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Temple Zone of Sambor Prei Kuk, Archaeological Site of Ancient Ishanapura (Cambodia)
 

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Aleppo must be saved: Call by the Chairman of the World Heritage Committee
Friday, 10 August 2012
"Regardless of political positioning, the public is deeply concerned about the security situation in Aleppo and the safety of its citizens during the civil conflict. Aleppo, the Milennial City of Art and History, Is now in Danger, and its Cultural heritage of outstanding universal value is now under threat. On behalf of the World Heritage Committee, while expressing our solidarity ...
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Director-General Visits the Buddhist Monuments of Bagan
Wednesday, 8 August 2012
Close to one thousand years ago, Anawrahta, king of the first Myanmar Empire and a staunch advocate of Theravada Buddhism, embarked on one of the most ambitious religious construction programs in history in his kingdom’s capital city, Bagan. Today, over 3,000 temples and pagodas – the largest concentration in the world - stretch as far as the eye can see across the plains to the ...
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“World Heritage and indigenous peoples” - on the occasion of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People, 9 August 2012
Monday, 6 August 2012
At its tenth session, the UN Permanent Forum on indigenous issues (UNPFII) made several recommendations relating to UNESCO, its World Heritage Committee and the advisory bodies ICOMOS, ICCROM and IUCN. At the 34th (Brasilia, 2010), 35th (UNESCO, 2011) and 36th (St Petersburg, 2012) sessions of the World Heritage Committee, representatives of the UN Permanent Forum were present as observers ...
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UNESCO and the Smithsonian Institution team up to celebrate the World Heritage Convention
Tuesday, 31 July 2012
The project ‘Protection, Preservation and Prosperity: Stories of World Heritage,’ is being launched today by UNESCO and the Smithsonian Institution to celebrate the World Heritage Convention. Using mobile phone technology to reach the wider public, the project focuses on 10 World Heritage sites which embody, in particular, the role of local communities in World Heritage ...
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The Director-General of UNESCO appeals for the Protection of the World Heritage City of Aleppo
Friday, 27 July 2012
In light of escalated violence in the vicinity of several historic urban areas in Syria, the Director-General reiterates her appeal of 30 March 2012, to all parties involved in the conflict to protect all Syrian cultural heritage. UNESCO is particularly alarmed over reports of heavy fighting in Aleppo, which ancient city is a World Heritage site. Strategically positioned on historic trade ...
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Creation of a Special Fund for the Safeguarding of Mali’s World Heritage sites
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Echoing the call of UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, the World Heritage Committee has established a Special Fund to support Mali’s efforts to safeguard the World Heritage properties affected by the armed conflict in the north of the country, notably the sites of Timbuktu and the Tomb of Askia in Gao. The Fund will support the Government of Mali in assessing damage at the sites, ...
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RRF grant awarded to rebuilt the Okapi Wildlife Reserve
Friday, 20 July 2012
On June 24, a group of armed rebels attacked the headquarters of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, situated in the north-east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, killing seven park staff- and their family members. Others were taken hostage or are unaccounted for. The entire Reserve infrastructure was destroyed and the 15 okapi of the Epulu Breeding and Research Station were all killed. Epulu plays ...
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Tokyo Expert Meeting (Feb 2012) published
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
The record of the "International Expert Meeting on the 40th Anniversary" which was held on 16 February 2012 is now available on the Japan ICOMOS website in English and Japanese. http://www.japan-icomos.org/news.html
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World Heritage Centre signs Memorandum of Understanding with the French Marine Protected Area Agency
Friday, 6 July 2012
The World Heritage Centre and the French Marine Protected Area Agency (AAMP) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in support of the conservation of marine World Heritage sites. The World Heritage Centre and  AAMP have cooperated informally over the past years, in particular on efforts for the conservation marine World Heritage in the Indian Ocean and strengthening the World Heritage ...
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End of 36th session of the World Heritage Committee marked by concern for World Heritage sites in Mali
Friday, 6 July 2012
The World Heritage Committee Friday closed its 36th session after almost two weeks of work under the chair of Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Ambassador of Russia to UNESCO. The Committee added 26 new sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List during the session.  It marked the 40th anniversary of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The new ...
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Emergency appeal for Okapi Wildlife Reserve (DRC) following murderous raid by poachers
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
UNESCO and the nongovernmental organization Fauna and Flora International are launching an emergency appeal to support the staff and rebuild the headquarters of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve in Epulu, a small village in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  On 24 June, poachers armed with AK47 rifles attacked the facility and killed seven people, including two ...
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21st International Radiocarbon Conference held at UNESCO Headquarters
Wednesday, 4 July 2012
The World Heritage Thematic Programme, Human Evolution: Adaptations, Dispersals and Social Developments (HEADS) https://whc.unesco.org/en/heads/, collaborated with the UNESCO Science Sector in the organization of the 21st International Radiocarbon Conference, held from 9 to 13 July 2012, at UNESCO Headquarters. Nuria Sanz, General Coordinator of the HEADS Programme at the World Heritage ...
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Beech Forests of Europe – Further Sites for the WH list ?
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
After a three-day expert meeting held in Italy and ending on 20 June 2012, participants concluded that there is further potential for European beech forests as World Natural Heritage.   The workshop was held in the context of the existing site “Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and The Ancient Beech Forests of Germany”, and demonstrated how World Heritage was ...
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World Heritage Committee calls for end to destruction of Mali’s heritage and adopts decision for its support
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
The World Heritage Committee on 2 July condemned the destruction of World Heritage sites in Mali and decided on measures to help the country protect its heritage. In its decision, the 21-member Committee responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention, called on the Director-General of UNESCO to create a special fund to help Mali in the conservation of its cultural heritage. The ...
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Twenty-six new sites inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List this year
Monday, 2 July 2012
The World Heritage Committee on Monday morning inscribed Lena Pillars Nature Park of the Russian Federation, the last site to be added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List during this year’s session. Chad, Congo, Palau and Palestine had World Heritage sites inscribed on the List for the first time. Lena Pillars Nature Park is marked by spectacular rock pillars that reach a height of ...
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Four natural and four cultural properties added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List on Sunday
Sunday, 1 July 2012
The World Heritage Committee on Sunday inscribed eight new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, including Chad’s first World Heritage property. Inscriptions will continue tomorrow Monday. The new sites are: Major Mining Sites of Walonia (Belgium): The four sites of the property form a strip that is 170km long by 3 to 15 km, crossing Belgium from east to west. It consists of the ...
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Bahraini pearling site and the Mosque of Isfahan inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Saturday, 30 June 2012
Pearling, testimony of an island economy (Bahrain) and the Masjed-e Jāmé of Isfahan (Iran) were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, Saturday morning. The World Heritage Committee, the independent 21-member responsible for the World Heritage Convention, will continue examining sites nominated for inscriptions during its afternoon session and tomorrow. Pearling, testimony ...
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Sites in Iran, Malaysia, Canada, Slovenia, Spain, Germany, Portugal and France on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Saturday, 30 June 2012
The World Heritage Committee on Saturday afternoon added the following sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List: Gonbad-e Qābus (Iran), Archaelogical Heritage of the Lenggong Valley (Malaysia), The Landscape of Grand Pré (Canada); Heritage of Mercury (Almadén and Idrija (Slovenia/Spain); Margravial Opera House Bayreuth (Germany); Garrison Border Town of Elvas and its ...
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UNESCO Director-General of UNESCO calls for a halt to destruction of cultural heritage site in Timbuktu
Saturday, 30 June 2012
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova today expressed her distress and dismay over the destruction of three sacred tombs that are part of a World Heritage site in Timbuktu, Mali. Ms Bokova called on the belligerents to cease the destruction immediately. “Reports that the Mausoleums of Sidi Mahmoud,  Sidi Moctar and Alpha Moya have been destroyed is extremely distressing,” the ...
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Mexican tourism project cancelled to protect Gulf of California World Heritage site
Saturday, 30 June 2012
The World Heritage Centre received a letter today from the Government of Mexico’s National Commission for Natural Protected Areas formally advising it that the government had withdrawn all approvals for the development of a very large tourism development application located near Cabo Pulmo National Marine Park (CPNP). CPNP is a component of the large Islands and Protected Areas of ...
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Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route in Bethlehem, Palestine, inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List along with sites from Israel, Palau, Indonesia and Morocco
Friday, 29 June 2012
New sites have been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List: Birthplace of Jesus: the Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem (Palestine); Site of Human Evolution at Mount Carmel: The Nahal Me’arot/Wadi el-Mughara Caves (Israel), Rock Islands Southern Lagoon (Palau), and The Cultural Landscape of Bali: the Subak System as a Manifestation of the Tri Hita ...
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Xanadu (China), Bassari Country (Senegal) and Grand Bassam (Côte d’Ivoire) added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Friday, 29 June 2012
The Site of Xanadu (China), the Bassari Country: Bassari and Bedik Cultural Landscapes (Senegal) and the Historic Town Grand Bassam, the first capital of Côte d’Ivoire have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. North of the Great Wall, the  Site of Xanadu  encompasses the remains of Kublai Khan’s legendary capital city, designed by the Mongol ...
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UNESCO Director-General preoccupied by fighting in World Heritage sites in eastern DRC
Friday, 29 June 2012
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, expressed her utmost concern with the recent fighting in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, which is affecting several World Heritage sites. On Sunday June 24, a group of armed rebels attacked the headquarters of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, killing at least 7 park staff. Others were taken hostage by the rebels or are still unaccounted for. All ...
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Heritage sites in northern Mali placed on List of World Heritage in Danger
Thursday, 28 June 2012
The World Heritage Committee on Thursday accepted the request of the government of Mali to place Timbuktu and the Tomb of Askia on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger. The decision aims to raise cooperation and support for the sites threatened by the armed conflict in the region. The Committee, meeting in St Petersburg until 6 July, also asked Mali’s neighbours to do all in ...
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Better conservation in Pakistan and the Philippines allow Committee to remove two sites from World Heritage List in Danger
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
The World Heritage Committee on Tuesday morning recognized the success of two countries, Pakistan and the Philippines, in improving the conservation of sites that had been inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger: Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore (Pakistan) and the Rice Terraces of the Philippine Cordilleras (Philippines). Successful measures have been taken to remove the threat ...
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Panamanian fortifications inscribed on List of World Heritage in Danger
Wednesday, 27 June 2012
Environmental factors, lack of maintenance and uncontrollable urban developments have been cited as reasons to inscribe the Fortifications on the Caribbean Side of Panama: Portobelo-San Lorenzo on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger. The site, comprising a group of fortifications, is a magnificent example of 17th- and 18th-century military architecture built on Panama’s ...
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World Heritage Committee places Liverpool on List of World Heritage in Danger
Tuesday, 26 June 2012
The World Heritage Committee has placed Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to the proposed construction of Liverpool Waters, a massive redevelopment of the historic docklands north of the city centre. The Committee contended that the development will extend the city centre significantly and alter the skyline and profile of the site inscribed on the ...
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Day 1 in St Petersburg: 2012 World Heritage Committee
Monday, 25 June 2012
Of the 33 sites nominated this year, which ones will make the cut to achieve UNESCO World Heritage status? The first day of the World Heritage Committee session began this morning, from the historic 18th century Tauride Palace (also known as “Tavrichesky” Palace) in St Petersburg, Russia. Delegations from the 21 States Parties will decide, by July 6, which sites will be added to ...
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36th session of World Heritage Committee opens with focus on sustainable development
Sunday, 24 June 2012
The challenges facing heritage preservation as UNESCO celebrates the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention were the focus of the opening of the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee. The session started Sunday in St Petersburg and will continue until 6 July. The Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, Eleonora Valentinovna Mitrofanova, welcomed the participants ...
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36th Session of World Heritage Committee Youth Forum: Kazan (Republic of Tatarstan) 1 - 9 July, 2012
Sunday, 24 June 2012
The Youth Model of the World Heritage Committee, to be held in Kazan from 1 to 9 July, is designed to attract the attention of young people of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention to the problem of preservating natural and cultural heritage and to raise awareness  of youth activities related to the Convention, its role and its international importance as well as procedures ...
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UNESCO and NOUH sign agreement for preservation of Historic Cairo
Wednesday, 20 June 2012
On 11 June, a protocol agreement for a preservation and management project for Historic Cairo (Egypt) was signed by Mr. Samir Gharib, Head of the National Organization for Urban Harmony (NOUH), and Dr. Tarek Shawky, Head of the UNESCO Cairo office, on behalf of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Attendees included H.E Mohammed Ibrahim, Minister of State for Antiquities, H.E Mohammed Saber ...
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Successful World Heritage Candidates for the 2012 Business Planning Programme
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Participants to the 4th annual World Heritage Centre / Earthwatch / Shell "Business Planning for natural World Heritage site managers" year long training programme have just been informed of their successful candidacies.    In October 2012, 18 World Heritage site staff from 6 sites in Africa will travel to the Mpala Research Centre  in the shadow of Mount Kenya World ...
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10 Years of Dutch Support to World Heritage “From Astronomy to Zanzibar” published
Friday, 15 June 2012
Since its inception in 2001, the Netherlands Funds-in-Trust (NFiT) at the World Heritage Centre has served the international heritage community as well as local communities in practically all regions of the world in pursuing the safeguarding and sustainable development of the World Heritage, both natural and cultural.  The agreement between the Dutch Government and UNESCO has enabled a ...
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Preliminary findings of UNESCO mission sent to assess earthquake damage to sites in northern Italy
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Following the earthquakes that struck the region of Emilia in northern Italy, notably since May 20, the UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova dispatched an urgent technical mission with the objective of assessing the overall situation at the affected World Heritage properties. The mission also aimed to evaluate the current risks related to the evolution of the seismic phenomenon ...
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Consultative Meeting on World Heritage and Sustainable Development discusses principles and policy
Saturday, 9 June 2012
The Consultative Meeting on World Heritage and Sustainable Development, held in Ouro Preto, Brazil from 5 to 8 February, was a contribution to the celebration the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. In the first session, all speakers stressed the need to redefine the paradigm of this important topic in the face of growing inequalities and global challenges. This ...
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World Heritage celebrates World Oceans Day with new iPhone app
Friday, 8 June 2012
In celebration of World Oceans Day, the World Heritage Centre is launching an iPhone app. This years’ Oceans Day theme “Youth: the Next Wave for Change” inspired the World Heritage Centre to go mobile. Of the 6,000 marine protected areas on the planet, only 45 are inscribed on the World Heritage List, the highest internationally recognized status for conservation. The ...
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In Memoriam: Professor Philip Tobias
Friday, 8 June 2012
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to express its sincere condolences to the friends and family of Professor Philip Vallentine Tobias, who passed away on Thursday, 7 June 2012 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Professor Tobias, born on 14 October 1925, was an exceptional paleoanthropologist and an inspiration to generations of students. He was internationally renowned for his commitment ...
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UNESCO mission assesses earthquake damage to sites in northern Italy
Thursday, 7 June 2012
As requested by Director-General Irina Bokova, a team of experts has traveled to northern Italy to assess damage to World Heritage sites following recent earthquakes. On 20 May 2012 a powerful earthquake hit the region of Emilia Romagna, in the north of Italy, followed by numerous aftershocks. This caused considerable damage to several important historic buildings. The three World Heritage ...
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World Heritage Committee to consider inscription of 36 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List at forthcoming session (St Petersburg 22 June – 6 July)
Friday, 1 June 2012
The World Heritage Committee will consider the inscription of 36 sites on the World Heritage List during its next meeting from 24 June to 6 July, in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. The forthcoming 36 th session of the Committee , an independent body of 21 States Parties to the 1972 World Heritage Convention , will be chaired by. Eleonora Mitrofanova, Ambassador Permanent Delegate ...
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World Heritage Inventory of Earthen Architecture available online
Wednesday, 30 May 2012
The World Heritage Inventory of Earthen Architecture  is now available in English and French online: https://whc.unesco.org/en/earthen-architecture/ (see documents 2 and 3). In 2008, the World Heritage Programme on Earthen architecture (WHEAP) was launched as an initiative to address pressing concerns through the development of policies for the conservation, revitalisation and ...
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Government of Mali and UNESCO move to protect Timbuktu and other heritage sites in the north of Mali
Thursday, 24 May 2012
The Government of Mali and UNESCO have defined measures to safeguard World Heritage Properties in the north of Mali, including the fabled city of Timbuktu, following reports of wilful damage to mausoleums in the World Heritage site. UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Africa, Lalla Aicha Ben Barka, travelled to Bamako (18 – 20 May) and met senior government officials ...
