN) in Virunga National Park. The park is one of five World Heritage sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
According to ICCN, the ambush took place around 10:00 am in Rutshuru in the region of North Kivu, about 100 km north ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
The University of the Netherlands Antilles is organizing a course on Caribbean Heritage in Curaçao from 21 to 25 March 2011 for Module 1 (Application of the World Heritage Convention) and from 28 March to 1 April for Module 5 (Management of Historic Cities).
This course is for heritage professionals but also students, researchers, decision makers from the Caribbean ...
1 min read
Monday, 17 January 2011
Applications Open for the Colorado State University Spanish Language Short Course on Protected Area Management. 6 July – 6 August 2011
Mayor información en español: http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/cpam-course-sp/
More information in English: http://warnercnr.colostate.edu/cpam-course/
Application deadline: February 18, 2011 For over 20 years, CSU has ...
1 min read
Friday, 14 January 2011
At the invitation of the Congolese Government, the high-level meeting requested by the World Heritage Committee in 2007 (Christchurch 2007) was held with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and Congolese Prime Minister Mr Adophe Muzito in attendance.
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is home to exceptional biodiversity and five World Heritage sites: the Garamba, Kahuzi-Biega, Salonga and ...
2 min read
Friday, 7 January 2011
A high-level meeting between authorities from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and UNESCO will take place in Kinshasa on 14 January to discuss ways of strengthening protection of the five DRC sites inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The meeting, organized by the Democratic Republic of Congo and UNESCO, will be chaired by the Prime Minister of DRC Adolphe Muzito ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 4 January 2011
Two rhinos, a mother and a female calf, were translocated on 29 December from the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary to Manas wildlife sanctuary in western Assam, India under the Indian Rhino Vision (IRV) 2020 programme, along with WWF-India and the Assam Forest Department.
With this, the rhino population in Manas, a site inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1985, has gone up to seven. The rhino ...
1 min read
Monday, 3 January 2011
The World Heritage Centre welcomes the International Year of Forests. With 104 WH sites recognized wholly, or in part, for their rich forest biodiversity, the WH Convention is the most effective intergovernmental convention for the in-situ conservation of forest biodiversity. Today, over 760,000 square kilometres (nearly 300,000 square miles), or 1.5 times the surface area of ...
2 min read
Monday, 3 January 2011
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Panasonic have released an online version of the World Heritage Calendar in five languages. It is available as a website, or as a downloadable stand-alone application or wallpaper.
Featuring stunning photographs of 12 World Heritage sites, the calendar includes informative texts and interesting facts in English, Japanese, French, Chinese and Spanish. ...
1 min read
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Best Wishes from the World Heritage Centre 2011
Monday, 20 December 2010
Faced with the growing threat of industrialization of the oceans and the persistent rush for marine resources, managers from the 43 marine sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List met from 1 to 3 December in Honolulu, Hawaii to explore ways of strengthening conservation of the "crown jewels of the ocean".
This first ever meeting of marine World Heritage managers charted the way for a stronger ...
3 min read
Monday, 20 December 2010
In 2008, Jaeger-LeCoultre signed a long-term 'Tides of Time' partnership with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International New York Times, comprising a 3-year international communication campaign in the pages of the International New York Times and online, promoting a number of marine World Heritage sites and issues affecting them. The goal of the partnership is to help defend and ...
Wednesday, 15 December 2010
The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the US Geological Survey have released a first ever satellite analysis of global mangrove forest coverage. The analysis reveals a total area of 137,760 square kilometers, 12.3% lower than had previously been estimated, and shrinking. For more information, click here.
Mangrove forests grow along tropical ...
2 min read
Thursday, 9 December 2010
[in French only] Vie de la CFU
* Signature d'un accord entre l'UNESCO et l'AFD, 9 novembre 2010, Paris.
* Réunion de bilan technique, 3 février 2011, UNESCO, Paris.
Actualités sur l'avancement des projets cfu :
* Le projet « Niger - Loire : gouvernance et culture » se poursuit au Mali.
* Syrie : Villages antiques du nord. ...
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Experts from UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and the International Council of Monuments and Sites will arrive in Pompei on 2 December to examine the state of conservation of the World Heritage site. The mission follows the destruction in early November of the Schola Armaturarum and further collapses yesterday and today, including that of a wall at the House of the Moralist.
This advisory ...
1 min read
Monday, 29 November 2010
Three World Heritage sites in Cyprus and a fourth in Italy have been given "enhanced protection" status by the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which held its fifth meeting at UNESCO Headquarters from 22-24 November. The sites, which are the first to be granted this status, are Choirokoitia, Paphos (sites I and II) and the Painted Churches of ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 24 November 2010
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, organized the international meeting, International Rock Art Archive Working Group, on 17 to 19 November 2010 at the Rock Art Research Institute, Johannesburg, South Africa. The meeting was jointly financed by the University of Witwatersrand and the Spanish Funds-in-Trust.
Twelve international ...
1 min read
Monday, 22 November 2010
In partnership with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, La Monnaie de Paris is offering a 100,000€ coin set with diamonds in the image of the Taj Mahal, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Part of the proceeds will support the work of the World Heritage Centre.
La Monnaie de Paris has received authorization to sell 29 of them, each weighing one kilogram (2.2 lbs). Designed in partnership with ...
1 min read
Friday, 19 November 2010
The Rapid Response Facility is an emergency small grant programme that provides rapid assistance to counter major threats to wildlife conservation, primarily in UNESCO designated natural World Heritage sites. In the month of November, the Rapid Response Facility awarded grants to stop elephant poaching in stunning Zakouma National Park in Chad, and support petroleum clean-up in the Nile ...
3 min read
Friday, 19 November 2010
The University of the Netherlands Antilles is organizing a course on Caribbean Heritage in Curaçao from 21 to 25 March 2011 for Module 1 and from 28 March to 1 April for Module 2.
This course is for heritage professionals but also students, researchers, decision makers from the Caribbean region.
Participants must be able to operate on an academic level and be working in the area of ...
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to express its sincere condolences on the death of Andrzej Tomaszewski, renowned professor of built heritage conservation and former Director of ICCROM. His passing comes as a great loss to the cultural heritage preservation field.
Born in Warsaw, Poland, Prof Tomaszewski graduated from the Warsaw University of Technology with degrees in Art ...
1 min read
Monday, 8 November 2010
With over 250 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, cities are one of the most abundant and diverse categories of heritage.
This quantity and diversity add to the dynamics of urban heritage conservation, where concepts and approaches are constantly changing and evolving. To stay in the forefront of international views and trends and to contribute to ongoing debates involving ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 2 November 2010
On 2 November 2010, the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, and Kris Peeters, Minister - President of the Government of Flanders (Kingdom of Belgium), signed an agreement establishing a Trust Fund that will support UNESCO's activities in the field of heritage.
This is the third Trust Fund signed between UNESCO and the Government of Flanders. It bears witness to the trust and interest ...
1 min read
Thursday, 28 October 2010
The Go4BioDiv International Youth Forum for Natural World Heritage Sites took place from 16-29 October in Mt Fuji and Nagoya, Japan, in parallel to the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
The theme of the forum was "Our Treasures at Risk - World Heritage Sites in Times of Climate Change". Thirty-four young participants represented 23 World Heritage ...
2 min read
Friday, 22 October 2010
From 18 to 29 October, the 10th Conference of the Parties (COP) of the Convention on Biological Diversity is taking place in Nagoya, Japan. The COP marks the 20th anniversary of the Convention and is one of the highlights of the 2010 International Year of Biodiversity. An important objective of the meeting is to adopt a revised and updated Strategic Plan including new biodiversity ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
A fire that broke out on 11 October 2010 in the Maïdo forest at La Reunion National Park on Réunion Island was the worst the area has seen in twenty years, with roughly 1,000 hectares of the Park affected. Key areas of endemic plants seem to be seriously affected as well as other key micro-habitats for biodiversity. Among wildlife, several rare species are under threat, according to a ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
The state of conservation of Serengeti National Park was examined at the 34th Session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia, in July 2010, and the Committee expressed its utmost concern about a proposed highway in the northern wilderness area of the Serengeti National Park. This proposed highway is a part of Tanzania's Transport Sector Improvement Program (2002-2012). The North ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 20 October 2010
In an effort to involve the young generation in the decision-making process and present their experience in biodiversity conservation, young adults representing natural World Heritage sites around the world have joined the Go4BioDiv International Youth Forum. The Forum is held from 16-29 October at Mt Fuji and Nagoya, Japan, parallel to the Convention on Biological Diversity's 10th Conference ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
On 14 October 2010, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova convened Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian experts for a 'brainstorming meeting' to reactivate the UNESCO Action Plan for the safeguarding of the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem and its Wall, building on the constructive decision taken at the 34th session of the World Heritage Committee in Brasilia last August.
In her ...
3 min read
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
You wish to undertake a project related to Mediterranean cultures or art and crafts ?Are you a national from a Mediterranean country ?Born after 31 December 1981, you will be under 30 years of age in 2011.The Marc de Montalembert Foundation offers a 7000 euros grant for qualifying projects.The grant aims to encourage better knowledge and appreciation of the cultural diversity ...
1 min read
Friday, 8 October 2010
The news of a massive toxic spill that occurred 4 October 2010 at an aluminum plant in Hungary has caused great concern in the international community. We deeply deplore the impact of this disaster, especially the loss of lives.
The flood reached the Danube River from the Raab River on 7 October 2010, and while pH levels are diminishing, heavy metals and other substances could have a ...
1 min read
Thursday, 7 October 2010
Promotion of the World Sky Race, an unprecedented race among skyships, blimps and zeppelins to begin in September 2011, was launched on two giant screens in Times Square, New York City on September 30 and October 1, 2010. Scheduled to begin next year in London, the race involves competing teams that will fly around the world in 180 days and return to London. The team with the best ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
The German Minister of the Environment Hans-Heinrich Sander (Lower Saxony) and the Minister of Fishery Dr Juliane Rumpf (Schleswig-Holstein) received the UNESCO certificate for the transboundary World Heritage site of the Wadden Sea during the inscription ceremony on 2 October 2010 on a boat off the town of Büsum in the Schleswig-Holstein Wadden Sea National Park. While the World ...
1 min read
Monday, 4 October 2010
In an effort to involve young people in the decision-making process and present their experience in biodiversity conservation, young conservationists representing natural World Heritage sites are invited to an International Youth Forum from 16-29 October at Mt Fuji and Nagoya, Japan. Held in parallel to the Convention for Biological Diversity's 10th Conference of Parties (COP10) in Japan, the ...
2 min read
Thursday, 30 September 2010
The proceedings of the special session "Heritage and Development: diversity as an alternative" held on 18 December 2009 in the framework of the Africités V Summit in Marrakesh, have just been published.
Organized by UNESCO with the support of the France-UNESCO Convention and in collaboration with the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), the session was opened by Mr ...
1 min read
Thursday, 30 September 2010
UNESCO, in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and the Governorate of Luxor, will organize the first Scientific Committee meeting on the safeguarding project of New Gourna Village in Luxor, Egypt. The UNESCO initiative aims to assist the Government of Egypt in its efforts to preserve this precious heritage situated within the World Heritage property of Ancient Thebes. New Gourna ...
1 min read
Friday, 24 September 2010
One of America's most renowned photographers, Tom Till's work has appeared in magazines such as Time, Life, National Geographic and The New Yorker, as well as in numerous books. Along with his World Heritage collection, Mr. Till has photographed the landscapes, nature and history of more than 60 countries worldwide. The World Heritage exhibit includes photos of 32 sites, taken in 23 ...
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
On 20 September Mr Frédéric Mitterrand, Minister of Culture and Communication, Ms Chantal Jouanno, Secretary of State for Ecology and Mr Yves Dauge, President of the Association of French World Heritage Sites signed a Charter of Commitment for the Management of World Heritage sites in France.
The ceremony took place at the Ministry of Culture and Communication with Dr Mechtild ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
On 17 September, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Culture Mr Francesco Bandarin signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with Ms Francine C. Berkowitz, Director of International Relations of the Smithsonian Institution, creating an unprecedented agreement between the two institutions for cooperation on cultural and natural heritage programmes. Ms Berkowitz signed on ...
1 min read
Thursday, 16 September 2010
According to reports from the Secretary of the Civil Defense of Mexico, the heavy rains and the downpour of the past few weeks have generated severe flooding in the country, including seriously affecting the Tlacotalpan World Heritage site. The storms have also resulted in the forced relocation of almost 8500 people from the city, and at least five persons have been reported killed over the ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 15 September 2010
The Panamanian non-governmental organization FUNDICCEP (Fundación de Desarrollo Integral, Comunitario y Conservación de los Ecosistemas en Panamá), in coordination with the national authorities, has applied to the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) for funding for urgent analysis into the capacity of Río Chiriquí Viejo watershed, near La Amistad Biosphere ...