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Launching Of The Rivers And Heritage Website
Wednesday, 23 May 2012
The Rivers and Heritage website was officially launched on 15 March 2012 at the World Water Forum in Marseille (France), during the session “Water Culture in local governance” organized by the AIMF in partnership with l'Académie de l'Eau and UNESCO in the framework of the France-UNESCO Convention. The site lies within the framework of the Rivers and Heritage, conducted ...
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Director-General concerned about attacks on World Heritage site of Ghadamès (Libya)
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today called for the protection of Libya’s Old City of Ghadamès inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1986. “I am deeply concerned by information that the Libyan city of Ghadamès has been the target of rocket attacks,” the Director-General said. “I call upon all those involved to refrain from ...
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UNESCO monitors damage to heritage in northern Italy following powerful earthquake
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today extended her condolences to the inhabitants of northern Italy for the loss of human life and suffering caused by the earthquake that shook the region on May 20. The Director-General also said that UNESCO is sending a mission to assess damage to World Heritage sites and other cultural heritage in northern Italy.  “While initial reports from ...
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Living with World Heritage Conference examines sustainability and local involvement
Thursday, 17 May 2012
The conference Living with World Heritage, held in Røros, Norway from 13 to 16 May 2012, was part of Norway`s official contribution to the celebration of the World Heritage Convention`s 40th anniversary. Almost 140 persons from 28 countries participated. The themes of the conference were sustainable development and the role of local communities, with a primary ...
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New Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape
Wednesday, 9 May 2012
On 7 May 2012, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and H.E. Ms Katalin Bogyay, Ambassador of Hungary and President of UNESCO's General Conference, signed the new Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape adopted by the General conference on 10 November 2011. The Recommendation was adopted by acclamation, the first such instrument on the historic environment issued by UNESCO in 35 ...
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Irina Bokova concerned about growing threats to cultural heritage in Mali
Friday, 4 May 2012
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova expressed her great concern following the desecration of the graves of Sidi Mahmoud in Mali by the Ansar Dine group on 4 May 2012. According to information UNESCO received, the front door of the mausoleum and its protective curtain have been burned and the people of Timbuktu who gather there every Friday for prayer were prevented from accessing it. "This ...
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Frontiers of the Roman Empire World Heritage site receives funding to restore portions of Hadrian’s Wall
Friday, 20 April 2012
The World Heritage property “Frontiers of the Roman Empire” has received £537,185 (US$ 850,406) in funding from SITA Trust to underwrite a conservation project that will restore dilapidated portions of the site located in the United Kingdom. The project will be administered by Hadrian’s Wall Heritage. Originally inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1987 as ...
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Recommendations for transnational heritage corridors of Silk Roads site nomination
Friday, 20 April 2012
Members of the Coordinating Committee on the Serial World Heritage Nomination of the Silk Roads release recommendations for two priority transnational heritage corridors of Silk Roads Serial and Transnational Nomination Following their meeting in Tashkent, a group of 30 experts from 5 Central Asian countries and China as well as international experts from UK, Japan and Belgium, today ...
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Sydney Opera House, other sites participate in Earth Hour 2012
Monday, 2 April 2012
Sydney Opera House was among the World Heritage sites around the globe participating in Earth Hour 2012, the environmental campaign to draw attention to the effects of climate change through turning off the lights for one hour, from 8.30 to 9.30pm on 31 March 2012. To see a list of the participating ...
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UNESCO Director-General expresses concern about the situation in Mali
Monday, 2 April 2012
In reaction to recent events in Northern Mali, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova expresses her deep concern about the possible consequences of the ongoing armed conflict on the invaluable cultural World Heritage property located in Timbuktu and Gao. The recent takeover of these cities by the Tuareg rebels could have damaging effects on the management and conservation of the three mosques ...
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Director-General of UNESCO appeals for protection of Syria’s cultural heritage
Friday, 30 March 2012
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today called for the protection of the cultural heritage of Syria. ‘Following a number of media reports that Syria’s cultural heritage is threatened by the current conflict, I wish to express my grave concern about possible damage to precious sites and to call upon all those involved in the conflict to ensure the protection of ...
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Archaeological discoveries
Friday, 30 March 2012
In the sacred place of Tenochtitlan, archaeologists from INAH-Conaculta (The Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History and the Mexican National Council for Culture and the Arts), have found 23 tombstones over 550 years old, with etched images of snakes, prisoners, ornaments and warriors, which, as a whole, appears to depict the story alluding to the birth of Huitzilopochtli and ...
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International World Heritage Expert Meeting on criterion (vi)
Friday, 30 March 2012
The International World Heritage Expert Meeting on Criterion (vi)  and associative values which took place in Warsaw, Poland, 28-30 March 2012, adopted its recommendations at a closing session today. The conclusions and recommendations will be presented to the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee in Saint Petersburg  June 2012. The meeting appreciated the support of the ...
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UNESCO committed to stronger links between World Heritage and Tourism
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova underlined the importance of better integrating cultural heritage preservation and sustainable tourism during the Roundtable on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism, held in Miami on 19 March. She highlighted that cultural heritage is a powerful driver of social and economic development for local communities. Also participating in this Roundtable were ...
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From World Heritage to Literacy, Philadelphia Embraces UNESCO
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
World Heritage and literacy were bookends to a day where Philadelphia opened its arms to UNESCO, during the second day of Director-General Irina Bokova’s visit to the United States on Thursday.Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar joined the Director-General to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention at morning ceremonies held at Independence Hall, where in 1776 ...
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World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Top Agenda in Miami Leg of Director-General’s Mission to the U.S.
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
With a stunning visit to the Everglades the day before serving as a strong reminder, Director-General Irina Bokova turned her attention to a private-public sector roundtable on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism in Miami on Monday. Joining a panel of local leaders in the tourism industry and conservation, the Director-General highlighted the importance of better integrating cultural ...
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World Heritage sites participate in Earth Hour
Wednesday, 28 March 2012
UNESCO will partner with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Earth Hour, one of the world's largest and most well-known environmental campaigns in the world. UNESCO has invited World Heritage sites to participate in this initiative by switching off the lights on the night of Earth Hour: Saturday, 31 March 2012, from 8:30 to 9:30pm local time. The lights will also be switched off at UNESCO ...
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GIS boundaries of natural and mixed World Heritage sites available
Thursday, 22 March 2012
IUCN and UNEP-WCMC have compiled a KML layer with key information on the natural and mixed World Heritage sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as of 1 January 2012. The information comes from the latest version of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). The WDPA is a joint project of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and IUCN, maintained at the UNEP World ...
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Jaeger-LeCoultre auction benefits Puerto-Princesa Subterranean River National Park
Thursday, 22 March 2012
From 12-15 March 2012, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre, partner of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre since 2008, organized its fourth online auction for the benefit of World Heritage marine sites. This year, the Manufacture auctioned a new water-resistant watch inspired by the Memovox Deep Sea: Prototype N° 1 of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Vintage ...
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Rapid Response Facility helping combat Mt. Kenya fires
Wednesday, 21 March 2012
On January 15th, forest fires were spotted on the slopes of Mount Kenya, the highest mountain in Africa.  Inscribed onto the World Heritage list in 1997, Mount Kenya is a critical refuge for a host of iconic species, ranging from the African elephant, the leopard, and a variety of antelopes and rare birds.  The mountain is also referred to as Kenya’s water tower, as it ...
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Venice Declaration adopted at international Conference on "Building Cities Resilience to Disasters in Europe: Protecting Cultural Heritage and Adapting to Climate Change"
Tuesday, 20 March 2012
The World Heritage Centre took part in a Conference organized by the UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN-ISDR) and the Municipality of Venice on "Building Cities Resilience to Disasters in Europe: Protecting Cultural Heritage and Adapting to Climate Change" (Venice, 19-20 March 2012). Part of the international campaign called "Making my City Resilient - My City is Getting ...
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UNESCO World Heritage Youth Storyboard Korean Competition (2012)
Friday, 16 March 2012
To contribute to the 2012 celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, the Cultural Heritage Administration of the Republic of Korea (CHA) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) recently launched the World Heritage Youth Storyboard Competition at the national level. Adapting the theme of the 40th anniversary on the role of local ...
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In Memoriam: Professor Herb Stovel, conservationist
Thursday, 15 March 2012
Professor Herb Stovel, one of the world’s most renowned experts in heritage conservation, recently passed away in Ottawa, Canada. During his long career, Professor Stovel made an outstanding contribution to heritage conservation and to the World Heritage Convention in particular. As a scholar and a teacher of exceptional intellectual curiosity and rigour, he has had a huge impact on ...
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American National Park Service (NPS) celebrates 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention
Thursday, 15 March 2012
The National Park Service of the United States of America is celebrating the World Heritage Convention with events throughout the year. For more information, there is an interactive website: http://www.nps.gov/oia/topics/worldheritage/World_Heritage_Anniversary.htm 
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World Heritage Centre expresses concern regarding aeromagnetic and aerogravimetric explorations at Virunga National Park (DRC)
Tuesday, 13 March 2012
The World Heritage Centre has just been informed that a Ministerial Order, signed on 1 September 2011, delivers to SOCO (South Africa Congo Oil) a Certificate of Environmental Acceptability in order to exercise an oil exploration campaign by the acquisition of aeromagnetic and aerogravimetric data in block V of the Albertine Rift (Virunga National Park), Democratic Republic of Congo ...
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International World Heritage Expert Meeting on Integrity for Cultural Heritage
Monday, 12 March 2012
Dr. Sami El-Masri, Deputy Director General for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority, with the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Mr Kishore Rao, opened today the International Expert Meeting on Integrity for Cultural Heritage. The meeting is held from 12 to 14 March 2012, in Al Ain and is hosted by the United Arab Emirates in collaboration with the ...
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Aztec Ruins hosts World Heritage celebration
Thursday, 8 March 2012
Aztec Ruins, a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1987 as part of the Chaco Culture designation,  celebrated  the 25th anniversary of its inscription on February 24 2012, joining the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention.  More information about the event, organized in collaboration with the National Parks Service (NPS), can be found in the ...
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City council grants planning permission for development scheme at World Heritage site “Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City”
Thursday, 8 March 2012
On 6 March 2012, Liverpool City Council’s Planning Committee granted outline planning permission for the Peel Holdings £5.5bn Liverpool Waters scheme. The permission is subject to the signing of a legal agreement and has to be referred to the Government which will decide whether a public inquiry will be held. Experts from UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and from the International ...
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Brunei Darassalam and Palestine ratify the World Heritage Convention
Thursday, 8 March 2012
On 12 August 2011, the Government of Brunei Darassalam and on 8 December 2011, the Government of Palestine officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, their instruments of ratification, becoming the 188th and 189th State Parties to adopt the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Convention entered into ...
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Construction of a women’s dyeing factory in Bamako
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Women in Mali have developed over the last decades specific skills in terms of textile dyeing. This activity provides many employment opportunities for women, as their production is being exported all throughout the sub-region. However, since chemical dyeing products are being used and polluted waste water released in water drainage canals or in the Niger River, this activity entails water ...
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Patrimonito Korean National Storyboard Competition 2012 - Winners
Saturday, 3 March 2012
In March 2012, the Cultural Heritage Administration of the Republic of Korea (CHA) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC)  launched the Patrimonito National Storyboard Competition, Republic of Korea. Of the 143 student submissions, 10 of the storyboards were selected by the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration and were then sent to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ...
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Exploration of hydrocarbons has been suspended on the Coffee Cultural Landscape, Colombia.
Friday, 2 March 2012
Thanks to Quindío being declared as part of the UNESCO World Heritage property, Coffee Cultural Landscape (Colombia), the exploration of hydrocarbons in this area has been stopped by order of the Council of State. The decree was issued less than eight days ago and demands the suspension of all exploration by the National Agency of Hydrocarbons and the Drilling 2010 consortium in the ...
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Nominations open for the 2012 MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity
Friday, 2 March 2012
Takuya Okada, Chairman of the AEON Environmental Foundation and Honorary Chairman of AEON Co., Ltd., announced today the opening of nominations for the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity. The MIDORI Prize is a biennial international prize, established by the AEON Environmental Foundation, in 2010, during the International Year of Biodiversity, that honours individuals who have made outstanding ...
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Reactive Monitoring Mission to the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage property (Australia)
Friday, 2 March 2012
A joint international expert mission to the World Heritage property of Great Barrier Reef by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC), and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is taking place from 5 to 14 March 2012. The World Heritage Committee, at its 35th session in June 2011 (Paris) examined the state of conservation of Great Barrier Reef (Australia), inscribed on the ...
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3-month trip to India's 28 World Heritage sites
Friday, 2 March 2012
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, two young Indian men, Aniketh MJ and Sulesh Kumar, are planning to visit India’s 28 World Heritage sites over a span of 3 months starting March 5th, 2012, travelling mainly by bus and train. With this trip they would like to create a bond between the current generation of Indians and the wonderful ...
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The World's Heritage co-published by UNESCO and Collins
Thursday, 1 March 2012
UNESCO and Collins are delighted to announce the publication of The World’s Heritage (2nd Edition) – the definitive, best-selling guide to all 936 UNESCO World Heritage sites. This is the first book to describe all the sites on the List fully, including the most recent additions to the List in 2011. Only the world's most spectacular and extraordinary sites make it onto UNESCO's ...
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Patrimonito and Docomodake bring World Heritage sites to young people
Wednesday, 29 February 2012
To mark the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the UNESCOWorld Heritage Convention, Dentsu, EVERGREEN Digital Contents and NTT DOCOMO, in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, have launched a special cartoon film featuring the friendship between “Patrimonito”, the mascot of the World Heritage Education programme, and “Docomodake”, the mascot of NTT ...
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Expert Working Group releases recommendations for Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan
Tuesday, 14 February 2012
Expert Working Group meeting held in Tokyo, releases recommendations for Safeguarding World Heritage property of the Bamiyan Valley, Afghanistan Following their meeting in UNESCO Headquarters in March 2011, a group of Afghan and international experts working on the safeguarding of Bamiyan (Afghanistan), as well as representatives of the Afghan and Japanese governments and UNESCO,  have ...
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Heritage Heals in Hiraizumi
Monday, 13 February 2012
It is rare for a Director-General to present a certificate of World Heritage in person, but the temples, gardens and archaeological site of Hiraizumi, inscribed on the List in 2011, marked an exception. Located in north-east Japan, the 12th-century site, representing the Buddhist Pure Land gained its world heritage status three months after the earthquake and tsunami devastated the ...
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Panasonic Eco Picture Diary Global Contest Ceremony held at UNESCO Headquarters
Thursday, 9 February 2012
Panasonic Corporation held yesterday, 8 February, the award ceremony of "Eco Picture Diary Global Contest" which the company has been promoting with the aim to raise awareness of environmental issues and eco actions for the young generation, with the final nomination of national finalists attending the ceremony at UNESCO headquarters. The "Eco-Picture Diary Contest" is a program developed ...
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The Rapid Response Facility Contributes to avoiding the ecological isolation of Romania's Retezat Massif
Friday, 3 February 2012
The Retezat Massif has received a Rapid Response Facility (RRF) grant to undertake urgent snow-tracking surveys in response to a road-building threat through the Carpathian Mountains. This protected area is on Romania’s World Heritage tentative list, and is known for its plant diversity, endemism and rich fauna, including the Eurasian eagle-owl, the gray wolf and the brown bear. The ...
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UNESCO and Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock launch 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention
Wednesday, 1 February 2012
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, launched the 40th anniversary celebration of the World Heritage Convention in a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters on 30 January. It was the first of a series of events States Parties to the 1972 Convention are organizing around the world over the coming year, and ending with a final event in November 2012 in Kyoto, Japan. The launch featured a ...
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World Heritage Convention turns forty
Monday, 30 January 2012
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, one of UNESCO's most successful programmes and one of the most powerful tools for heritage preservation. Almost universally adopted, with 188 signatory countries, the Convention is unique in that it combines the protection of cultural and natural heritage in one instrument. Since its adoption by the General Conference of ...
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Statement of the United Nations Foundation in Support of the World Heritage Convention’s 40th Anniversary
Monday, 30 January 2012
On November 16, 1972, the international community took a historic step towards safeguarding core, irreplaceable elements of our global heritage when the General Conference of UNESCO adopted the World Heritage Convention. Since then, more than 188 countries have ratified the Convention, and more than 936 separate sites around the world have been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. As ...