2 min read
Friday, 10 September 2010
[in French only] Besançon, Chinon, Lorient, Rennes et Strasbourg accueilleront, du 28 septembre au 5 octobre 2010, des représentants de villes et d'Etats indiens afin d'échanger sur les bonnes pratiques en matière de développement urbain global et durable à partir de la prise en compte des centres historiques.
Ce voyage d'études et de visites, ...
Thursday, 9 September 2010
Finland has taken the lead in applying the Enhancing our Heritage (EoH) management effectiveness assessment toolkit to cultural World Heritage sites. Finnish representatives participated in a World Heritage Nordic Foundation regional workshop on management planning for Nordic countries in 2009 in which the EoH toolkit had been presented. They were impressed by the toolkit's ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
The first preparatory meeting for the Second Cycle of the Periodic Reporting exercise for World Heritage in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) for the Mexico and Central America sub region was held from 6 to 8 September 2010 at the Antiguo Convento Franciscano de Propaganda FIDE, currently the Guadalupe Museum in Zacatecas (Mexico). The meeting coincided with the inauguration of the World ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 1 September 2010
[in French only] * Réunion du Comité Mixte de Coordination de la CFU, 11 mai 2010.
* Départ d'Isabelle Longuet du secretariat de la CFU.
* Valorisation du partenariat avec le Ministère de l'écologique, de l'énergie, du développement durable et de la mer (MEEDDM). Ingénierie de projet en vue de la soumission de projets au Fonds ...
Monday, 30 August 2010
The second phase of the Business Skills for World Heritage programme, designed to develop the business management skills of UNESCO World Heritage site staff, is about to start. The participants of the first team met on 27 August in Borneo (Malaysia), where the training will take place.
Teams from six World Heritage sites will be partnered with business mentors from global energy company ...
1 min read
Monday, 23 August 2010
A new website about Ireland's World Heritage properties and Ireland's Tentative List sites has just been launched.
This website contains information about Brú na Bóinne and Skellig Michael, the two Irish World Heritage sites, and the seven properties inscribed on Ireland's Tentative List. The website also includes galleries of stunning photographs of the properties. ...
Thursday, 12 August 2010
In addition to their dramatic consequences for the affected people, to which the World Heritage Centre expresses its sincere sympathy, the massive floods which have recently struck Pakistan are causing great concern for the state of conservation of the World Heritage property of Mohenjodaro. The Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro display the remains of one of the most important urban centre ...
1 min read
Monday, 9 August 2010
For the second time during 2010, news of massive floods across Central Europe is causing great concern to the World Heritage community, for their impacts on the border region between the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland.
In particular, the flooding has affected the castles and gardens of the transboundary World Heritage site of the Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski (Germany/Poland), a ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
The Minister of Culture of the Kingdom of Bahrain, Shaikha Mai bint Mohammad Al Khalifa, has been named new Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee. She replaces the Minister of Culture of Brazil, João Luiz da Silva Ferreira, who has chaired the Committee for the past 12 months.
The Committee nominated Shaikha Mai bint Mohammad Al Khalifa by acclamation on the last day of their ...
1 min read
Monday, 2 August 2010
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia today inscribed a natural site in the Russian Federation on the World Heritage List and has approved the Italian extension of a natural site in Switzerland.
The two sites concerned (in order of inscription)
Monte San Giorgio (Italy) (Extension of «Monte San Giorgio », Switzerland)
Monte San Giorgio is a pyramid-shaped, ...
2 min read
Monday, 2 August 2010
The 34th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia since 25 July today finished its consideration of nominations for the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Meeting under the Chairmanship of the Minister of Culture of Brazil, João Luiz da Silva Ferreira, the Committee inscribed 21 new sites, including 15 cultural, 5 natural and 1 mixed ...
2 min read
Sunday, 1 August 2010
The World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia has today approved extensions to three cultural sites in Austria, Romania and Spain.
The approved extensions include (in order of inscription):
City of Graz - Historic Centre and Schloss Eggenberg (Austria) (extension of "City of Graz - Historic Centre")
Graz is an exemplary model of the living heritage of a central European urban complex ...
2 min read
Sunday, 1 August 2010
The World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia has today has inscribed three new cultural sites, including two in Mexico and one in Brazil. It also inscribed three natural sites in China, Kiribati, Reunion Island (France) and extended a site already on the World Heritage List in Bulgaria.
The cultural sites are (in order of inscription):
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Mexico)
Camino Real ...
5 min read
Saturday, 31 July 2010
The World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia today inscribed the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania) as a cultural property on the World Heritage List. The Committee made its decision because of the extraordinary record of human evolution at the site, which spans a vast area of land from the Serengeti National Park in the north-west of Tanzania to the eastern arm of the Great Rift ...
1 min read
Saturday, 31 July 2010
The World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia has inscribed sites in Saudi Arabia, Australia, India, Islamic Republic of Iran and, for the first time, a site in the Marshall Islands, as well as the Republic of Korea on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The latest sites inscribed include (in order of inscription):
At Turaif District in ad-Dir'iyah (Saudi Arabia)
This property was the ...
5 min read
Saturday, 31 July 2010
Imperial Citadel of Thang Long-Hanoi (Viet Nam) becomes 900th site on UNESCO World Heritage List
The World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia has inscribed new cultural sites in Viet Nam, China, Tajikistan, France, the Netherlands, on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Committee also agreed to the extension of two cultural properties in Germany, Norway.
The latest cultural sites ...
5 min read
Friday, 30 July 2010
The World Heritage Committee, holding its 34th session chaired by João Luiz da Silva Ferreira, the Minister of Culture of Brazil, inscribed the Everglades National Park (United States) on the List of World Heritage in Danger, because of serious and continuing degradation of its aquatic ecosystem.
The inscription was made at the request of the United States. It's the second ...
1 min read
Friday, 30 July 2010
The World Heritage Committee holding its 34th session chaired by João Luiz da Silva Ferreira, the Minister of Culture of Brazil, has inscribed the Rainforests of the Atsinanana (Madagascar) on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of illegal logging and hunting of endangered lemurs on the site.
The Committee noted that despite a decree outlawing the exploitation and export of ...
1 min read
Friday, 30 July 2010
The World Heritage Committee holding its 34th session in Brasilia under the chairmanship of João Luiz da Silva Ferreira, today inscribed two new sites on the World Heritage List.
The new sites include 1 natural property and 1 mixed (natural and cultural) property.
The natural site is:
The Central Highlands of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka's highlands are situated in the south-central ...
1 min read
Thursday, 29 July 2010
The World Heritage Committee holding its 34th session chaired by João Luiz da Silva Ferreira, the Minister of Culture of Brazil, has inscribed the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi (Uganda) on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee also decided to remove the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador) from this List.