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ICOMOS advisory mission to the World Heritage site of Seville
Tuesday, 17 January 2012
From 7 to 9 November 2011, experts from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) undertook an advisory mission to examine development projects affecting the World Heritage site "Cathedral, Alcázar and Archivo de Indias in Sevilla", inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1987. At its three last sessions, the World Heritage Committee discussed the state of ...
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Rapid Response Facility awards grant to Côte d'Ivoire component of Mount Nimba
Friday, 13 January 2012
The Côte d’Ivoire component of the transboundary Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve, inscribed onto the list of World Heritage in Danger, has been awarded a Rapid Response Facility (RRF) small grant to help re-establish the presence of the protected area authority.  Recent civil strife in this country had led to the abandonment of site management offices in the area.  The ...
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Panasonic 2012 World Heritage calendar released in online version
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Panasonic have released an online version of the 2012 World Heritage Calendar in five languages. It is available as a website, or as a downloadable stand-alone application or wallpaper. As the year 2012 is the 40th anniversary of the adoption of the World Heritage Convention, the calendar is expected to raise even more interest than the very popular 2011 ...
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Marine Programme - Newsletter January 2012
Friday, 23 December 2011
Read our newsletter to learn about our major accomplishments, including new services that will help improve marine protection efforts around the globe. Additionally, this year we celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Mission of the World Heritage Marine Programme Launched in 2005, the mission of the World Heritage Marine Programme is to establish effective ...
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Best Wishes 2012
Friday, 23 December 2011
40 years of protection, 188 States Parties, 936 World Heritage Sites. Join us for the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention as we highlight the role of local communitites in sustainable development. //
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World Heritage Volunteers 2012
Tuesday, 20 December 2011
Call for Projects concrete actions for the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention The UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme in collaboration with the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS) is pleased to announce the call for projects for the World Heritage Volunteers 2012.After 4 years of fruitful experiences with 78 successful projects at 43 sites, ...
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Kernavė Archaeological site in Lithuania granted “enhanced protection” in the event of armed conflict
Thursday, 15 December 2011
Kernavė Archaeological Site (Cultural Reserve of Kernavė) World Heritage site has been given "enhanced protection" status by the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which held its sixth meeting at UNESCO Headquarters from 14 to 16 December. The status had also been requested for two World Heritage sites in Azerbaijan: Walled City of Baku with the ...
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London 2012 Torch Relay to pass through Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage site
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
While exact details of the route are still under cover, it has been announced that the Olympic Torch will be carried through Ironbridge Gorge World Heritage site (United Kingdom). The torch will be carried over the iron bridge which has stood for hundreds of years as a symbol of the Industrial Revolution and will then be carried along the River Severn before travelling on to Telford. The ...
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Italy announces support to UNESCO for Safeguarding Cultural Heritage in Myanmar
Wednesday, 14 December 2011
The Government of Italy has granted 400,000€ to support a new UNESCO project to build capacity for safeguarding cultural heritage in Myanmar. The contribution will allow UNESCO to mobilize international expertise to assist Myanmar in protecting important heritage sites in the country, in particular, the ancient Pyu settlements dating back almost two millennia and Bagan, one of the ...
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Palestine and the World Heritage Convention
Monday, 12 December 2011
Since Palestine was admitted to UNESCO on 31 October, there have been several misleading media reports about the status of Palestinian cultural heritage sites.  Here is how UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee works and what it has done with respect to cultural sites in Palestine. The World Heritage Committee inscribes sites it considers to be of “outstanding universal value.” Nominations must ...
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Panasonic sponsors The World Heritage Special on National Geographic Channel in 183 countries
Friday, 2 December 2011
The two-year partnership signed between Panasonic and the World Heritage Centre in June 2011 aims to promote sustainable development and increase environmental awareness. In addition to the World Heritage Eco Learning Programme dedicated to teaching the next generation about the importance of heritage preservation using 3D-related audiovisual equipment and technical support, site visits and ...
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3rd annual Business Skills for Natural World Heritage Site manager training event held
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
Midway through a discussion on risk analysis, someone jumps to their feet and shouts “ELEPHANTS!!” and within a matter of seconds the classroom is deserted. For the next few minutes, the participants in Earthwatch’s Business Skills for World Heritage programme can be found lined up along Mpala Research Centre’s electric fence watching the herd pass on the far side of the river. The ...
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UNESCO and Italy agree to cooperate on the restoration of Pompeii
Tuesday, 29 November 2011
UNESCO and Italy have agreed to collaborate on the restoration of the Archaeological Areas of Pompeii, Herculaneum and Torre Annunziata, inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1997. International attention turned to the World Heritage site in late 2010, when torrential rains led to the collapse of several vestiges including the Schola Armaturarum (Gladiators' House) and the equally ...
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Scotland hosts global conference on remote access to World Heritage sites
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Leading lights in science, technology, conservation and heritage interpretation descended upon Edinburgh on 23 November 2011 for a unique conference on how new technology could help protect fragile landscapes while giving greater public access to them. ‘I Know Where I'm Going: Remote Access to World Heritage Sites from St Kilda to Uluru’ was held from 23 to 24 November, with a keynote speech ...
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UNESCO World Heritage app downloaded over 13,000 times
Friday, 18 November 2011
To launch the 40th anniversary celebrations of the World Heritage Convention, UNESCO offered the World Heritage iPhone/iPad application (app) free for one day. On Wednesday, 16 November the app was downloaded 13,343 times from the Apple iTunes store. It proved to be most popular in France, the United States and China. An update of the App, which now features the 25 new sites added to the ...
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Presentation ceremony held to recognize tri-national World Heritage site
Friday, 18 November 2011
On 16 November 2011, Kishore Rao, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, presented a certificate to German Minister for Environment Norbert Röttgen and the State Ministers recognizing the inscription of the Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians and the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany on the World Heritage List. The ceremony was held in Berlin, Germany and included representatives ...
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State of Conservation of World Heritage Forests report launched
Thursday, 10 November 2011
The World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the publication of the World Heritage Paper #30:  “Adapting to Change – The State of Conservation of World Heritage Forests in 2011” as a contribution to the 2011 United Nations International Year of Forests. There are 104 World Heritage sites that have been recognized at least in part for their forest values.   These range from the 20 hectare ...
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World Heritage Centre and Turismo de Portugal cooperate on Tourism Management at World Heritage sites
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
In June 2011 UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and Turismo de Portugal, the Portuguese Tourism Authority, signed an agreement engaging in a cooperation project on capacity-building for tourism management in World Heritage sites of Portuguese origin. This project is an integral part of the continuous cooperation that is being carried out by the World Heritage Centre and Portugal, ...
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The G-77 & China at UNESCO celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention
Monday, 7 November 2011
A contribution of the G-77 & China in honor of the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention, in collaboration with UNESCO, the photo exhibit "The G-77 & China at UNESCO celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention" was launched at UNESCO today as the first event marking the anniversary year. It will be on display from 7 to 10 November 2011 at UNESCO ...
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2011-2012 World Heritage Map Available
Monday, 7 November 2011
The latest version of the World Heritage map, produced by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and National Geographic Maps with the generous support of Russian Federation, can now be ordered for a modest fee from the World Heritage Centre website. The featured image on the Map presents Saint Petersburg, where the next session of the World Heritage Committee will be held (June/July 2012). The ...
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UNESCO kicks off 40th anniversary celebration of World Heritage Convention
Monday, 7 November 2011
The Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova today launched the 40th anniversary celebrations for the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO's Member States on 16 November 1972. In her address, the Director-General called for a year of renewal for World Heritage. "Heritage stands at the crossroads of climate change, social ...
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Nine members elected to World Heritage Committee
Monday, 7 November 2011
Nine new members were elected to the World Heritage Committee on the first day of the 18th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, which started its meeting today at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. The new members of the Committee are Algeria, Colombia, Germany, India, Japan, Malaysia, Qatar, Senegal and Serbia. Each country will serve a mandate of four ...
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Elwha River Restoration project underway at Olympic National Park, USA
Thursday, 3 November 2011
One of the largest restoration projects in the history of the United States is underway at Olympic National Park World Heritage site in Washington. Begun in September 2010, the removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams on the Elwha River will result in salmon populations swelling from 3,000 to more than 300,000 as all five species of Pacific salmon return to more than 70 ...
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Fires at the World Heritage site of Pitons, cirques and remparts of Reunion Island (Réunion, France)
Wednesday, 2 November 2011
UNESCO is monitoring with concern the situation in the Pitons, cirques and remparts of Reunion Island, World Heritage site where fires have been raging since 25 October. According to early reports from the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion, at least 3,000 ha of the 100,000 ha property have been destroyed by the fires. Twenty-six endemic rare plant species are already known to have been ...
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SIDS Capacity-Building Programme established
Tuesday, 1 November 2011
On 10 August 2011 the Japanese Government approved the programme proposal "Capacity Building to Support the Conservation of World Heritage Sites and Enhance Sustainable Development of Local Communities in Small island Developing States (SIDS)", with a total budget of USD 1 million. The overall objective of the project proposal is to develop regional capacity building programmes for Pacific ...
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Floods at Cinque Terre World Heritage site
Monday, 31 October 2011
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to express its condolences for the lives lost in northern Italy last week in the floods and mudslides resulting from torrential rains. Villages as well as road and railway communication lines of the Cinque Terre World Heritage site have been severely affected by the rains, and the Centre is working with the national and local authorities to ...
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UNESCO convenes Libyan and international experts meeting for the safeguard of Libya’s cultural heritage
Friday, 21 October 2011
UNESCO has invited experts from both inside and outside of Libya to urgently examine the preservation of cultural heritage in the country, notably measures to safeguard cultural sites; prevent illicit trafficking, protect museums and strengthen cultural institutions in the wake of civil strife and the overthrow of the Gaddafi regime. The meeting - the first on protecting Libyan cultural ...
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First International Purple Economy Forum held
Friday, 21 October 2011
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre participated in a round table on “Attractiveness of regional assets: The creation and regionalization of added value” at the world’s first international forum of Purple Economy held in Paris, France, 11-13 October 2011 together with Carlo Petrini (Founder and President of Slow Food) and Daniel Maximin (Commissioner of the French Year on ...
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Flooding in Thailand
Friday, 14 October 2011
Severe flooding in Thailand since mid July has this week inundated the World Heritage property of the Historic City of Ayutthaya, founded in ca. 1350 as the second capital of the Kingdom of Siam after Sukhothai. Located on an island on the Chao Praya river, the protective embankments could no longer withstand the increasing height of the floods. UNESCO Bangkok Office and the World Heritage ...
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Cape Floral Region Protected Areas get Conservation Boost from World Heritage Centre Partner
Friday, 14 October 2011
Fauna and Flora International (FFI) a longtime partner of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, launched a global appeal this week with the objective of helping protect over 50,000 hectares of the globally unique “fynbos” ecosystem in the Cape Floral region of South Africa.The targeted lands are in the World Heritage site’s buffer areas, contributing to the long term ...
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Training in marine spatial planning of World Heritage marine sites in Mexico
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino and Islands and Protected Areas of the Gulf of California(both located in Baja California, Mexico). The Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino site has been inscribed on the World Heritage List since 1993. It is the only calving and nursery area for the Eastern Pacific gray whale population, which traditionally travels there each season from the Bering and Chukchi seas ...
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A 7000 Euro Grant For The Realization Of A Cultural Project Concerning The Mediterranean World
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Born after 31 December 1975 you will be under 30 years of age in 2012. You are a native of a Mediterranean country. You wish to develop a project furthering the knowledge and understanding of Mediterranean cultures. Every year the Marc de Montalembert Foundation offers a grant of 7000 euro to enable the implementation of such projects. To apply for the 2005 Marc de Montalembert grant ...
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Severe damage to Philippine Rice Terraces by two typhoons
Monday, 3 October 2011
The Northern Luzon of the Philippines was severely affected by Typhoon Pedrin (International Name: Nesat) which crossed the region on Tuesday 27 September. Its trajectory passed across the Ifugao Province and has, according to preliminary reports, caused major mud and landslides within the area of the World Heritage property of the Rice Terraces in the Philippine Cordilleras. A second typhoon ...
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Satellites and World Heritage sites, partners to understand climate change
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Financed by the Flemish Government and organized by UNESCO and its space partners, in particular Planet Action, this exhibition uses a series of remarkable examples to demonstrate the use of satellite Earth observation to assess the effects of climate change on selected World Heritage sites. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that ‘global warming is ...
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The World Heritage Centre and History® to raise awareness about preservation across the globe
Friday, 16 September 2011
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and HISTORY® are partnering to increase awareness about heritage preservation worldwide. As part of the three-year alliance,  HISTORY provides a monetary donation along with production services and marketing support to UNESCO's World Heritage Centre for a three year period. The announcement was made on Monday 12 September at the Tower of London (a ...
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UNESCO's Commitment to Action for the cultural recovery of Jacmel (Haiti) has been accepted by the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI)
Friday, 9 September 2011
UNESCO's Commitment to Action for the cultural recovery of Jacmel (Haiti) has been accepted by the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI). The project was seeking USD 500,000 matching funds to an initiative of USD 1,000,000 to support the culture sector in Jacmel, which was badly affected by the earthquake of January 2010. In a project building on various assets of the culture sector, UNESCO ...
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Grand Canyon National Park Hosts U.S. World Heritage Fellow
Monday, 22 August 2011
Mr John Zulu, site manager of Zambia's Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls National Park and World Heritage site arrived in the U.S. August 5th to spend six weeks immersed in the details of people, park and resource management at Grand Canyon National Park as the latest "U.S. World Heritage Fellow" sponsored by the National Park Service with support from the United Nations Foundation and the ...
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18th session of the General Assembly of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention and presentation of candidatures for the election of members to the World Heritage Committee
Friday, 19 August 2011
UNESCO Headquarters, Rooms XII, 7 to 9 November 2011 The General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage will hold its 18th session during the 36th session of the General Conference of UNESCO, from 7 to 8 November 2011 all day and 9 November only in the afternoon, at UNESCO Headquarters, Room XII. The General Assembly ...
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"I Know Where I'm Going”- Remote Access to World Heritage Sites from St Kilda to Uluru Conference
Wednesday, 10 August 2011
Informatics Forum, 10 Crichton Street, Edinburgh, EH8 9AB (Scotland, UK) At a time of economic crisis and environmental threat, countries everywhere have to address the dual challenge of protecting and preserving their natural and cultural heritage while maximizing their economic value. This two-day international conference on 23 and 24 November 2011 will focus on ...
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[in French only] Lettre d'information de la Convention France-UNESCO N°19
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
[in French only] Vie de la CFU Réunion du Comite mixte de coordination, 26 avril 2011, UNESCO, Paris. Comite du patrimoine mondial, Paris, 19-29 juin 2011. Participation aux 9èmes Rencontres de l'Association des biens français du patrimoine mondial (ANBPM), Besançon, 8-10 juin 2011. Actualités sur l'avancement des projets CFU Le projet ...
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17th ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium on the theme “Heritage: Driver of Development”
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
The most important triennial gathering of ICOMOS will take place from 27 November to 2 December 2011 for the first time in Paris at UNESCO Headquarters. The General Assembly is accompanied by a Scientific Symposium on the theme "Heritage: Driver of Development". Both events are open to ICOMOS members and non-members alike. Visit the special website www.icomos-paris2011.com to consult the ...
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Caribbean Capacity Building Programme (CCBP)’s training Module 6 on Natural Heritage Management available on line
Friday, 22 July 2011
UNESCO Havana, Regional Office for Culture in Latin America and the Caribbean, is pleased to introduce module 6 of the Caribbean Capacity Building Programme (CCBP) for World Heritage, Natural Heritage Management. The CCBP Training Modules is composed of a core and mandatory training module on the Application of the World Heritage Conventio n and a series of other modules focusing on the ...
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Decisions by 35th session of the World Heritage Committee online
Friday, 15 July 2011
The final version of the Decisions adopted at the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee, which was held at UNESCO Headquarters from 19 to 29 June 2011, is also available in English and French at the following Web address: whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/35COM
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World Heritage Committee refers decision to revise the boundaries of Selous Game Reserve (Tanzania)
Thursday, 7 July 2011
In February, the United Republic of Tanzania submitted a request for a minor modification to the boundaries of the Selous Game Reserve. The 50000 km2 Selous Game Reserve is one of the largest remaining wilderness areas in Africa, harboring the largest remaining elephant population of Africa and has been inscribed on the World Heritage List since 1982. The request for modification of ...