In March 2010, fire almost completely destroyed the Muzibu Azaala Mpanga ...
1 min read
Thursday, 29 July 2010
The World Heritage Committee, holding its 34th session chaired by João Luiz da Silva Ferreira, the Minister of Culture of Brazil, has inscribed the site of Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery (Georgia) on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The Committee expressed its serious concern about irreversible interventions carried out on the site as part of a major reconstruction ...
1 min read
Monday, 26 July 2010
Thirty-nine nominations from 33 countries will be considered for inscription on UNESCO's World Heritage List during the meeting of the World Heritage Committee underway in Brasilia. Three of the countries - Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Tajikistan - have no properties inscribed on the World Heritage List to date.
The Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova and Brazil's Minister of Culture ...
4 min read
Monday, 26 July 2010
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and the Minister of Culture of Brazil, João Luiz da Silva Ferreira today signed an agreement establishing a regional heritage management training centre in Rio de Janeiro. The new centre will help Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, Africa and Asia to implement the the World Heritage Convention.
This is the sixth such ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
Within the framework of the Emergency International Request submitted by Haiti after the devastating 12 January 2010 earthquake, the World Heritage Centre - Latin America and the Caribbean Unit (WHC/LAC) organized a Technical Mission from 11-18 July 2010 in close cooperation with the Institut de Sauvegarde du Patrimoine National (ISPAN) and the UNESCO Haiti Office. The Mission's objectives ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 20 July 2010
A new project for the conservation and management of Lumbini, the Birthplace of Lord Buddha, one of the UNESCO World Heritage properties in Nepal has been launched on 16 July 2010 in Kathmandu with the signing of the Plan of Operation by the Government of Nepal and UNESCO. The project will be coordinated by the UNESCO Kathmandu office in close collaboration with the World Heritage Centre and ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 13 July 2010
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee, ICCROM, ICOMOS and IUCN are launching the first title within the World Heritage Resource Manuals series.
It focuses on one specific approach to the principles, methodology and process for managing disaster risks at cultural and natural World Heritage properties.
So far, this manual, which has been ...
Friday, 9 July 2010
The Operational Guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention are now available in Portuguese.
The Operational Guidelines define specific criteria for the inscription of sites on the World Heritage List as well as for the provision of international assistance under the World Heritage Fund. They were revised in 2007 by the World Heritage Committee at its 31st Session in ...
Wednesday, 7 July 2010
The United Nations Development Programme has launched the new edition of "Picture this", an international photo contest.
Through the photo contest this year, UNDP hopes to bring much needed attention to the quickly approaching deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals in order to motivate people and governments in developed and developing countries to redouble their ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
On 10 March 2010, the Government of Equatorial Guinea officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, its instrument of ratification, becoming the 187th State Party to adopt the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
The World Heritage Convention entered into force for this State Party on 10 June ...
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
From 30 June to 4 July 2010, the International Academy for Nature Conservation, Isle of Vilm, Germany, hosted an expert workshop that set the basis for scaling-up Marine World Heritage. The workshop was jointly organized by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the IUCN-World Commission on Protected Areas and ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List when it meets for its 34th session in Brasilia (Brazil), from 25 July to 3 August.
During this year’s session - to be chaired by João Luiz Ferreira, the Brazilian Minister of Culture and President of the World Heritage Committee - 35 States Parties to the ...
5 min read
Monday, 5 July 2010
Comoé National Park in Côte d'Ivoire lies in a region particularly affected by the Ivorian civil war, which lasted for five years until 2007. A World Heritage site since 1983, it was added to the In Danger list in 2003.
During the conflict, park management authorities in Comoé were effectively forced to abandon their operations, so there were few, if any, deterrents to ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 30 June 2010
UNESCO today received a petition of signed by 125,000 people around the world protesting against the re-opening of a paper and pulp mill on the shores of Lake Baikal, a World Heritage site in the Russian Federation.
The petition was presented to UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, Francesco Bandarin, by Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), who agreed to bring it to ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
The World Heritage Centre has recently published a new booklet entitled "World Heritage in the Congo Basin".
This publication is intended for both biodiversity specialists and the general public. It provides detailed information on two important initiatives undertaken by the World Heritage Centre for the preservation of natural heritage in Central Africa. The first initiative, ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
A new website launched by Wetlands International, BirdLife International and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) reveals major gaps in the protection of many critical sites used by migratory waterbirds across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and Central Asia.
The new 'Critical Site Network (CSN)' Tool (www.wingsoverwetlands.org/csntool) provides comprehensive ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 23 June 2010
Aranjuez, the only Spanish site declared a Cultural Landscape in UNESCO´s World Heritage List, is hosting the 2nd World Heritage Ibero-American Youth Forum from 20 to June 30, 2010. The event comes in the wake of the 1st Ibero-American Youth Forum on World Heritage, held in Seville in June 2009, during the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee.
This event gathers together young ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 22 June 2010
World Heritage site managers of 22 States Parties have been meeting in Yaoundé, Cameroon, since 21 June, 2010, to advance in the preparation of periodic reports in French and Portuguese-speaking African countries.The three-day sub-regional meeting, organized by the World Heritage Centre and the UNESCO Office in Yaoundé, was inaugurated on Monday 21 June 2010 by the Minister of ...
1 min read
Monday, 21 June 2010
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has launched an international storyboard competition for the creation of the next episode of the animated series Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures.
The competition invites young people to express their ideas in the form of a storyboard for the Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures animated series. In the coming days, 187 National Commissions - every ...
1 min read
Monday, 21 June 2010
The African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) strives towards the effective conservation and protection of Africa's natural and cultural heritage. AWHF is for all African Member states who have signed the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention in support of these goals. The AWHF is the first regional funding initiative within the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention.
The AWHF was ...
2 min read
Friday, 18 June 2010
Since the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee (Seville, 2009), the World Heritage Centre and IUCN have received a large number of letters from individuals who are concerned about the state of conservation of the the World Heritage property Lake Baikal (Russian Federation), and in particular about the re-opening of the Baikalsk Paper and Pulp Mill (BPPM) and its likely impacts on the ...
1 min read
Thursday, 3 June 2010
The World Heritage Centre of UNESCO has welcomed the support given by the President of the Russian Federation, Dmitry Medvedev, to the World Heritage Committee's decision regarding "The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and the Related Group of Monuments" which requested that work on the construction of the Okhta Centre Tower be suspended and that new designs reducing the building's ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 2 June 2010
Severe torrential rain has resulted in flooding and mudslides across much of Guatemala, causing some communities to be entirely cut off and requiring the evacuation of thousands of people. Tropical Storm Agatha, the first named storm of the Pacific hurricane season, made landfall on 29 May 2010 in Guatemala and left a trail of destruction across much of Central America. The World Heritage ...