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Report of impact of tsunami on Galápagos wildlife
Thursday, 7 July 2011
Eighteen hours after the March 11 tsunami wreaked devastation in Japan, it hit the Galápagos Islands.  Luckily, by then the energy of the waves had dissipated somewhat, and the people there had received advanced warning and took to higher ground. The waves hit later in the afternoon, local time, and caused significant damage only to some buildings located near the ...
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Five World Heritage Sites in Africa Selected to Participate in Business Planning Programme
Friday, 1 July 2011
After a rigorous selection process, a total of 18 managers from five World Heritage sites in Africa were recently selected for admission into the World Heritage Centre / Earthwatch / Shell 2011 "Business Planning for natural World Heritage site managers" programme. First offered in South East Asia in 2009 and 2010, this year's programme will focus on Africa. The programme ...
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World Bank and UNESCO: Expanding Opportunities for Collaboration on Culture and Sustainable Development
Friday, 1 July 2011
Memorandum of Understanding Outlines Concrete Joint Initiatives UNESCO and the World Bank have cooperated informally over the past decades, in particular on conservation efforts in the World Heritage sites. Today the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalizing that on-going collaboration and expanding it to encompass a larger strategic scope. Thanks to this Memorandum ...
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Tides of Time Partners Renew Commitment to Marine World Heritage until 2014
Thursday, 30 June 2011
In June 2011, Jaeger-LeCoultre, the International Herald Tribune and UNESCO's World Heritage Centre agreed to renew their longstanding 'Tides of Time' partnership in support of the World Heritage Marine Programme until 2014. The partnership began in 2008 as an international communication campaign in the online and print editions of the International Herald Tribune. Each year, eight marine ...
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Four new sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
The Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans (Ukraine), the Petroglyphs Complexes of the Mongolian Altai (Mongolia), The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean Agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape (France) and León Cathedral (Nicaragua) - have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. The full list of new inscriptions which is now complete will be given out ...
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Twenty-five new properties inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List which now numbers 936
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed a total of 25 sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List, including three natural properties, 21 cultural and one mixed site. Two properties were added to the World Heritage List in Danger and one was removed from that list. The World Heritage List now numbers 936 properties: 183 natural sites; 725 cultural; and 28 mixed. Natural properties: Ningaloo ...
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Sites in Ethiopia, Kenya and Viet Nam inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Monday, 27 June 2011
Konso Cultural Landscape (Ethiopia) , Fort Jesus, Mombasa (Kenya) and Citadel of the Ho Dynasty (Viet Nam), have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. Inscriptions are to continue this afternoon. Konso Cultural Landscape (Ethiopia), is a 55km2 arid property of stone walled terraces and fortified settlements in the Konso highlands of Ethiopia. It constitutes a spectacular example of ...
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Six new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Monday, 27 June 2011
The Ancient villages of Northern Syria (Syrian Arab Republic), The Cultural Sites of Al Ain (Hafit, Hili, Bidaa Bint Saud and Oases Areas), (United Arab Emirates), and the Persian Garden (Iran), the Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana (Spain), Pile Dwellings around the Alps (Switzerland, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Slovenia) and Selimiye Mosque and its Social Complex (Turkey), ...
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UNESCO Director-General regrets the announcement of Thailand's intention to denounce the 1972 World Heritage Convention
Sunday, 26 June 2011
The Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova has expressed her deep regret following the declaration of the Thai Minister Suwit Khunkitti during the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee being held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 19 to 29 June 2011, on the intention of Thailand to denounce the 1972 World Heritage Convention. Irina Bokova reiterated that "The World ...
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Barbados enters World Heritage List with Bridgetown and its Garrison; Hiraizumi (Japan) and Germany’s Beech Forests also inscribed
Saturday, 25 June 2011
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed three new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List so far today: the Ancient Beech Forests of Germany as an extension to the World Heritage site of Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathians (Slovakia, Ukraine), Historic Bridgetown and its Garrison, the first heritage site of Barbados to enter the World Heritage List; and Hiraizumi – Temples, ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes five new sites in Colombia, Sudan, Jordan, Italy and Germany
Saturday, 25 June 2011
The Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia (Colombia), the Archaeological Sites of the Island of Meroe (Sudan), Wadi Rum Protected Area (Jordan) and The Longobards in Italy, Places of Power , 568 – 774 A.D. (Italy), and the Fagus Factory in Alfeld (Germany), have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Inscriptions will continue on Monday. The Coffee Cultural Landscape of ...
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Ancient Chinese cultural landscape, the West Lake of Hangzhou, inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Friday, 24 June 2011
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed the West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou, comprising the West Lake and the hills surrounding its three sides, on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.The inscribed landscape has inspired famous poets, scholars and artists since the 9th century. It comprises numerous temples, pagodas, pavilions, gardens and ornamental trees, as well as causeways and ...
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Japan's Ogasawara Islands on UNESCO's World Heritage List
Friday, 24 June 2011
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed Ogasawara Islands, the Japanese islands situated some 1,000 km south of the country's main archipelago, on UNESCO's World Heritage List for the wealth of their ecosystems which reflect a wide range of evolutionary processes. The property numbers more than 30 islands clustered in three groups and covers surface area of 7,939 hectares. The islands ...
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Senegal’s Saloum Delta inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Friday, 24 June 2011
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed Saloum Delta (Senegal) and its vestiges of more than two millennia of human occupation on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. Fishing and shellfish gathering have sustained human life in the 5,000 km2 property, which is formed by the arms of three rivers. The site comprises brackish channels encompassing over 200 islands and islets, mangrove forest, ...
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Contested Tanzania highway project will not cross Serengeti National Park
Friday, 24 June 2011
In an important decision taken at the current session of the World Heritage Committee at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, the United Republic of Tanzania has stated it will reconsider its North Road project, which would have split the northern part of the Serengeti wilderness and seriously disturbed the migration patterns of animals there. The alternative is to maintain the 53 km stretch ...
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Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley and Australia's Ningaloo Coast inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List
Friday, 24 June 2011
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed the Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley (Kenya) and Australia's Ningaloo Coast on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley (Kenya), a natural property of outstanding beauty was the first to be added to UNESCO's World Heritage List during the current Committee session. It comprises three inter-linked ...
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Danger listing for Indonesia’s Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
The need to mobilize support and raise awareness to overcome threats facing the 2.5 million hectare Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra has led the World Heritage Committee to place the property on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Tropical Rainforest Heritage of Sumatra , inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2004 for its biodiversity, has been placed on the Danger ...
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World Heritage Committee puts Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve on Danger List at the request of Honduras
Wednesday, 22 June 2011
The Honduran World Heritage site of Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve , one of the few tropical rainforest remains in Central America, has been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in Danger to mobilize support for its preservation. The government of Honduras requested the World Heritage Committee to place the property on the List in Danger in view of the combined threats of ...
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Successful preservation of India's Manas Wildlife Sanctuary enables withdrawal from the List of World Heritage in Danger
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Significant improvements in the preservation of Manas Wildlife Sanctuary have allowed for its withdrawal from the List of World Heritage List Danger. Situated on the foothills of the Himalayas the Manas sanctuary, home to a great variety of wildlife, including many endangered species, such as the tiger, pygmy hog, Indian rhinoceros and Indian elephant, was inscribed on the List in Danger in ...
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Conservation of World Heritage sites under scrutiny: World Heritage Committee meets to examine World Heritage List and inscribe new sites
Monday, 20 June 2011
The future of the World Heritage Convention ahead of its 40th anniversary next year and the growing challenges of heritage preservation were the key themes of the opening addresses of the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee at UNESCO in Paris today. The session will end on 29 June. The Chairperson of 35th session, Shaikha Mai bint Muhammad Al Khalifa, Minister of Culture of the ...
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'Our Place' Photo Exhibit at 35th session of World Heritage Committee
Monday, 20 June 2011
A selection of 50 photographs of World Heritage sites are on display during the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee held from 19 to 29 June at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. 'Our Place' has been an official partner of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre since 2006, compiling a large database of images by professional photographers from around the world to draw attention to World ...
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Launch of InforMEA – the United Nations Information Portal on Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs)
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
The MEA Information and Knowledge Management (IKM) Initiative brings together the UN, UNESCO, FAO and UNEP, and 12 global UN Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA) to develop harmonized and interoperable information systems in support of knowledge management activities among MEAs for the benefit of Parties and the environment community at large. The Initiative is facilitated and ...
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The World Heritage Paper Series N°28: "Navigating the Future of Marine World Heritage" is published
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Since the early 1980s, forty-three marine sites have been inscribed on the World Heritage List, covering about 1.4 million km2 of ocean surface - an area about the size of the Gulf of Mexico. Each of these forty-three sites represents exceptional features in the ocean - features that are recognized by the international community for their outstanding natural beauty, exceptional ...
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UNESCO and Panasonic partner to promote World Heritage conservation and environmental education
Friday, 3 June 2011
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and Panasonic Corporation on 3 June announced a strategic partnership agreement to promote sustainable development through World Heritage conservation and environmental education for the next generation. "This new partnership with Panasonic will strengthen our ability to accomplish our mission," said Irina Bokova, UNESCO Director General. "It's an excellent ...
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First South-East Europe World Heritage Youth Forum
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
The First South-East Europe World Heritage Youth Forum is currently underway with the theme 'World Heritage education: Networking for a Better Common Future'. It was opened on Sunday 22 May in Porec, Croatia by UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova with the Croatian Minister of Culture, Jasen Mesić and the State Secretary of the Ministry of Culture of Slovenia, Stojan Pelko. Ms ...
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Parks Canada wins conservation award; celebrates 100 years
Friday, 20 May 2011
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to congratulate Parks Canada on its 100th anniversary, and for receiving the Gift to the Earth award from WWF. The Gift to the Earth is WWF's highest accolade to applaud conservation work of outstanding merit. In recognizing a conservation action as a Gift to the Earth, WWF highlights both environmental leadership and inspiring conservation ...
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[in French only] Formation intensive pour gestionnaires francophones de sites patrimoniaux
Friday, 20 May 2011
[in French only] « Construire ensemble l'avenir des sites patrimoniaux : élaborer et mettre en œuvre une gestion durable pour un site patrimonial ». Abbaye de Cluny - Bourgogne, France, du 4 au 10 décembre 2011 et immersion du 12 au 14 décembre 2011 dans un site partenaire. Thème : Construire et mettre en œuvre un plan de ...
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International Conference "What is the fate of Public Art?"
Thursday, 19 May 2011
In celebration of the World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development On the 19th and 20th May 2011, the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO and the Community of Cergy-Pontoise will organise an international conference bringing together renowned architects and artists such as Otto Piene, Daniel Buren, Dani Karavan, Rem Koolhaas, Peter Eisenman as well as key decision-makers to ...
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Anti-Poaching Patrols to continue at Niokolo Koba National Park, thanks to Rapid Response Facility emergency support
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Niokolo Koba National Park in Senegal was inscribed onto the List of World Heritage sites In Danger in 2007 due in large part to intensive poaching pressures.   The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) had been supporting anti-poaching patrols for several months in the park, but financing is expected to run out at the end of May.   The government of ...
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Ashgabat Agreement: representatives and experts of twelve Asian countries outline the Silk Roads Heritage Corridors approach for the future Serial and Trans-boundary World Heritage Nomination
Wednesday, 18 May 2011
Some fifty potential Silk Roads Heritage Corridors have been identified, with twenty corridors being  considered as a medium priority, while three corridors within the five Central Asian countries and China are recommended as a top priority for the first phase of the serial and trans-boundary World Heritage Nomination of the Silk Roads at the 2nd meeting of the Coordinating Committee of ...
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UNESCO World Heritage sites iPhone and iPad Application from HarperCollins
Monday, 16 May 2011
UNESCO and HarperCollins Publishers are pleased to announce the release of the world's first fully comprehensive World Heritage sites application (app) for iPhone and iPad. This UNESCO-authorised app provides a guide to all 911 UNESCO World Heritage sites, incorporating the 21 newly-inscribed sites announced in July 2010, including the Rainforests of Atsinanana in Madagascar and ...
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World Migratory Bird Day 2011 observed 14-15 May in over 50 countries
Friday, 13 May 2011
The theme for World Migratory Bird Day 2011, celebrated around the world on 14-15 May, is ' Land use changes from a bird's-eye view ' and it highlights the negative effects human activities are having on migratory birds, their habitats and the planet's natural environment. World Migratory Bird Day is being organized by the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the African-Eurasian ...
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Dr Kenton R. Miller, nature conservation leader and former IUCN Director General, dies
Wednesday, 11 May 2011
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and IUCN are deeply saddened by the loss of one of nature conservation’s leading lights. Dr Kenton R. Miller, a former IUCN Director General and globally-recognized leader in protected area management, has passed away. Kenton Miller served as IUCN Director General from 1983 to 1988 and recently finished a third term as Chair of IUCN’s ...
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Human - Elephant conflict: Rapid Response Facility awards emergency grant to the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
The UNESCO - FFI - UNF Rapid Response Facility awarded an emergency grant to the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania this week in response to its request for assistance in dealing with a sudden rise in the killing of elephants linked to an increase in Human / Elephant Conflicts on the border of Udzungwa Mountains National Park.   The park is part of the Eastern Arc Mountains ...
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Forty-two sites to be considered for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in June
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Remarkable natural and cultural properties from 40 countries will be considered for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during the meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Paris (19 – 29 June). Six of these countries stand to have properties inscribed on the World Heritage List for the first time during the forthcoming session: Barbados, Jamaica, Micronesia, Palau, ...
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Jaeger-LeCoultre auction proceeds support Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
From 18-22 April 2011, the Swiss watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre organized its third online auction for the benefit of World Heritage marine sites. This year, the manufacture auctioned a limited series watch in tribute to the legend of divers' watches: the Prototype N°1 of the Memovox Tribute to Deep Sea, "LeCoultre Spécial Amérique 1959" commemorative ...
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World Heritage Memory Net Launched
Friday, 29 April 2011
World Heritage Memory Net (WHMNet) is a model global digital library of cultural, historical, and moveable heritage collections related to the current 911 World Heritage Sites of 151 countries inscribed by the World Heritage Committee.  WHMNet is a fast, efficient, cutting-edge, online knowledge base which provides universal access to multilingual, multimedia and multiformat resources on ...
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Increase in One-horned Rhinoceros reported at Royal Chitwan National Park World Heritage Site (Nepal)
Thursday, 28 April 2011
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has released the results of its rhinoceros census in Nepal, reporting a reported 23% increase in rhino numbers in this World Heritage site since the last census taken in 2008.  Numbers increased from 408 to 503. WWF reports that these numbers reflect the success of conservation efforts for this species and are a result of improved rhino ...
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Expert Working Group releases recommendations for Safeguarding Bamiyan
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Following their meeting in UNESCO Headquarters, Paris 3-4 March 2011, a group of Afghan and international experts working on the safeguarding of Bamiyan (Afghanistan), as well as representatives of the Afghan and Japanese governments and UNESCO, released a list of recommendations for further activities to preserve the Bamiyan site.  Bamiyan remains one of the most important examples of ...
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Conclusions of the Second HERITY International Conference
Wednesday, 20 April 2011
This conference was held in Rome December 3-5, 2008. The conclusions outlined below were reached thanks to contributions from ICCROM, UNESCO-WHC, UN-WTO, HERITY INTERNATIONAL Conclusions by the First HERITY Conference (December 5-9, 2006) highlighted that "from the point of view of culture, no poor Countries exist around the World: every territory has a significant and priceless Heritage ...
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UNESCO for Haiti. 19 April 2011
Tuesday, 19 April 2011
UNESCO invites Member States, Intergovernemental Organizations, NGOs, the Private Sector and Civil Society to a Conference designed to demonstrate the importance of culture as a motor for reconstruction in Haiti. The main objective of this conference is to inform the international community about the role of Culture in the Reconstruction of Haiti, the projects undertaken, the needs and ...
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Call for applications for the IV° edition of the Master in "World Heritage at Work"
Thursday, 7 April 2011
The call for applications for the IV° edition of the Master in "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 World Heritage properties and/or ...
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Rapid Response Facility Supports Post Tsunami Recovery in Galápagos
Tuesday, 5 April 2011
The devastating March 11th earthquake that struck the coast of Japan created a powerful tsunami that ravaged the  coastline and brought tragedy to thousands of people. No World Heritage sites were affected in Japan and the tsunami spread rapidly across the Pacific during the course of the day. Properly warned, the people of Galápagos (13,000 km from Japan) ...
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2010 - 2011 World Heritage map now available
Monday, 4 April 2011
The latest version of the World Heritage Map, produced by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and National Geographic Maps with support from Ministry of Culture of the  Kingdom of Bahrain and the United Nations Foundation, can now be ordered for a modest fee from the World Heritage Centre website to recover mailing costs. The Map is an extremely valuable learning and awareness-raising tool ...
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Statement from the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee
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 ...
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Kishore Rao appointed Director of UNESCO World Heritage Centre
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 ...
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Director-General urges military forces engaged in Libya to refrain from endangering cultural heritage
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 ...
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Call for Posters on World Heritage Cities and Climate Change for the 11th OWHC World Congress
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, ...
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Statement of the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee
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 ...
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Arab States meeting held to define regional programme
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 ...
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Director-General welcomes suspension of oil prospection at Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
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 ...
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35th session of the World Heritage Committee to meet in Paris in June 2011
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 ...
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UNESCO World Heritage Centre expresses its solidarity with Japanese people following tragic events
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 ...
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Tsunami Spares Galapagos Wildlife, but Destroys Marine Laboratory
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 ...
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[in French only] Newsletter N° 18 de la Convention France UNESCO
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* ...
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Resource Manual 'Preparing World Heritage Nominations' available online
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 ...
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Experts outline future plans for the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (Afghanistan)
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 ...
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Ten years on – remembering the tragic destruction of the giant Buddha statues of Bamiyan (Afghanistan)
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 ...
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Statement from the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee on the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand
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 ...
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Sustainable Indicators in World Heritage Urban Areas, Mexico City, Mexico
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 ...
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Publication of the Comparative Analysis on Archaeology of Hunter-gatherers. Archaeological sites of the Chinchorro Culture
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 ...
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UNESCO Special Envoy on Preah Vihear to meet with prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia
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), ...
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Lightning damages Pratapur Temple of Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site, Nepal
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 ...
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UNESCO Director-General to send Special Envoy to Bangkok and Phnom Penh
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 ...
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UNESCO to send mission to Preah Vihear
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. ...
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Director-General expresses alarm over escalation of violence between Thailand and Cambodia
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 ...
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Cultural heritage update for Egypt
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 ...
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World Wetlands Day is 2 February
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 ...
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UNESCO Director-General launches heritage and press freedom alert for Egypt
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 ...
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Three guards and five soldiers killed in attack at Virunga National Park (DRC)
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 ...
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Last Call: Caribbean Heritage Course in Curaçao
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 ...
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Colorado State University (USA) offers Spanish-language course on Protected Area Management
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 ...
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Kinshasa Declaration to protect DRC World Heritage sites signed
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 ...
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Rescuing the Congo's natural world heritage
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 ...
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Two rhinos translocated to Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
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 ...
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2011 is the International Year of Forests
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 ...
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Panasonic World Heritage calendar released in online version
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. ...
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Best Wishes from the World Heritage Centre 2011
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Best Wishes from the World Heritage Centre 2011
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Strengthening the Crown Jewels of the Ocean
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 ...
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'Tides of Time Archive' now available online
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 ...
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Satellite analysis of global mangrove forests released
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 ...
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[in French only] Newsletter N° 17 de la Convention France UNESCO
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. ...
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UNESCO sends expert mission to investigate state of Pompei’s conservation
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 ...
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Four World Heritage sites in Cyprus and Italy granted “enhanced protection” in the event of armed conflict
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 ...
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Plans underway for the creation of an International World Heritage Rock Art Archive
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 ...
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Monnaie de Paris produces diamond-studded Taj Mahal coin
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 ...
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Rapid Response Grants awarded to protect elephants, help with oil spill clean-up
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 ...
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Caribbean Heritage Course in Curaçao
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 ...
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In memoriam: Andrzej Stanislaw Tomaszewski 1934 - 2010
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 ...
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Managing Historic Cities, World Heritage Series n°27
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 ...
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UNESCO and the Regional Government of Flanders sign a Trust Fund Agreement for the support of UNESCO’s activities in the field of heritage.
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 ...
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Go4BioDiv International Youth Forum held for natural World Heritage sites
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 ...
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World Heritage at the COP 10 in Nagoya, Japan
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 ...
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Fire ravages heart of La Réunion National Park
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, ...
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Information note on proposed highway in Serengeti National Park
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 ...
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Youth from around the world concerned with biodiversity protection unites in Japan
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 ...
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Director-General calls for cooperation regarding the preservation of the Old City of Jerusalem
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 ...
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A 7000 € grant for a project awarded to a young person from the Mediterranean
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 ...
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Message from the Director of the World Heritage Centre on the toxic spill in Hungary
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 ...
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World Sky Race event is launched in Times Square, New York City
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 ...
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Inauguration of the transboundary Wadden Sea World Heritage site
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 ...
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International Youth Forum Go4BioDiv to be held in parallel to COP 10 for Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan
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 ...
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“Heritage and Development: diversity as an alternative”, publication of the proceedings
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 ...
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UNESCO launches safeguarding project at New Gourna Village, part of Ancient Thebes World Heritage site
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 ...
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World Heritage Sites Around the World: Photo Exhibition by Tom Till
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 ...
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Charter of commitment for the management of World Heritage sites in France signed by the Minister of Culture
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 ...
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UNESCO and the Smithsonian sign a Memorandum of Understanding for cultural and natural heritage
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 ...
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Serious flooding at the Historic Monuments Zone of Tlacotalpan (Mexico) World Heritage property
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 ...
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Rapid Response Facility contributes to project near La Amistad Biosphere Reserve (Panama)
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 ...
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[in French only] Les Villes françaises, une référence mondiale en matière de développement patrimonial
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, ...
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Finland applies Management Effectiveness Assessments to its Cultural World Heritage sites
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 ...
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Preparatory Meeting for Latin American Periodic Reporting draws to a close
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 ...
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[in French only] Newsletter N°16 de la Convention France UNESCO
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 ...
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Second Phase of ‘Business Skills for Natural World Heritage Site Managers programme’ begins
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 ...
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New website on Ireland’s World Heritage sites launched
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. ...
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Message from the Director of the World Heritage Centre on floods affection Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro
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 ...
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Message from the Director of the World Heritage Centre on floods affecting Muskauer Park / Park Mużakowski (Germany/Poland)
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 ...
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Minister of Culture of the Kingdom of Bahrain nominated new Chairperson of World Heritage Committee
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes Russian site on World Heritage List and approves extension to Swiss site
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, ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes a total of 21 new sites on UNESCO World Heritage List
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee also approves three extensions to World Heritage properties in Austria, Romania and Spain
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes three new cultural sites, three natural sites and one extension on World Heritage List
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes Ngorongoro Conservation Area (Tanzania) as Cultural World Heritage Site
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes seven cultural sites on World Heritage List
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes five new cultural sites on World Heritage List and approves two extensions to existing properties
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes Everglades National Park on List of World Heritage in Danger
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes Rainforests of Atsinanana (Madagascar) on List of World Heritage in Danger
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes two new sites on World Heritage List
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 ...
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List of World Heritage in Danger: World Heritage Committee inscribes the Tombs of Buganda Kings (Uganda) and removes Galapagos Islands (Ecuador)
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes Bagrati Cathedral and Gelati Monastery (Georgia) on List of World Heritage in Danger
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 ...
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Thirty-nine properties to be considered for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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 ...
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UNESCO and Brazil establish heritage management Training Centre for Portuguese and Spanish-speaking countries
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 ...
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World Heritage Mission to Haiti
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 ...
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New project for the preservation of the World Heritage Property in Nepal: Lumbini, Lord Bhudda’s Birthplace starts with funds from UNESCO/Japanese Fund-in-Trust
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 ...
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Managing Disaster Risks for World Heritage Resource Manual
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 ...
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The Operational Guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention are now available in Portuguese
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 ...
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UNDP launches the second edition of “Picture this”
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 ...
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Equatorial Guinea ratifies World Heritage Convention
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 ...
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Joint Workshop establishes successful basis to scale-up marine World Heritage
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 ...
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World Heritage Committee to meet in Brasilia to inscribe new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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 ...
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Wildlife authority of Côte d’Ivoire awarded Rapid Response Facility grant to combat poaching after period of civil unrest
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 ...
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Greenpeace and WWF present 125,000 signatures to UNESCO to save world’s oldest, deepest and largest lake
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 ...
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World Heritage in the Congo Basin
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, ...
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New web-tool shows critical migratory waterbird sites need urgent protection
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 ...
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2nd Ibero-American Youth Forum held Aranjuez, Spain
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 ...
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Third sub-regional meeting for 2nd Cycle of World Heritage Periodic Reporting opens in Yaoundé
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 ...
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UNESCO World Heritage Centre launches international competition to create new episode of Patrimonito cartoon
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 ...
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Call for project proposals financed by the African World Heritage Fund
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 ...
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Message from Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre, on current conservation issues at Lake Baikal
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 ...
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UNESCO welcomes backing by President of Russian Federation for the preservation of St Petersburg
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 ...
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Damage to the Archaeological Park and Ruins of Quirigua as a result of tropical storm Agatha
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 ...
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Message from Francesco Bandarin, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture, on floods affecting European World Heritage sites
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 ...
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Call for Papers – Journal of Cultural Heritage Management and Sustainable Development
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 ...
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Jaeger-LeCoultre affirms commitment to marine conservation at Global Conference on Oceans
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 ...
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[in French only] Newsletter N° 15 de la Convention France-UNESCO
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 ...
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Damage to Great Barrier Reef assessed; stricter shipping surveillance proposed
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 ...
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Jaeger-LeCoultre auction proceeds support Sundarbans National Park
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 ...
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2nd cycle Master’s degree Course in science for the conservation-restoration of cultural heritage (SCoRe)
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 ...
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Call for applications for the 3rd edition of the Master programme on "World Heritage at Work"
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 ...
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UNESCO recommends reconstruction of Ugandan World Heritage Site
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 ...
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WHC Director Francesco Bandarin appointed new UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture
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 ...
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Signature of Agreement establishing the UNESCO category 2 institute for Regional World Heritage in Zacatecas, Mexico
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 ...
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Rapid Response Facility grant for conservation group to benefit Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System
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 ...
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World Heritage Centre expressed concern to the Minister of Cultures of Bolivia on Tiwanaku
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 ...
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Director-General calls for calm and offers support following fire and subsequent protests at Ugandan World Heritage site
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 ...
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Jaeger-LeCoultre launches its second online auction for the preservation of World Heritage sites
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 ...
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Damage to Chilean heritage sites evaluated after earthquake
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 ...
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2009-2010 World Heritage map now available
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 ...
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Pilgrims killed in stampede at Djingareyber Mosque in Timbuktu
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 ...
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Successful first year entices organizers to double training capacity for business planning at World Heritage sites
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 ...
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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 ...
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'World Heritage Papers Series No. 26: Cultural Landscapes' now available online
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 ...
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Damage evaluated at Machu Picchu after torrential rains
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) ...
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Establishment of Category 2 Centres on World Heritage officially launched
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 ...
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[in French only] Newsletter N°14 de la Convention France-UNESCO
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 ...
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Alpine Convention and World Heritage Convention Secretariats Meet
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 ...
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February 2nd is World Wetlands Day
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 ...
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Belize Conservation NGO Receives Rapid Response Facility Grant in Support of the Belize Barrier Reef System
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), ...
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Torrential rains cause death and damage at Peruvian World Heritage sites
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 ...
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Heritage in Haiti
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 ...
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Belgium reinforces its engagement for World Heritage Sites in Danger in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
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, ...
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Beijing Appeal for Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change at World Heritage properties in the Asia and the Pacific region
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 ...
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Germany gives 3.2 million dollars for the safeguarding of Ivorian parcs and reserves
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 ...
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Director General presents UNESCO climate change initiative at Copenhagen Conference
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 ...
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Restoration works continue despite violent storms at the Great Mosque of Djenné
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 ...
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Enhancing our Heritage Toolkit now available in Spanish
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 ...
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UNESCO saddened by loss of Goodwill Ambassador Professor Ikuo Hirayama
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 ...
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Google and UNESCO announce alliance to provide virtual visits of several World Heritage sites
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 ...
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Natural Science courses open at the new Jurassic Studies Centre in Lyme Regis
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 ...
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Ifugao Province, Philippines and Italy's Cinque Terre Park sign Twinning Program
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 ...
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Exhibition of Aksum Obelisk Re-installation opens in Rome
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 ...
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Business Skills training sessions begin for World Heritage sites
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 ...
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'Patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO : les sites marocains' is published
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 ...
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General Assembly elects 12 new members to World Heritage Committee and sets priorities for future of Heritage Convention
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 ...
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Poland is the Denkmal national partner 2010
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 ...
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Twelve members elected to World Heritage Committee
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. ...
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UNESCO and online travel giant TripAdvisor launch World Heritage partnership
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 ...
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A 7000 Euro Grant For the Realization of a Cultural Project Concerning the Mediterranean World
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 ...
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Statement by UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre on mission to study conservation and infrastructure development in Ibiza
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 ...
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17th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention and the 35th UNESCO General Conference
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 ...
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2010 UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary Published
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 ...
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'The World's Heritage' co-published by UNESCO and Harper Collins
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 ...
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World Heritage Centre signs agreement with DBU for site conservation in Europe
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, ...
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Rapid Response Facility launches new website
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 ...
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Great Barrier Reef Outlook Report published
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 ...
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Agreement between the Algerian Ministry of Culture and the INRAP with the support of the World Heritage Centre
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 ...
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[in French only] Newsletter N°13 de la Convention France UNESCO
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 ...
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Marine spatial planning and World Heritage
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 ...
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10th Anniversary of the France-UNESCO Convention
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 ...
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Experts engage with climate change education at international seminar, UNESCO HQ, Paris, 27-29 July
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. ...
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Case Studies on Climate Change and World Heritage English, French and Spanish UNESCO World Heritage Centre
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 ...
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TripAdvisor pledges support to World Heritage
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 ...
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Cities of Caral-Supe (Peru) and Levoča (Slovakia) added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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 ...
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Georgia’s Historical Monuments of Mtskheta inscribed on Danger List
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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13 new sites have been added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List which lost one site while three were placed on the Danger List
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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Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System and Colombia’s Los Katios National Park enter UNESCO’s Danger List
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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Stoclet House (Belgium) inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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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Tower of Hercules (Spain) inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List alongside two Swiss watch-making towns
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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British Aqueduct and Canal inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, French Saltworks extended
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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China’s sacred Buddhist Mount Wutai inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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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Maps of World Heritage sites in Democratic Republic of the Congo presented by Belgian Federal Science Policy Office
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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Wadden Sea, Italy’s Dolomites and Philippines’s Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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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Jaeger-LeCoultre and the International Herald Tribune continue to support the World Heritage Marine Programme
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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Cidade Velha becomes Cabo Verde's first World Heritage site
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 ...
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Ruins of Loropéni (Burkina Faso) inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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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Sacred mountain in Kyrgyzstan enters List along with Iran’s Shushtar water system and Royal tombs in Republic of Korea
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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10th Weimar Summer Courses, “Milestones of Democracy – European Memories 2009”
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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World Heritage Committee removes Baku from Danger List welcoming improvements in the ancient city´s preservation
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 ...
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Dresden is deleted from UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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 ...
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Twenty-seven new sites up for inscription on UNESCO World Heritage List as Committee opens session in Seville
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 ...
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José Maria Abecasis Soares & José Tavares begin their journey to five World Heritage glaciers
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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1st Ibero-American World Heritage Youth Forum
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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World Heritage Centre and Research Centre for Islamic History, Art and Culture sign Cooperation Agreement
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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Nahanni National Park Reserve is expanded
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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Director-General visits four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in northern Portugal
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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Artist for Peace Missa Johnouchi visits UNESCO
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 ...
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UNESCO and Chile Launch Ecotourism Training Project on Easter Island
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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World Heritage Committee to meet in Seville to review state of conservation of 178 sites and add new sites on List
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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In memoriam: Michel Parent
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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Business Skills for World Heritage Training Programme Launched
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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Registration deadline for the master's degree course "World Heritage at Work"
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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World Heritage Scholarships in U.S. National Parks
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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Director-General inaugurates exhibition celebrating re-installation of the Aksum Obelisk
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 ...