1 min read
Friday, 21 May 2010
The news of massive flooding across Eastern Europe, and the threat that this poses to World Heritage sites in Poland has caused great concern to the World Heritage community. We deeply deplore the loss of lives in this natural disaster. The floods are the worst to occur in Poland since 1997, when 55 people died and nearly 50,000 homes were flooded. In 2002, a number of World Heritage sites ...
1 min read
Thursday, 20 May 2010
The new Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development (JCHMSD), is currently considering papers for inclusion in its first issue launching in 2011. The double-blind peer reviewed journal is edited by Ana Pereira Roders, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands, and Ron van Oers, UNESCO World Heritage Centre, France. It stimulates and encourages research ...
1 min read
Thursday, 6 May 2010
During the Fifth Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France from 3-7 May, Mr. Yves Meylan, Director France of the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre gave a keynote address on private sector engagement for marine conservation. Mr. Meylan presented the innovative Tides of Time partnership among Jaeger-LeCoultre, the ...
1 min read
Monday, 3 May 2010
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets cfu :
* Le projet « Niger - Loire : gouvernance et culture »
* Villages antiques du nord de la Syrie. Mission du 9 au 14 avril 2010
* Projet européen « patrimoine culturel et développement local : renforcement des capacités des collectivités locales d'Afrique ...
Monday, 26 April 2010
An inspection team has found the damage resulting from the 3 April grounding of a bulk carrier on the Great Barrier Reef (Australia), a World Heritage site. Initial inspections indicate the impact site covers approximately 2.5 km, and reef scarring and potentially toxic paint residue have been found. The coral and sea bed structure was completely crushed in some areas and approximately ...
1 min read
Thursday, 22 April 2010
After last year's groundbreaking Tides of Time campaign, luxury watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre organized a second auction on March 18, 2010.
This time, one of two vintage 1958 Geophysic Chronometer Models E168, tested by professional climber Stephane Schaffter and his team during their recent Geophysic Expedition in the Himalayas, was up for auction. A week after the opening, the final ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 20 April 2010
The conservation and preservation of cultural heritage is an interdisciplinary field requiring close cooperation between conservator-restorers, archaeologists, art historians, collection managers and museum curators on the one hand, and conservation scientists on the other.
In order to promote the synergy between the cultural heritage field, and the natural sciences and engineering, the ...
1 min read
Friday, 16 April 2010
The call for applications for the 3rd edition of the Master programme on "World Heritage at Work", offered by the University of Turin, the Polytechnic of Turin and the International Training Centre of ILO, in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, is now open.
The programme is intended for professionals involved in the management of a World Heritage ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova today expressed her relief at the news that the reconstruction of the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi (Uganda) is feasible, following its near-destruction by fire on 16 March.
"I am glad to report that an expert mission confirms the feasibility of this unique World Heritage site's reconstruction. UNESCO will do everything in its power to help the ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Francesco Bandarin (Italy), Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre since 2000, was appointed today UNESCO’s new Assistant Director-General for Culture.
As a specialist in architecture and urban planning, Mr Bandarin previously worked in both public and private institutions in the fields of built heritage, cultural heritage conservation, environmental heritage and cultural events, as well ...
1 min read
Monday, 12 April 2010
The Rapid Response Facility (RRF) has awarded Belizean conservation group Wildtracks with a grant to assess proposed dredging and mangrove clearance within Corozal Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, affecting what may be the only breeding location for the critically endangered smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata) in Belize.
Corozal Bay and the adjacent Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve, which forms part ...
1 min read
Monday, 12 April 2010
On 12 April 2010, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and the Governor of the Mexican state of Zacatecas, Amália García Medina, signed the Agreement establishing, in Zacatecas, the Regional World Heritage Institute as a category 2 institute under the auspices of UNESCO.
The Regional Institute of Zacatecas, which will be located in the ‘Casa del Conquistador’, the ...
2 min read
Monday, 22 March 2010
With the objective of addressing issues related to the preservation of Bolivian World Heritage properties, the Head of the Latin America and Caribbean Unit of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Ms Nuria Sanz, met with the new Minister of Culture, Ms Zulma Yugar, during her recent visit to the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France.
The property of Tiwanaku: Spiritual and Political Centre of the ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 17 March 2010
Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, today expressed her sorrow over the tragic fire that ravaged the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi, a World Heritage site in Uganda, and the deaths of two people in protests that followed the blaze. She made an appeal for calm and said UNESCO stands ready to help Ugandan authorities to assess damages and plan remedial action at this major religious ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 10 March 2010
After last year's groundbreaking Tides of Time campaign, Jaeger-LeCoultre's second online auction on March 18, 2010 will benefit the preservation work of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. This year, the Manufacture is offering an iconic and unique timepiece: one of two vintage 1958 Geophysic Chronometers tested by professional climber Stephane Schaffter and his team during their ...
1 min read
Friday, 5 March 2010
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre expresses its condolences for the victims of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake that occurred in Chile on 27 February. While providing humanitarian relief remains the absolute priority for the Chilean Government, recent information has been received on the state of certain heritage sites: Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso and Sewell Mining ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
The latest version of the World Heritage map, produced by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and National Geographic Maps with support from the United Nations Foundation, can now be ordered for a modest fee from the World Heritage Centre website. All proceeds from sales of the maps will go toward the preservation and promotion of World Heritage sites.
The map is an extremely valuable learning ...
1 min read
Friday, 26 February 2010
During the evening of 25 February 2010, in Timbuktu (Mali), a stampede occurred amidst a crowd gathered outside Djingareyber Mosque. Among the crowd were local citizens and other pilgrims who had assembled there to pray on the occasion of the Mawlid festival, celebrating the birth of the Prophet Muhammad.
This stampede caused 22 deaths and at least 45 persons were ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
At a year-end strategy discussion, Shell, Earthwatch and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre evaluated the results of the first year of work under their five-year programme of collaboration to enhance the business skills of managers of World Heritage sites. During the first year, nine World Heritage site managers from three sites in South East Asia had received training in ...
2 min read
Director-General of UNESCO deplores loss of life and offers support after collapse of Meknes minaret
Monday, 22 February 2010
Following the collapse of a minaret in the World Heritage city of Meknes, Director-General Irina Bokova expressed profound sympathy Sunday and said UNESCO's expertise was available to the Moroccan authorities in their restoration efforts.