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Recommendation adopted by the participants of ten Asian countries of a serial Itinerant Workshop on the Conservation and Management of Persian, Timurid and Mughal Architecture
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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UNESCO presents exhibition on reconstruction of Aksum obelisk
Monday, 20 April 2009
An exhibition - photographs and a video installation - at UNESCO will celebrate the reinstallation of the Aksum obelisk. The show will give visitors a chance to learn about the history of the Ethiopian site and to view the key stages of reinstalling the monument, 24 metres high and weighing 150 tons. Open to the public from 4 to 15 May (9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.), the exhibition will be ...
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World Heritage Centre expresses condolences for victims of earthquake in Italy
Monday, 20 April 2009
The World Heritage Centre has noted with great concern the news of the earthquake that struck near L'Aquila, Central Italy, on Monday, 6 April 2009. According to initial reports, some 60 miles west of the epicentre of the quake, the Baths of Caracalla (part of the UNESCO World Heritage property "Historic Centre of Rome, the Properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial ...
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World Heritage Centre signs agreement with INRAP for site conservation
Thursday, 16 April 2009
On 2 April 2009 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, signed an agreement with INRAP, the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Institut national de recherches archéologiques preventives). The Letter of Intent was signed by Mrs Nicole Pot, Director of INRAP and Mr Jean-Paul Jacob, President of ...
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7th Meeting of the Liaison Group of the Biodiversity-related Conventions held
Friday, 10 April 2009
The Liaison Group of the Biodiversity-related Conventions (BLG) is a coordinating mechanism among Conventions for joint activities and shared tools in the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, maximizing outcomes from limited resources in accordance with UN goals. The meeting was hosted by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, ...
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Public Lecture: World Heritage - Urban Areas and Historic Cities (The University of Queensland)
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
This lecture presents a brief history of attitudes to conservation in the 20th Century - the key concepts underpinning the Venice Charter (1964) UNESCO recommendations on historic areas (1976) and the Lahore recommendations on historic cities (1980). Professor Lewcock chronicles these changes in his own experiences in Cairo (1972-1984) and Uzbekistan (1970-1996) and he discusses in detail ...
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World Heritage Rainforests in Madagascar threatened by illegal logging and trafficking of precious wood
Friday, 3 April 2009
UNESCO was recently informed of two serious threats at the Marojejy and Masoala national parks in the north of Madagascar, which are part of the recently inscribed Rainforests of Atisnanana World Heritage site. Inscribed on the World Heritage List in June 2007 during the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee, the site is composed of six ...
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50th anniversary of Nubia Campaign
Tuesday, 31 March 2009
UNESCO, Egypt and Sudan have started commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Nubia Campaign, a defining example of international solidarity when countries understood the universal nature of heritage and the universal importance of its conservation. The Egyptian and Sudanese governments' request - in April and October 1959 respectively - for UNESCO's help to save the 3,000-year-old ...
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Director-General celebrates inscription of the Madâin Sâlih site on the World Heritage List during official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (16-19 March 2009)
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
From 16 to 19 March 2009, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, paid his third official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. He was accompanied throughout his visit by Mr Ziad Bin Abdullah Aldrees, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to UNESCO. On 17 March, the Director-General was received by HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman Bin Abdelaziz Al-Saud, ...
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Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in the Philippines receives £13,540 from an auction organized by Jaeger-LeCoultre
Friday, 20 March 2009
The World Heritage site of the Tubbataha Reef Marine Park in the Philippines will benefit from the total amount of £13,540 collected through an auction organized in February by the Swiss watch company Jaeger-LeCoultre, within the framework of the partnership with UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and the International Herald Tribune. The purchase of a watch designed to celebrate this ...
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Greenland Students visit UNESCO to learn about World Heritage, the Arctic and Climate Change
Friday, 20 March 2009
18 students from Greenland visited the UNESCO World Heritage Centre on 16 March 2009 to learn more about World Heritage, the Arctic and climate change. They were briefed about the expert workshop on World Heritage and the Arctic (Narvik, Norway, 2007), received a copy of the proceedings (see: /) which were published in 2008 thanks to the generous support of the Prince Albert II Foundation of ...
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International Workshop and Expert Meeting held on Starlight Reserves and World Heritage
Thursday, 19 March 2009
The International Workshop and Expert Meeting "Starlight Reserves and World Heritage - scientific cultural and environmental values", was held in Fuerteventura, Spain, from 10-11 March 2009. It was attended by 32 participants and experts from 10 countries including representatives of private organizations, companies, the tourism industry, NGOs, scientific bodies and research ...
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International Workshop and Expert Meeting on Starlight Reserves and World Heritage held in Fuerteventura, Spain
Monday, 16 March 2009
The International Workshop and Expert Meeting "Starlight Reserves and World Heritage - scientific cultural and environmental values", was held in Fuerteventura, Spain from 10-11 March 2009, and attended by 32 participants and experts from 10 countries. Participants were representatives of private organizations, enterprises, the tourism industry, NGOs, scientific bodies and research ...
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L’OREAL-UNESCO Awards 2009 "For Women in Science" - Professor Beatriz Barbuy - Laureate 2009 for Latin America
Monday, 2 March 2009
"For her work on the evolution of the stars from the birth of the universe to the present time." (Jury Citation, General Public) "For her work on the chemical composition of old stars and its relevance to the formation and evolution of galaxies." (Jury Citation, Scientific Public) Who She Is Professor Barbuy was born in Brazil, and received her doctorate degree from the University of Paris ...
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Jean-Michel Jarre becomes Artistic Director of the World Sky Race
Thursday, 26 February 2009
UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Jean-Michel Jarre has agreed to become the Artistic Director of the World Sky Race launched in a partnership between the nongovernmental U.S.-based World Air League and UNESCO's World Heritage Centre. The aim of the World Sky Race is to promote environmental protection and the use of lighter-than-air skyships as a means to reduce pollution and pressures caused by ...
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Artist for Peace Ms Missa Johnouchi supports World Heritage
Monday, 23 February 2009
On 23 January 2009, Artist for Peace Ms Missa Johnouchi met with Mr Francesco Bandarin, Directer of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, to present a donation for the preservation of World Heritage sites. The funds, collected during the "World Heritage Torch-Run Concert - A voyage of the heart on the Silk Road from France to Japan" organized by the French Chamber ...
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Bridge Collapses at Hampi World Heritage Site (India)
Friday, 13 February 2009
On 22 January 2009, the Anegundi Bridge at the World Heritage Group of Monuments at Hampi collapsed, killing eight construction workers. The unfinished bridge over the Tungabhadra River gave way under the weight of the additional concrete used to complete its construction, only weeks after resumption of the works which had been halted over 9 years ago. The Group of Monuments at Hampi was ...
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Devastating fire at the Royal Palaces of Abomey (Benin)
Friday, 13 February 2009
The Royal Palaces of Abomey in Benin were ravaged by a fire on 21 January 2009 which destroyed several buildings. A brushfire, whose origins are still uncertain, consumed the straw roof and framework of six buildings enclosing two temples to Agasu, as well as the tombs of King Agonglo, King Ghezo, and each king's 41 wives. The fire moved quickly due to the strong harmattan winds which are ...
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Joint efforts for the preservation of World Heritage in Mozambique
Friday, 13 February 2009
Dutch and the Flemish Governments join Japan, UCCLA and Portugal in financing the San Sebastian Fortress rehabilitation project On 18 December 2008, the Government of Mozambique and UNESCO signed two plans of operation for projects funded by the Netherlands and Flanders Funds-in-Trusts supporting the rehabilitation of the San Sebastian Fortress. Since its inscription on the World Heritage ...
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Jaeger-LeCoultre watch to be auctioned for World Heritage preservation
Thursday, 12 February 2009
In the context of the partnership between Jaeger-LeCoultre, The International Herald Tribune and UNESCO, the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture has designed a watch symbolizing its commitment to the World Heritage Marine Programme. The goal of the partnership is to identify, monitor and preserve marine sites around the world, and the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer has designed a limited edition ...
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2008-2009 World Heritage map now available
Wednesday, 11 February 2009
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 ...
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[in French only] Newsletter n° 12 de la Convention France-UNESCO
Monday, 9 February 2009
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets cfu : Formation «patrimoine culturel et développement local». Porto Novo, Benin, 18-21 novembre 2008. Séminaire international "Les ponts : de la construction à l'approche patrimoniale". Paris, 26-28 novembre 2008. Atelier technique sur les inventaires du patrimoine culturel dans ...
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Cook Islands ratifies the World Heritage Convention
Sunday, 1 February 2009
On 16 January 2009, the Government of the Cook Islands officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, its instrument of ratification, becoming the 186th State Party to adopt the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Convention will enter into force for this State Party on 16 April ...
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The Silk Road: An AMNH/UNESCO World Heritage Expedition through Central Asia
Monday, 26 January 2009
Discover the rich history of the Silk Road on a guided visit to six World Heritage sites from April 12 to 27, 2009. The American Museum of Natural History, in partnership with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, is offering an exciting and informative program to the oasis cities of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan accompanied by archaeologist and early Silk Road scholar, Dr. Hsin-Mei Agnes Hsu. ...
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UNESCO Lima seeks international specialists for World Heritage sites
Wednesday, 21 January 2009
The UNESCO Lima office, through an agreement with the National Institute of Culture of Peru, is providing technical assistance for the development of heritage site management plans for the Pachacamac archeological complex and the Lines and Geoglyphs of Nasca and Pampas de Jumana. Such assistance requires the expertise of international specialists. The main objective of the work plans is to ...
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Garamba National Park (DRC) attacked by LRA rebels
Wednesday, 7 January 2009
On 2 January 2009, Ugandan rebels known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) attacked Garamba National Park, one of five World Heritage sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. So far, there are 8 dead, including two guards and two wives of park rangers, and 13 wounded. Park authorities are also evaluating damage done to the park. Nagero Station, targeted by the rebels, is ...
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European Commission contributes €2.5 million to Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative
Friday, 19 December 2008
On 18 December 2008, the European Commission and UNESCO signed an agreement in Libreville, Gabon for a contribution of €2.5 million to the Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative (CAWFHI). Since 2004, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre has been coordinating the Initiative for a total amount of about $10 million, with $3.3 million financed by the United Nations Foundation, $3.3 by ...
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Australian Government reinforces its Funds-in-Trust for conservation of Angkor and other heritage properties
Friday, 12 December 2008
The Australian Funds-in-Trust, established in August 2008 between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the Australian Government, has been increased. A sum of $AUS830,000 has been added to the Australian Government's first generous contribution of $AUS2.5 million. From the Funds-in-Trust, $AUS1.13 million will be used to support the development of a conservation and management ...
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World Heritage Publications available in Bulgarian
Friday, 12 December 2008
Brochures on the World Heritage Convention and World Heritage in Young Hands programme are available in Bulgarian. "Our World Heritage" and "Today and tomorrow with young people" were originally published by UNESCO in English, French and Spanish. The brochures were translated into Bulgarian thanks to the financial contribution of the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and ...
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Béthanie Wins UNESCO Heritage Award
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Béthanie - the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Landmark Heritage Campus has been awarded an Honourable Mention at the 2008 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Cultural Heritage Awards. An award presentation ceremony will take place on 9 December 2008 at the Béthanie campus. Officiating guests include Ms Béatrice Kaldun, UNESCO's China representative for Culture and Heritage; Mrs ...
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UNESCO signs partnership with the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Dr. Keiji Tachikawa, President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on 2 December signed a cooperation agreement through which JAXA will assist UNESCO by bringing the benefits of space technology to the monitoring of World Heritage sites. With this agreement JAXA joins a group of more than 50 partners, including 25 space ...
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UNESCO-ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission to the World Heritage site of Edinburgh
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Experts from UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) undertook a reactive monitoring mission to examine development projects affecting the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh (United Kingdom), inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1995. Undertaken at the request of the World Heritage Committee during its most recent session (Quebec ...
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From Olympia's Workshop on World Heritage and Disasters: Joint Communiqué of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the Hellenic Ministry of Culture
Monday, 10 November 2008
The devastating fires that raged across Greece in the summer of 2007 seriously affected the World Heritage site of Olympia, stopping short of destroying its Museum and archaeological area, which could only be saved thanks to the strenuous efforts of the responsible authorities.  Disasters such as the one that threatened Olympia are in fact increasing, including as a result of climate ...
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[in French only] Newsletter n° 11 de la Convention France-UNESCO
Monday, 3 November 2008
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets CFU : « Niger - Loire : gouvernance et culture ». Projet européen. Coopération décentralisée Riga, Lyon et Bordeaux : voyage d'étude sur la conservation des centres historiques. 21-25 septembre 2008. Réseau des villes indiennes de culture ...
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Declaration by the UNESCO Director General concerning Virunga National Park, World Heritage site
Thursday, 30 October 2008
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, said today he was alarmed by the violent incidents taking place in the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Mr Matsuura voice his support to the statement made earlier by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, calling on "all parties to immediately cease hostilities and pursue in good ...
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UNESCO and the IAU sign key agreement on Astronomy and World Heritage
Thursday, 30 October 2008
A Memorandum of Understanding is to be signed today, 30 October 2008, between UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU will be integrally involved in the process of developing UNESCO's Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative, helping to promote astronomical sites of "Outstanding Universal Value".
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UNESCO - Vocations Patrimoine fellowships awarded to young preservation professionals from around the world
Friday, 24 October 2008
Five young heritage professionals from Canada, Egypt, Hungary, Peru, and Zimbabwe, received UNESCO-Vocations Patrimoine fellowships to pursue post graduate research at University College Dublin (Ireland) and at the Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus (Germany) in a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters on the evening of 22 October. The fellowships were awarded by the Organization's ...
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World Heritage Centre Receives World Tourism Award
Monday, 20 October 2008
The World Heritage Centre has been awarded the 2008 World Tourism Award in recognition of its ‘outstanding guidance, support and encouragement to 185 countries around the world by establishing and monitoring 878 World Heritage sites’ and its ‘outstanding accomplishments in the travel industry.’ Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council on ...
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Places of Wonder and Discovery, the first book published by Our Place, is now available
Monday, 20 October 2008
The first book published by Our Place, is now available. The first in a series of ten books produced in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, this edition includes 350 original photographs of 50 World Heritage sites in 35 countries. Through a partnership with UNESCO, Our Place and its international network of professional photographers is developing the first collection of ...
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2009 UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary Published
Monday, 20 October 2008
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 ...
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World Heritage Review n°51 - World Heritage and Spiritual Heritage
Monday, 20 October 2008
World Heritage is a quarterly magazine featuring in-depth articles on World Heritage sites around the world written by experts and illustrated with spectacular photographs. Published by UNESCO in English, French and Spanish since 1996, this is a wonderful source if you’d like to learn more about World Heritage sites, get the latest news on sites in danger, and discover new books and ...
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Australian Funds-in-Trust Agreement created to support World Heritage activities
Thursday, 16 October 2008
A Funds-in-Trust Agreement to support World Heritage activities was established in August 2008 between UNESCO and the Australian Government, thanks to the latter’s generous contribution of 2.5 million Australian Dollars. The objective of this Fund-in-Trust is to support, through UNESCO, activities related to the World Heritage Convention in the Asia-Pacific region. These include the ...
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Netherlands FIT to enhance management effectiveness at Borobudur
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
With a view to enhancing the capacity of the Indonesian national and local authorities to improve the state of conservation at Borobudur Temple Compound World Heritage property, the World Heritage Centre developed a technical cooperation project under the Netherlands Funds-In-Trust with UNESCO. The project aims to enhance the management effectiveness at Borobudur Temple Compound World ...
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Spain Honors the UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Monday, 13 October 2008
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the ‘Association of World Heritage Cities of Spain’, celebrated in the city of Avila on 17 September, the World Heritage Centre was awarded Spain’s first ever ‘Patrimonio’ prize for its ‘exemplary efforts in safeguarding the world’s cultural and natural heritage.’  Her Majesty Infanta Cristina ...
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Violent clashes in southern sector of Virunga National Park
Friday, 10 October 2008
Over the last few days, Virunga National Park has been the scene of violent fighting between the Congolese Army and Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP) rebels. On Thursday 9 October, the Managing Director of the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (or ICCN, the body in charge of the Democratic Republic of the Congo protected areas management), Mr. Cosma ...
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UNESCO and World Air League join forces to promote lighter-than-air transportation
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
The World Heritage Centre and the World Air League, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization, will present an ambitious new partnership at UNESCO Headquarters on 24 September aiming to promote environmental protection and the use of lighter-than-air skyships as a means to reduce pollution and pressures caused by transportation. Tomorrow’s announcement will showcase the World Sky Race, ...
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Jaeger-LeCoultre and International Herald Tribune provide support to World Heritage Marine Programme
Friday, 12 September 2008
With the support of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Swiss luxury watch manufacture, the World Heritage Marine Programme will begin a series of conservation activities aimed at identifying, monitoring and preserving marine sites around the world. This partnership is being promoted through a series of articles entitled ‘Tides of time’ published by the International Herald Tribune, also a partner ...
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Inauguration Ceremony for the Aksum Obelisk
Friday, 5 September 2008
“The reinstallation of the Aksum Obelisk is a source of pride for UNESCO,” said Assistant Director-General for Culture, Françoise Rivière, during the official inauguration ceremony of the Aksum Obelisk in its original site in northern Ethiopia on 4 September. “It is a technical achievement but it is also a source of pride because it shows that cultural ...
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[in French only] Newsletter n° 10 de la Convention France-UNESCO
Friday, 8 August 2008
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets de la Convention France Unesco. Saint Louis du Sénégal : Suivi de projet. « Niger - Loire : gouvernance et culture », projet européen. « Villages antiques » du nord de la Syrie : atelier de travail et sensibilisation. idlib, 11-12 avril 2008. Riga, Lettonie : cooperation riga, ...
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Mission accomplished: Aksum Obelisk successfully reinstalled
Friday, 1 August 2008
Aksum, August 1 - The third and last block of the Aksum Obelisk was successfully mounted by the UNESCO teams yesterday 31 July in its original location in Ethiopia. The monument’s reinstallation was greeted with joy by the local people, who spontaneously organized musical concerts yesterday at the site. Weighing 150 tons and 24 meters high, the obelisk is the second largest stela on ...
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Second block of Aksum Obelisk successfully re-installed
Monday, 28 July 2008
In the framework of the Aksum Obelisk reinstallation project funded by Italy, the second block of the Aksum Obelisk was successfully installed on 25 July 2008. The first phase of the re-installation works of the Aksum Obelisk, also known as Stele 2, in its original location at the World Heritage site in Aksum, Ethiopia was completed on 12 June 2008. The first and second of three blocks of ...
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World Heritage Committee requests close surveillance of Bordeaux, Machu Picchu, Timbuktu and Samarkand
Thursday, 10 July 2008
The World Heritage Committee has asked that “reinforced monitoring” be applied to four properties on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in addition to the seven for which the surveillance mechanism is already in place. Under the new monitoring mechanism, established by the World Heritage Committee in 2007, regular missions can be dispatched to World Heritage sites subjected to ...
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Three new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
The Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and Western Galilee (Israel) are inscribed for the testimony they provide to the Bahá’i’s strong tradition of pilgrimage and for their profound meaning for the faith. The property numbers 26 buildings, monuments and sites at 11 locations in Acre and Haifa, associated with the founders of the faith, among them the Shrine of the ...
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Twenty-seven new sites inscribed
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
The World Heritage Committee, meeting for its 32nd session, finished inscribing new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 8 July with the addition of 19 cultural sites and eight natural sites to the List. New cultural sites inscribed during the 32nd session: Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia) Fujian Tulou (China) Stari Grad Plain (Croatia) Historic Centre of Camagüey ...
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Eight new sites, from the Straits of Malacca, to Papua New Guinea and San Marino, added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Monday, 7 July 2008
The World Heritage Committee meeting in Quebec City has added eight new cultural sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List on the morning of the 7 of July. With these inscriptions, Papua New Guinea and San Marino enter the World Heritage List for the first time. The new sites inscribed are: Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca (Malaysia) have developed over ...
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Canadian fossil park, an Icelandic volcanic island and archipelago in Yemen among sites added to UNESCO World Heritage List
Monday, 7 July 2008
The World Heritage Committee, meeting for its 32nd session, inscribed 13 new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in the afternoon and evening of 7 July. The nomination of new sites for inscription on the World Heritage List will continue tomorrow morning, 8 July.The new sites inscribed are: Preah Vihear Temple (Cambodia). Situated on the edge of a plateau that dominates the plain of ...
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Slave hideout in Mauritius, Nabataean archaeological site in Saudi Arabia and earthen houses in China inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Sunday, 6 July 2008
The mountain of Le Morne, a former hideout of runaway slaves in Mauritius, a Nabataean archaeological site in Saudi Arabia and earthen houses in Fujian Province in China have been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.Le Morne Cultural Landscape, a rugged mountain that juts into the Indian Ocean in the southwest of Mauritius was used as a shelter by runaway slaves, maroons, through ...
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Armenian monasteries in Iran added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Fortified Armenian monasteries in Iran were added to the new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 6 July. The Armenian Monastic Ensembles in Iran, in the north-west of the country, consists of three monastic ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith: St Thaddeus and St Stepanos and the Chapel of Dzordzor. These edifices - the oldest of which, St Thaddeus, dates back to ...
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Avian Malaria found in Galápagos Penguins
Friday, 4 July 2008
On July 1st the Galápagos National Park announced that the parasite causing avian malaria was found in several Galápagos penguins by researchers studying the presence and distribution of diseases in Galápagos birds. Immediate follow-up studies are needed to document the proportion of birds infected with the parasite throughout the four-island distribution of the penguin, ...
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World Heritage Committee keeps Dresden Elbe Valley on UNESCO World Heritage List, urging an end to building of bridge
Friday, 4 July 2008
The World Heritage Committee has decided to retain Dresden Elbe Valley on UNESCO World Heritage List in the hope that the building of a four-lane bridge across the valley will be stopped and work undertaken to reverse damage caused to the integrity of the landscape of the German site. The Committee said it regretted the construction of the bridge underway and urged the authorities to opt for ...
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32nd Session of World Heritage Committee opens in Quebec
Thursday, 3 July 2008
The 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee opened on July 2nd with an official ceremony in Quebec City, which is celebrating its 400th anniversary. Grand Chief Max Gros-Louis of the Huron-Wendat First Nation opened the ceremony with the performance of a purification ritual before Christina Cameron, Chairperson of the 32nd session, welcomed participants saying that “Canada’s ...
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World Heritage Committee to meet in Quebec to inscribe new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Monday, 23 June 2008
The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when it meets for its 32nd session in Québec, Canada, from 2 to 10 July. During this year’s session, hosted by Canada to coincide with the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Québec City, 41 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention ...
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First phase of Aksum Obelisk re-installation successfully completed
Monday, 23 June 2008
The first phase of the re-installation works of the Aksum Obelisk, also known as Stele 2, in its original location at the World Heritage site in Aksum, Ethiopia was completed on 12 June 2008. The first of three blocks of the stele, which stands 24.3 metres high and weighs 152 tons, was successfully and smoothly mounted. The Aksum Obelisk re-installation project, funded by the Italian ...
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News from the Our Place-World Heritage Centre Partnership
Friday, 6 June 2008
Online images of World Heritage sites, an outdoor exhibit and a new book project are among the most recent developments of the partnership between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Our Place, the World's Heritage Ltd, launched in July 2006. Our Place is the first collection of World Heritage photographs developed in partnership with the World Heritage Centre. It includes photos of more ...
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Loss and Damage Assessment after China Earthquake
Friday, 6 June 2008
Officials continue to assess the damage following the devastating May 12 earthquake in China, where approximately 69,000 people were killed and 19,000 are still missing. The 8.0 magnitude quake affected Sichuan Province in southwest China. The worst affected areas were two counties where two World Heritage sites are located: The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries and the Mount Qingcheng and the ...
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Discovering and Preserving World Heritage sites with Indiana Jones
Friday, 6 June 2008
In coordination with the release of the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Friends of World Heritage (the UN Foundation, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Expedia, Inc.) have joined forces with Indiana Jones for an online campaign and contest to promote World Heritage education and sustainable travel. More than a dozen World Heritage sites have been featured in ...
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Policy Document on the Impacts of Climate Change on World Heritage sites Published
Friday, 6 June 2008
The "Policy document on the impacts of climate change on World Heritage properties", adopted by the 16th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, has been published in English and French.The document was prepared with the participation of relevant climate change experts and practitioners of heritage conservation and management, appropriate international ...
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ICOMOS Study “Cultural Landscapes of the Pacific Islands” Published
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Cultural Landscapes of the Pacific Islands: ICOMOS Thematic Study by Anita Smith and Kevin L. JonesThis is the first regional thematic study on Cultural Landscapes in the Pacific region. Published by ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites), it is an overview of cultural landscapes in the Pacific Islands and the defining characteristics that account for their commonalities as ...
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Re-installation of Aksum Obelisk to begin soon
Friday, 23 May 2008
Works to begin the re-installation of the Aksum Obelisk, also known as Stele 2, in its original location will start June 4th at the World Heritage site in Aksum, Ethiopia. The three pieces of the stele, which stands 24.3 metres high and weighs 152 tons, will be reassembled and mounted before the end of July 2008, a year after the start of this exceptional project. The inauguration ceremony ...
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Fire damages recently restored Liverpool landmark
Thursday, 15 May 2008
A fire tore through the Bluecoat Art Gallery in Liverpool, United Kingdom early Tuesday morning, just two months after extensive renovation works. The building is the oldest in Liverpool and part of the Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage site, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004. The extent of the damage must still be assessed but seems to be concentrated in the ...
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New Publication on Frozen Tombs of the Altai Mountains
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
This publication marks the end of the Preservation of the Frozen Tombs of the Altai Mountains Project, which was launched in 2005 and carried out by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre with financial support from the UNESCO/Flemish Funds-in-Trust. The booklet sheds light on the historical, anthropological, archaeological and art-historical aspects of the Altai Mountains, the Russian part of ...
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New Master Course in "World Heritage at Work" Accepting Applicants
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
A Master Course in "World Heritage at Work" has been created by the Universita degli Studi di Torino (Italy) and the Politecnico di Torino in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is intended to contribute to improved management of World Heritage sites through preparing managers and site practitioners to be cultural entrepreneurs, creative agents of their local ...
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Fire threatens Garajonay World Heritage site, Spain
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Firefighters have been struggling since last weekend to prevent a fire from spreading into Garajonay National Park, situated in the middle of the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands archipelago. The blaze, which may have been started accidentally by a farmer clearing his land, had already destroyed 700 hectares (1,750 acres) of farmland and woods.On Monday night the fire had reached the ...
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New Episode of Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures on Protecting Mountain Gorillas
Friday, 25 April 2008
The sixth episode in the animated series Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures is now available, and focuses on the plight of mountain gorillas and other threatened species in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mountain gorillas are a flagship species of Virunga National Park, a World Heritage site since 1979. Due to armed conflict and ...
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Deadline extended for applications to UNESCO-Vocations Patrimoine Fellowships for World Heritage site managers
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Training World Heritage site managers is one of the most valuable investments in heritage conservation, particularly as these sites confront the challenges of increasing flows of tourism and diminishing flows of international assistance for conservation and management. This is why UNESCO's World Heritage Centre has joined forces - for the third year running - in an innovative ...
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UNESCO concerned about fire damage at Italy's Castello di Moncalieri, a royal residence on World Heritage List
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today voiced concern about damage caused to the Castello di Moncalieri, in the Italian Province of Turin, inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1997. A fire broke out on 5 April causing severe damage to the royal apartments and to several floors in one of the watchtowers of the building, a former residence of the House of ...
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[in French only] Newsletter n° 9 de la Convention France-UNESCO
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets CFU : Le Comité mixte (CMC) de la Convention FRANCE-UNESCO a eu lieu le 28 mars 2008 à l'UNESCO. Paris, France : L'oeuvre architecturale et urbaine de Le Corbusier. Conférence de presse. 30 janvier 2008. FOCUS ON « Niger-Loire : Gouvernance et Culture ». Projet européen. Paris, ...
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UNESCO Director-General expresses regret over destruction by fire of historical Québec landmark
Monday, 7 April 2008
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today expressed his deep regret at the destruction of Québec’s ancient drill hall, a landmark adjacent to the Historic District of Old Québec, which was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1985.“I deeply regret the destruction of this important landmark,” said the Director-General. “It is particularly sad that this proud testimony of ...
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New European Network for Landscape launched in Florence
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
On 23 February 2008, 40 representatives of 26 Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) from Italy, Germany; Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands met to launch the CIVILSCAPE network. This network of NGOs has been founded to facilitate and encourage people to connect to their landscape and feel responsibility for it. CIVILSCAPE's objective is to support the Florence ...
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UNESCO and Fine Arts Department Launch New Website for Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Visitors to Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet will now be able to click onto a new website to get information about historic monuments, nearby attractions and visitor facilities at this World Heritage site. The official launch took place on 27 March 2008 from 9-10 am at the 5th floor conference room of the UNESCO Bangkok office on Sukhumvit Road chaired by the Inspector General ...
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Natural heritage experts review protected areas in Congo Basin to identify those suitable for World Heritage inscription
Thursday, 20 March 2008
As part of the ‘Initiative for World Heritage Forests in Central Africa' , UNESCO's World Heritage Centre organized an expert workshop on March 13-14 in Brazzaville (Congo) to identify the most outstanding protected areas in the Congo Basin and to study their complementarity with sites in the region already inscribed on the World Heritage List. The workshop was inaugurated by a speech ...
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Ecuador’s “Galápagos Invasive Species” Fund gets injection of US 2.19 million dollars
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
The Ecuadorian National Environmental Fund's "Galápagos Invasive Species" account received a major injection of US$2.19 million on March 18 under the framework of the UNESCO-World Heritage Centre/United Nations Foundation project for the management of invasive species at this globally recognized World Heritage site. The Fund, which was established in 2007 with support from the ...
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World Heritage Centre ends 2008 map mailing campaign
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
The World Heritage Centre has concluded this year's map outreach campaign with its mailing of the 2007/2008 World Heritage Wall Map featuring 851 World Heritage sites produced in collaboration with National Geographic and Hewlett Packard. We had an overwhelming response for maps - attaining our target of 9000 requests within just nine weeks - and would like to thank everyone who took time ...
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[in French only] Le Comite de pilotage oriente les actions CAWHFI de l'année 2008 sur deux priorités : le renforcement de la gestion des aires protégées, l'implication effective des acteurs concernés.
Friday, 14 March 2008
[in French only] Les 10 et 11 mars 2008 la troisième session du Comité de pilotage annuel de l'initiative pour le Patrimoine Mondial Forestier d'Afrique Centrale (CAWHFI) s'est tenue à Brazzaville, sous la Présidence de la Commission des Forêts d'Afrique centrale (COMIFAC). Cette initiative vise à renforcer la gestion durable de trois complexes ...
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See World Heritage sites in 360 degree imaging at non-profit website
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
WHTour.org, a non profit organization sponsored by the J.M. Kaplan Fund, announces that 80 World Heritage sites shot in the Middle East and East Africa are now available in 360° panographic format at its website. Currently panographies from Israel are being explored by thousands of visitors daily. In the coming weeks photos in this unique format will be uploaded from Jordan, Syria, ...
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UNESCO report recommends the construction of a tunnel instead of a bridge in Dresden World Heritage site
Monday, 10 March 2008
The international mission of experts sent to review plans to build a bridge in the cultural landscape of the Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) in early February is recommending that the plan be abandoned in the interest of preserving the outstanding universal value that warranted the inscription of the site on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2004.For more information please see: UNESCO press ...
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Cyclone Jokwe
Saturday, 8 March 2008
The cyclone Jokwe on 7-8 March 2008 caused considerable damage to the Fortress' coral rock base and defensive walls and there is an urgent need for funding for repairs.
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International mission to review the construction of a bridge at the cultural landscape of Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) from 4 to 5 February
Thursday, 31 January 2008
In November 2007, UNESCO and the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee regretted the decision of a German court to authorize the construction of a bridge likely to lead to the deletion of the cultural landscape of Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) from the World Heritage List. The status of the property on UNESCO's World Heritage List will be reviewed by the World Heritage Committee at ...
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Call for Entries: 2008 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation
Friday, 18 January 2008
Entries are now being accepted for the 2008 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation. The awards programme, in its ninth year, recognizes the achievement of individuals and organizations within the private sector, and public-private intitiatives, in successfully restoring structures of  heritage value in the Asia-Pacific region. The deadline for receipt of ...