"I am deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life of people who had gathered to worship at the mosque. I extend to the families of the victims my ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 16 February 2010
World Heritage Papers Series No. 26: Cultural Landscapes, A Handbook for Conservation and Management may be downloaded from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre website.
Cultural landscapes are those where human interaction with natural systems has, over a long period, formed a distinctive landscape. These interactions, in the case of World Heritage cultural landscapes, are of outstanding ...
1 min read
Friday, 12 February 2010
In response to the recent impacts of torrential rains at the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, a technical visit of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre was carried out by Nuria Sanz, Chief of the Latin America and the Caribbean Unit, from 6-10 February in Lima, Peru. World Heritage Centre staff met with Ministers of Environment and Tourism, Directors of the Instituto Nacional de Cultura (INC) ...
1 min read
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Two official signatures took place recently at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France to establish new Category 2 Centres dedicated to World Heritage preservation. The African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) and the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), to be established respectively in South Africa and Bahrain and operated under the auspices of UNESCO, are both dedicated to reinforcing ...
3 min read
Monday, 1 February 2010
[in French only] novembre 2009 - janvier 2010
Actualités sur l'avancement des projets CFU :
* Atelier Fleuves et patrimoines. Paris, Senat français, 2 novembre 2009.
* Réunion d'experts « Pastoralisme méditerranéen : patrimoine culturel et paysager & développement durable ». Tirana, Albanie, 12 au 14 novembre ...
Monday, 1 February 2010
On 18 January 2010 a meeting took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France between the Secretariats of the Convention on the Protection of the Alps and the World Heritage Convention. The 'Alpine Convention' was signed by the 8 Alpine countries on 7th November 1991, recognizing the Alps as a unique, common area which needs a common development and ...
1 min read
Monday, 1 February 2010
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Secretariat to the World Heritage Convention, wishes to extend its best wishes to the Secretariat for the Ramsar Convention(Convention on Wetlands of International Importance) on World Wetlands Day, celebrating the 39th anniversary of its adoption. Like the World Heritage Convention, the Ramsar Convention is a site-based intergovernmental treaty which ...
1 min read
Friday, 29 January 2010
The latest World Heritage site to benefit from the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) is the Belize Barrier Reef System (BBRS). Recognized in large part for its extensive coral reef and mangrove ecosystems, this property is particularly vulnerable to siltation of the clear tropical waters on which it depends. The RRF was approached by the Ya'axché Conservation Trust (YCT), reporting that ...
1 min read
Thursday, 28 January 2010
Torrential rains which have occurred in Peru over the last five days have caused the death of a tourist and a tour guide, and have impacted two World Heritage properties, City of Cuzco, and The Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, both inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1983.
Peruvian regional and national authorities have declared a state of emergency following massive landslides and ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 20 January 2010
While saving lives and providing humanitarian relief remain the absolute priority of the international community in helping Haiti deal with the devastation of the earthquake, information is beginning to arrive about the state of the country's heritage: the National History Park - Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers, situated in the north of the country, and about Jacmel, in the southeast.
The ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
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 2 million Euros.
The five World Heritage Sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, National Parks Virunga, Kahuzi-Biega, Garamba and Salonga, ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 22 December 2009
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 Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITRAP, China) and participated in an Asia-Pacific Regional Training Workshop on Assessment of ...
1 min read
Friday, 18 December 2009
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 Ivorian parks and reserves, including Taï which will benefit from this funding, have a rich biodiversity that needs protection."
The Taï ...
1 min read
Thursday, 17 December 2009
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 (UNFCCC).
"Thanks to its interdisciplinary capacities, UNESCO can render a unique contribution to mitigation and adaptation to climate change through distinct ...
3 min read
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
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 fragile example of earthen architecture, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988.
The conclusion of the state of conservation of the site quickly ...
1 min read
Monday, 14 December 2009
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 managers or other stakeholders in identifying World Heritage site values and threats; in assessing management needs and processes, assessing ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
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 Hirayama lent his tireless support to the Organization's projects, especially in the fields of education, emergency relief and reconstruction. He was ...
1 min read
Thursday, 3 December 2009
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 online by internet users around the world, thanks to an alliance signed by UNESCO and the international corporation Google.The agreement makes it possible for ...
3 min read
Wednesday, 2 December 2009
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 in February and March 2010 and 2011, in partnership with the Natural History Museum and the Field Studies Council.
This pilot project will offer a ...
1 min read
Monday, 30 November 2009
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 Ifugao.
Governor Teodoro Baguilat Jr and Arch. Pasquale Bruno Malara, Director of the Regional Directorate of Liguria for Cultural Heritage and Landscape led the Twinning ...
1 min read
Thursday, 26 November 2009
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 Aksum Obelisk from where it stood in front of the FAO Headquarters for several decades, to its original location at the Aksum World Heritage site in ...
1 min read
Friday, 13 November 2009
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 19th to 29th October 2009. The programme seeks to improve the management effectiveness of World Heritage Sites using business planning ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 10 November 2009
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: writer-photographer Jean-Jacques Gelbart has captured Morocco's most incredible sites through the lens of his camera.
Eight writers have added prose to his ...
1 min read
Thursday, 29 October 2009
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 Committee is responsible for the implementation of the Convention. The General Assembly also focused on the priorities to be set in implementing the ...
1 min read
Thursday, 29 October 2009
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 Poland will be introducing itself at the European Trade Fair for Conservation, Restoration and Old Building Renovation from 18 to 20 November ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
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 Committee are Cambodia, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Iraq, Mali, Mexico, Russian Federation, South Africa, Switzerland, Thailand and United Arab Emirates. ...
1 min read
Friday, 23 October 2009
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 the partnership, TripAdvisor founder and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen Kaufer, pledged to donate up to US$1.5m of support over the next two years to ...
2 min read
Thursday, 15 October 2009
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 Montalembert Foundation offers through competitive selection a 7000 euros grant to enable the implementation of such projects.
The grant is meant to ...
1 min read
Thursday, 8 October 2009
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 discuss the conservation of the World Heritage property of "Ibiza, Biodiversity and Culture".
The meeting focused on preparations of a joint expert ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 6 October 2009
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 the General Conference, a feasibility study on the desirability of a new UNESCO Recommendation on the conservation of the Historic Urban Landscape ...
2 min read
Thursday, 1 October 2009
The UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2009 has just been published. Featuring a useful week-at-a-glance design, it is illustrated with 79 colour photos of World Heritage sites, each accompanied with a short caption. It also introduces the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage; its objectives, the selection criteria, the institutions which ensure its ...
Tuesday, 29 September 2009
The most complete guide to World Heritage sites has been co-published by UNESCO and Harper Collins with the title The World's Heritage: A unique guide to every UNESCO World Heritage site. The world's outstanding cultural and natural treasures are included with detailed descriptions of 878 UNESCO World Heritage sites. Organized chronologically by the year of inscription on the World Heritage ...
1 min read
Thursday, 10 September 2009
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the German Federal Foundation for the Environment (Deutsche Bundesstiftung Umwelt, DBU) have signed a Partnership Agreement which provides a strategic framework for future cooperation for the conservation of World Heritage sites in Europe.
Signed in July 2009 by Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre, and Mr Fritz Brickwedde, ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
The Rapid Response Facility (RRF), the emergency small grants programme jointly operated by Fauna & Flora International (FFI), UNESCO World Heritage Centre, and the United Nations Foundation, has just launched a new website at www.rapid-response.org.
The RRF is a unique small grant programme. With a target processing time for grant applications of just 8 working days, the RRF provides ...
1 min read
Monday, 7 September 2009
The Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report 2009, prepared by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, is the first comprehensive assessment of the health of the Great Barrier Reef and identifies the key challenges facing it now and into the future. It is the first report of its kind and provides a reliable and scientifically credible assessment of and outlook for the Great Barrier Reef World ...
2 min read
Thursday, 3 September 2009
On 21 July 2009, the Algerian Ministry of Culture and the National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP) signed a cooperation agreement with the support of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. The ceremony took place in Algiers with the participation of the Algerian Ministry of Culture's Director of International Cooperation, the Ambassador of France, the President of INRAP ...
2 min read
Monday, 31 August 2009
[in French only] février 2009 - août 2009
Vie de la CFU :
Réunion de bilan
Réunion de bilan de la Convention France-UNESCO présidé par Délégation permanente française auprès de l'UNESCO, 12 mars 2009, UNESCO.
Réunion de bilan technique et financier des fonds en dépôts français ...
Monday, 24 August 2009
Last June UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB) published the guide, "Marine Spatial Planning: A step-by-step approach toward ecosystem-based management". The guide offers countries an operational framework to conserve the value of their marine heritage while at the same time allowing sustainable use of the economic potential of ...
1 min read
Monday, 17 August 2009
Signed in 1997 and entered into force in 1999, the France-UNESCO Convention for architectural, urban and landscape heritage is a tool for cooperation, by which France places financial and technical assistance at UNESCO's disposal. The France-UNESCO Convention contributes to the development of concrete actions in the framework of the major objectives of the United Nations and is designed to ...
1 min read
Friday, 31 July 2009
"Why do I have mangoes in July?" was the title of one of the presentations at a three-day expert seminar on climate change education at UNESCO HQ in Paris, which brought together 60 experts in climate change, education for sustainable development and curriculum development, in particular coming from Small Islands Developing States.
"Global warming is the defining issue of our time. ...
2 min read
Friday, 31 July 2009
Originally published in 2007 in English, this publication has now been reprinted for the third time in English and translated into French and Spanish. It presents twenty-six case studies from selected natural and cultural World Heritage sites in order to illustrate the impacts of climate change that have already been observed, and those that can be expected in the future. This is a foundation ...
1 min read
Monday, 20 July 2009
Following a discussion with Francesco Bandarin, Director of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, Christine Petersen, Chief Marketing Officer of TripAdvisor, has confirmed the company's pledge to support World Heritage by developing an online outreach and awareness building campaign focusing on conservation and community involvement at World Heritage site destinations. TripAdvisor has proposed to ...
1 min read
Sunday, 28 June 2009
The Sacred City of Caral-Supe (Peru), the oldest centre of civilization in the Americas, was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO. The Committee also added the historic centre of the town of Levoča to the Slovak World Heritage site of ...
1 min read
Sunday, 28 June 2009
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, inscribed the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta (Georgia) on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of concerns over their preservation.
The Committee asked Georgia to adopt an integrated management plan for the site and address problems related to ...
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Sunday, 28 June 2009
The World Heritage Committee holding its 33rd session chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, has inscribed two new natural sites and 11 cultural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Since it also withdrew one site - from the List, Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany), the List now numbers a total of 890 properties.
The ...
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Saturday, 27 June 2009
The World Heritage Committee meeting in Seville, under the chair of María Jesús San Segundo, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, has decided to inscribe Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System and Colombia's Los Katios National Park on the List of World Heritage in Danger.
The main problem with Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System concerns mangrove cutting and ...
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Saturday, 27 June 2009
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, has inscribed the Stoclet House, a private residence in the Belgian capital Brussels, on the World Heritage List.
When banker and art collector Adolphe Stoclet commissioned this house from one of the leading architects of the Vienna Secession movement, ...
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Saturday, 27 June 2009
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, has inscribed a Spanish lighthouse dating back to antiquity, The Tower of Hercules in La Coruña, on the World Heritage List alongside the watch-manufacturing towns of La Chaux-de-Fonds / Le Locle watch-making town-planning (Switzerland).
The Tower ...
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Saturday, 27 June 2009
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, has inscribed Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal (United Kingdom) on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and added France’s Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains as an extension to the site of Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, which was inscribed in 1982 ...
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Friday, 26 June 2009
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, has inscribed China's Mount Wutai on UNESCO's World Heritage List as a cultural landscape.
With its five flat peaks, Mount Wutai is a sacred Buddhist mountain. The cultural landscape numbers 53 monasteries and includes the East Main Hall of Foguang Temple, ...
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Friday, 26 June 2009
On 13 March 2009 in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the latest maps of World Heritage sites produced by the Belgian universities of Louvain (UCL) and Gand (UGent), with the financial support of the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (BELSPO) were officially presented to the Congo Institute for Nature Conservation (ICCN).
The General Director for the ICCN, Mr Cosma ...
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Friday, 26 June 2009
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, has inscribed the Wadden Sea on the World Heritage List as a transboundary property for Germany and the Netherlands.
The Committee also inscribed Italy's Dolomites mountains and the Philippines' Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park as an extension to the Tubbataha ...
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Friday, 26 June 2009
The Tides of Time programme, initiated in 2008 through a partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre and the International Herald Tribune, has entered its second year.
The year began with coverage of sites such as Sian Kaan in Mexico and the Everglades in the USA. Other sites including the Atoll of Aldabra (Seychelles), Sundarbans (Bangladesh/India), Shiretoko (Japan), and the Peninsula Valdez ...
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Friday, 26 June 2009
Cidade Velha has been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, marking Cape Verde's entry to the international community's inventory of properties of outstanding universal value.
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, inscribed the historic centre, which dates back to the late 15th century and ...
1 min read
Friday, 26 June 2009
Burkina Faso joined the rank of countries that have World Heritage properties on their territory with the inscription of the Ruins of Loropéni on UNESCO’s List on Friday.
The 11,130m2 property, the first to be inscribed in the country, with its imposing stone walls is the best preserved of ten fortresses in the Lobi area and is part of a larger group of 100 stone enclosures that ...
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Friday, 26 June 2009
Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain of Kyrgyzstan has become the country’s first site to be inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Shushtar Historical Hydraulic System, Bridges, dams, canals, buildings and watermills from ancient time to present (Iran) and the Royal Tombs of the Joseong Dynasty (Republic of Korea) were also added to the List on Friday.
Sulamain-Too Sacred Mountain (Kyrgyzstan) ...
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Thursday, 25 June 2009
The Weimar Jena Akademie in partnership with the Bauhaus Universität Weimar and co-financed by the European Union, is organizing its 10th edition of the Weimar Summer Courses.
The Weimar Summer Courses will offer around 80 participants from different countries a two week program of diverse activities in small work groups which will include seminars, lectures, workshops and discussion ...
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Thursday, 25 June 2009
The World Heritage Committee has welcomed the success of the authorities of Azerbaijan in preserving the Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshahs' Palace and Maiden Tower (Azerbaijan), and decided to remove the property from UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger.
The site, which sustained damage during the earthquake of November 2000, was inscribed on the Danger List in 2003. The site ...
1 min read
Thursday, 25 June 2009
"Every time we fail to preserve a site, we share the pain of the State Party," declared María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO who is chairing the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee presently underway in Seville on Thursday.
The World Heritage Committee decided to remove Germany's Dresden Elbe Valley from UNESCO's World Heritage List due ...
2 min read
Monday, 22 June 2009
The 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, opened today in Seville, Spain. During the session, which ends on June 30, the Committee´s 21 members will review the state of conservation of properties inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and 27 nominations for new ...
3 min read
Friday, 19 June 2009
José Maria and José, founders of the ICE CARE project, left UNESCO Headquaters in Paris this morning following a meeting with Mr Kishore Rao, Deputy Director of the World Heritage Centre, to begin their 4 year project at five of the World Heritage Glaciers. The purpose of the expeditions will be to raise awareness about the threats to these melting ice caps. It is upon reading ...
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Thursday, 18 June 2009
Spain, host of the 33rd session of the World Heritage Committee, is organizing the first Ibero-American World Heritage Youth Forum. Participants will be young people between 12 and 15 years old who attend in their country of origin a secondary school affiliated with the UNESCO ASPnet Schools Network, and who are acquainted with the World Heritage in Young Hands programme. During the week-long ...
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Saturday, 13 June 2009
On 12 June 2009, the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Francesco Bandarin and the Director-General of the Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture (IRCICA), Halit Eren signed a cooperation agreement in Istanbul, Turkey, within the framework of the UNESCO-IRCICA Mou signed in 2005 by the Heads of the two Organizations.
The World Heritage Centre and IRCICA have ...
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Tuesday, 9 June 2009
The Honorable Jim Prentice, Canada's Canada's Environment Minister and Minister responsible for Parks Canada, has introduced a bill which resulted in an important expansion of the Nahanni National Park Reserve of Canada. This followed a commitment made in 2009 by the Government of Canada. Through this proposed law, the Nahanni area is six times larger, making this 3000-km² park the third ...
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Friday, 5 June 2009
On 21 and 22 May 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, visited four World Heritage Sites in northern Portugal. He was accompanied throughout his trip by the President of the Portuguese National Commission to UNESCO, Ambassador Fernando Andresen Guimarães.
The Director-General's first visit was to the Prehistoric Rock-Art Sites in the Côa Valley , ...
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Thursday, 4 June 2009
On 28 May, after a visit to UNESCO's Director-General, UNESCO Artist for Peace Missa Johnouchi met with Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre.
Ms Johnouchi was in Paris to record three new songs with the French National Orchestra for her next album. The album will be released in Japan in autumn 2009 and is conceived by Ms Johnouchi, with the support of UNESCO, as a ...
Friday, 29 May 2009
UNESCO's Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura, and the President of the Republic of Chile, Michelle Bachelet Jeria, presented today in Paris a joint training project for development and sustainable ecotourism, aimed at local communities in the Rapa Nui National Park, a site inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1995.
To launch the project, financed by the Government of Japan, a ...
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Tuesday, 26 May 2009
The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when it meets for its 33rd session in Seville, Spain, from 22 to 30 June.
During this year's session - to be chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO - 35 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention will ...
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Tuesday, 19 May 2009
The World Heritage Centre wishes to pay tribute to Michel Parent, a leading personality of world cultural heritage, who passed away last week at the age of ninety-three.
Born in 1916 in Neuilly sur Seine, France, Michel Parent was a highly active and creative man. During his impressive career, he successively became Inspector (1945) and Inspector General (1958) of Sites, Inspector General ...
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Friday, 15 May 2009
The first World Heritage sites to participate in the Earthwatch "Business Skills for World Heritage" programme were selected today. A total of 9 site managers from Ujung Kulon National Park (Indonesia), Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (Philippines) and Kinabalu Park (Malaysia) will join two Earthwatch training professionals and three Shell company business planning experts on ...
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Thursday, 30 April 2009
The master's degree course "World Heritage at Work", offered by the University of Turin and the Polytechnic of Turin and organized by the International Training Centre of ILO in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, is preparing for its second year.
The programme is intended for professionals involved in the management of a World Heritage property and those who are associated ...
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Monday, 27 April 2009
As part of a commitment to sharing its expertise, the US National Park Service (NPS) is offering training opportunities to qualified candidates who wish to learn from the US experience in managing and protecting World Heritage Sites. All expenses paid extended residencies in US parks designated as World Heritage Sites will be available to site managers and staff of World Heritage Sites ...
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Thursday, 23 April 2009
On 23 April 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura inaugurated an exhibition at UNESCO Headquarters celebrating the successful reinstallation of the Aksum Obelisk in Ethiopia. Entitled 'Aksum Rediscovered: The Reinstallation of the Aksum Obelisk', the exhibition features films and photographs documenting key moments of the re-installation built around a structure ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 22 April 2009
With the financial support of the World Heritage Fund, as well as national organizers of India, the final of a series of "Itinerant Workshops on the Conservation and Management of Persian, Timurid and Mughal Architecture", has successfully taken place in Delhi and Agra, from 6 to 12 April 2009 in India. It was jointly organized by the World Heritage Centre, the Archaeological Survey of India ...
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