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UNESCO World Heritage Centre confirms opposition to building of a tower in the Historic Centre of St. Petersburg
Friday, 18 January 2008
UNESCO has confirmed the World Heritage Committee's decision of July 2007 to request the authorities of the Russian Federation to halt the planned construction of a tower in the Historic Centre of St. Petersburg as the project threatens the outstanding universal value of this property.During an official visit to Moscow from 6 to 10 December 2007, Francesco Bandarin, Director of ...
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2007-2008 World Heritage Map Available
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
The 2007-2008 World Heritage map, the third to be produced in collaboration with National Geographic and Hewlett Packard, is now available. The goal of the partnership, signed at the end of 2005 for a period of three years, is to raise awareness of the World Heritage Convention, and the map is an essential tool for this purpose. The partnership combines National Geographic's unsurpassed ...
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UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and Nature Conservancy launch online course on Sustainable Financing of Protected Areas
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with the Nature Conservancy, one of the world's largest nature conservation organizations, and with Washington State University is pleased to announce the launch of an online course entitled ‘Business Planning - Achieving Sustainable Financing for Protected Areas'.Designed to provide comprehensive and rigorous training for natural ...
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[in French only] Newsletter n° 8 de la Convention France-UNESCO
Friday, 4 January 2008
[in French only] Actualités sur l’avancement des projets : Alger, Algérie – Zabid, Yemen : appui aux demandes du Centre du patrimoine mondial « Les villages antiques du nord de la Syrie », Syrie : réunion du 5 octobre à Paris Hué, Viet Nam : présentation du programme de formation « Africités » lors de ...
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Best Wishes from the World Heritage Centre
Friday, 21 December 2007
A turreted castle in the icescape of Antarctica evokes not just the sublime beauty of nature but also its impermanence. Preserving this fragile balance between nature and human activity is at the heart of the World Heritage Convention and our efforts to reconcile development and long-term sustainability.In 2008, the International Year of Planet Earth, we would like to pay tribute to our ...
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United Nations 62nd General Assembly proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy
Thursday, 20 December 2007
On 20 December 2007, the United Nations 62nd General Assembly proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy. UNESCO was designated as the lead agency and focal point for the Year.The UNESCO Thematic Initiative “Astronomy and World Heritage” launched in support of this International Year aims to establish a link between science and culture with a view to highlighting the scientific value ...
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Sundarbans World Heritage site devastated by cyclone, according to UNESCO experts who visited the site
Friday, 7 December 2007
Bangladesh was struck by a powerful cyclone on November 15 which left more than 3,000 people dead and millions without shelter. While a major international relief effort is currently underway to respond Cyclone Sidr's devastating impact on life and property, UNESCO's World Heritage Centre also sent a team to the Sundarbans World Heritage site, which was badly hit by the disaster. Home ...
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UNESCO regrets U.K. government's decision to cancel A303 road improvement scheme for Stonehenge World Heritage property
Friday, 7 December 2007
UNESCO regrets the U.K. government's decision to cancel the A303 Stonehenge Road Improvement scheme on the basis of cost concerns and hopes that another solution will be found to relieve traffic congestion around the World Heritage property of Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated sites. UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, which has been actively involved in finding a solution to this ...
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Renewed fighting threatens mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park
Friday, 7 December 2007
Heavy fighting broke out again on December 3, 2007 between the DRC army and rebel forces of general Nkunda north of the city of Goma, in North Kivu.  Heavy shelling and gunfire is taking place in the immediate vicinity of the heart of the gorilla sector in the Virunga National Park and World Heritage site. The renewed fighting poses a serious threat to the survival of the mountain gorillas, ...
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Brasilia celebrates 20th anniversary as World Heritage site
Friday, 7 December 2007
UNESCO and the Federal District Government held a ceremony on 7 December 2007 to celebrate 20 years of Brasilia's inscription as a World Heritage site. ‘We will strive with all our efforts to ensure that Brasilia, which is the only contemporary asset inscribed by UNESCO, preserves its quality of life and its urban, architectonic and human conception,' said the Governor of the Federal ...
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Final “Sharing our Heritages” (SOH) master class in France and Belgium
Monday, 3 December 2007
Over the past two years the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO has defined a strategy that aims to encourage universities worldwide to develop World Heritage studies and curricula. In this framework, UNESCO WHC is associated with a three-year project, called "Sharing Our Heritages" (SOH) involving 80 students from the European Union and Australia and funded by both parties.The last ...
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Djibouti ratifies the World Heritage Convention
Friday, 30 November 2007
On 30 August 2007, the Government of Djibouti officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, its instrument of ratification, becoming the 185th 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 30 November 2007.
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Inscription of Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Monday, 26 November 2007
The official ceremony  to mark the inscription of the Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof on the World Heritage List took place at the historical Reichssaal on 24 November 2007 in the presence of 300 invited guests. Thousands of local residents and tourists took part in celebrations including guided city tours, performances of music, theatre and historical dance illustrating stages in the ...
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UNESCO regrets decision on construction of bridge that threatens delisting of Dresden Elbe Valley from World Heritage List
Thursday, 15 November 2007
UNESCO regrets the decision of a German court to authorize the construction of a bridge likely to lead to the deletion of the cultural landscape of Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany)* from the World Heritage List. The status of the property on the UNESCO's World Heritage List is due to be reviewed by the World Heritage Committee at its next meeting in July 2008.For more information please see: ...
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Anna Amalia Library re-opens after extensive restoration
Monday, 5 November 2007
The Anna Amalia Library, part of Germany's Classical Weimar World Heritage site, re-opened to the public on October 24 after extensive restoration work following a devastating fire in 2004. The official opening was hosted by German President Horst Koehler.The fire destroyed the library on 3 September 2004. After the debris was removed, efforts were focused on securing the structure with ...
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Restored Venaria Reale Palace re-opens
Monday, 5 November 2007
The Baroque palace of Venaria Reale, built by the Savoy dynasty outside the city of Turin, has been re-opened to the public after eight years of restoration works. The palace is one of a group of buildings inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997 as the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Built during the 17th and 18th centuries, the palace had declined in the 19th century when it ...
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Award of five UNESCO-Vocations Patrimoine fellowships to meet new economic and safeguarding challenges of heritage
Monday, 5 November 2007
Five young heritage professionals from around the world received UNESCO-Vocations Patrimoine fellowships to pursue post graduate research at University College Dublin (Ireland) and at the Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus (Germany). The aim of the fellowships is to help prepare site managers to handle the growing threats to which World Heritage sites - 851 sites inscribed around the ...
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Nine new members elected to World Heritage Committee
Friday, 26 October 2007
Nine new members have been elected to the 21-member World Heritage Committee in charge of implementing UNESCO's Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Brazil, China, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria and Sweden were elected for four-year terms. The election took place during the General Assembly of the 184 States Parties to the ...
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Members elected to World Heritage Committee
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
The 16th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention elected 5 new members to the World Heritage Committee. The following States Parties were elected: Australia, Bahrain, China and Egypt. Barbados was elected to the seat reserved to a State Party with no properties on the World Heritage List. The third round of elections will start thursday October 25 at 10.05am, in ...
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[in French only] 16e Assemblée générale des Etats parties à la Convention du Patrimoine mondial
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
[in French only] Le Directeur général a ouvert, le 24 octobre 2007, la 16e session de l'Assemblée générale des Etats parties à la Convention de 1972, qui compte désormais 185 Etats Parties.Dans son discours d'ouverture, Koïchiro Matsuura s'est félicité que la Convention de 1972 ait été « unanimement reconnue comme un programme phare de l'UNESCO », au cours des débats de la ...
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UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2008 Now Available
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
The UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2008 has just been published. Featuring a useful week-at-a-glance design, it is illustrated with 77 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 ...
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Terrorist attacks damage Pakistan Buddha
Thursday, 4 October 2007
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre was informed of two attacks on an ancient rock carving of a seated Buddha located near Janabad in north-west Pakistan, a region known for its ancient Buddhist heritage and archaeological sites. According to numerous reports, suspected pro-Taliban militants carried out two attacks on the rock in early and late September, the second attack leaving the 7-metre ...
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International Melina Mercouri Prize awarded to Russian Federation's Borodino Battlefield
Thursday, 4 October 2007
At a ceremony held today at UNESCO Headquarters Mrs Françoise Rivière, Assistant Director-General for Culture, gave the award for the International Melina Mercouri Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO-Greece) to the Borodino Battlefield (Russian Federation). This prize, named after Melina Mercouri, former Greek Minister of Culture, is financed by the ...
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[in French only] Newsletter n° 7 de la Convention France-UNESCO
Monday, 1 October 2007
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets :Turin, Italie: Réunion technique d'urgence sur le site du patrimoine mondial du Minaret de Djam (Afghanistan), 24 - 25 juillet 2007Paris, France: Atelier de travail pour la mise en place d'une formation pour les collectivités africaines, 3-5 septembre 2007 Luang Pra Bang et Vientiane, RDP Laos: mission du 5 au 11 septembre ...
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Donate online to support World Heritage conservation
Friday, 14 September 2007
It's easier than ever to participate in the preservation of World Heritage sites by making an online donation on the UNESCO World Heritage Centre website. With a few clicks you can make a donation in any amount and 100% of it will be used to help protect the most spectacular sites in the world. To make a ...
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Tragic accident at Kilwa Kisiwani World Heritage site
Friday, 7 September 2007
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre sends its condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Ruzna Amli, a young Tanzanian woman from Songo Mnara, who had worked with the UNESCO restoration project of the Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara Ruins, a World Heritage Site in Tanzania. The young mother of three died of the consequences of a tragic accident during the restoration works. We deeply ...
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New Book on World Heritage Sites in the Philippines
Thursday, 30 August 2007
Living Landscapes and Cultural Landmarks: World Heritage Sites in the Philippines by Augusto F. Villalon, Photographs by Neal M. Oshima, Publisher: ArtPostAsia Pte. Ltd, Manila, the PhilippinesThis attractive book is the first publication to present all five World Heritage properties located in the Philippines in a single volume. Widely acknowledged by the international scientific community ...
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UNESCO Mission rallies support for the preservation of the mountain gorillas of the DRC
Thursday, 23 August 2007
A mission of experts led by UNESCO has rallied the support of the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) and of local communities in the preservation of the endangered mountain gorillas of Virunga National Park.The mission, comprising experts from UNESCO and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and ...
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UNESCO joins United Nations effort in response to Peruvian earthquake
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre extends its deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by the powerful August 15 earthquake in Peru, which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and left some 500 people dead and over a thousand victims. Peru has 10 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, including the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, the Historic Centre of Lima, and the Chan ...
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Inscription of Lopé-Okanda site (Gabon) on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Tuesday, 21 August 2007
Gabon celebrated the inscription of its Lopé-Okanda site on UNESCO's World Heritage List over the weekend of 11-12 August 2007. Spanning four provinces, Lopé-Okanda is Gabon's first World Heritage site and also the first mixed site in the Central African sub-region. The inscription highlights international recognition of the country's outstanding natural and cultural ...
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"Journalisme et Patrimoine Mondial" just published
Tuesday, 14 August 2007
Heritage advocates often reproach journalists for not being sufficiently interested in their field and for being only able to speak about it in a sensational or superficial way. Journalists for their part, highlight the constraints of editorial offices or express a certain mistrust towards institutions and heritage stakeholders. The international workshop which was held at Laval University, ...
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Dubrovnik Saved from Wildfires
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is relieved that the wildfires around the city of Dubrovnik (Croatia) are now under control and would like to pay tribute to the firefighters who fought the blaze. Reports from Dubrovnik indicate that the Old City, designated a World Heritage site in 1979 and then extended in 1994, was untouched by the fire.  The situation was particularly dangerous during the ...
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New Episodes of Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures available
Tuesday, 7 August 2007
Two new episodes, the fourth and fifth in the series Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures ,are now available. 4th: Ethiopia (Lalibela) Watch English/French/Spanish Russian/Arabic/Chinese Download FLV format English/French/Spanish Russian/Arabic/Chinese   5th: Russian Federation (Novgorod) Watch English/French/Spanish ...
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Winners of Patrimonito Storyboard Competition 2007 Announced
Thursday, 2 August 2007
The winners of the most recent Patrimonito Storyboard Competition have been announced. The winning storyboard will be developed into the next episode of Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures, a cartoon series for young people on World Heritage preservation. 6th: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda (The Virunga Mountains) Watch English/French/Spanish ...
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Director-General voices concern over fate of Virunga National Park gorillas
Thursday, 2 August 2007
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, is concerned over attacks perpetrated against the mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and has called on the national authorities to adopt urgent measures to brings the killings to an end.Declared a threatened species by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the mountain gorilla is one of ...
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Virunga National Park: 4 more gorillas slaughtered
Friday, 27 July 2007
The death toll continues to rise in Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo), where three females and one male silverback gorilla were shot and killed in the southern sector of the Park during the night of 22 July.The females, Safari, Neeza and Mburanumwe and the male Rugendo belonged to a group that was regularly visited by tourists. The death of these gorillas is not only ...
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UNESCO confirms that it is not involved in the "New 7 wonders of the world" campaign
Monday, 9 July 2007
In order to avoid any damaging confusion, UNESCO wishes to reaffirm that there is no link whatsoever between UNESCO's World Heritage programme, which aims to protect world heritage, and the current campaign concerning "The New 7 Wonders of the World". This campaign was launched in 2000 as a private initiative by Bernard Weber, the idea being to encourage citizens around the ...
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[in French only] Newsletter n° 6 de la Convention France-UNESCO
Thursday, 5 July 2007
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets : Fleuve Niger et patrimoine : projet europeen Formation internationale à la gestion des sites patrimoniaux Vienne, Autriche, Réunion points focaux « rapport périodique » ouest européens : 2 - 4 mai 2007Saint-Louis du senegal : reportage photographique et suivi du projet Riga, Lettonie : missions en avril et juin 2007FOCUS : Actions ...
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Three new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Friday, 29 June 2007
The World Heritage Committee today finalized this year's additions to UNESCO's World Heritage List with the inscription of three new sites: Gamzigrad-Romuliana, Palace of Galerius (Serbia), Gobustan Rock Art Cultural Landscape (Azerbaijan), and Central University City Campus of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Mexico.The Late Roman fortified palace compound and ...
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Twenty-two new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and one deleted during Committee meeting in Christchurch
Friday, 29 June 2007
Christchurch, New Zealand, 29 June - The World Heritage Committee inscribed 22 new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List during its ongoing session in Christchurch. The new inscriptions include 16 cultural, five natural and one mixed, cultural and natural property. In a decision unprecedented in the history of UNESCO's Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes two natural, one mixed, and four cultural sites onto UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Thursday, 28 June 2007
The World Heritage Committee today inscribed two natural sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List: Teide National Park (Spain); Primeval Beech Forests of the Carpathian (Slovakia, Ukraine). The Committee also inscribed the Ecosystem and Relict Cultural Landscape of Lopé-Okanda (Gabon) as a mixed - cultural and natural - site. Four cultural sites were inscribed: the Richtersveld Cultural and ...
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World Heritage Committee inscribes four new cultural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Thursday, 28 June 2007
The World Heritage Committee on Thursday afternoon inscribed four cultural sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List: Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape (Japan), Parthian Fortresses of Nisa (Turkmenistan), Sydney Opera House (Australia), and the Red Fort Complex (India). The Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine, south-west of Honshu Island, is a cluster of mountains, rising to 600 metres ...
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Bosnian Bridge among five new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List this evening
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Christchurch, New Zealand, 28 June - The World Heritage Committee on Thursday evening inscribed another five sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List: Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge of Višegrad (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Rideau Canal (Canada), Bordeaux, Port of the Moon (France), and the Old Town of Corfu (Greece), and Lavaux, vineyard terraces (Switzerland).The Mehmed Paša Sokolović Bridge of ...
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Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary : first site ever to be deleted from UNESCO's World Heritage List
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Christchurch, New Zealand, 28 June - The World Heritage Committee on Thursday took the unprecedented decision of removing a site from UNESCO's World Heritage List. The Arabian Oryx Sanctuary (Oman), home to the rare antelope, today became the first site to be deleted since UNESCO's 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage entered into ...
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World Heritage Committee approves Auschwitz name change
Thursday, 28 June 2007
Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee has approved Poland's request to change the name of Auschwitz on UNESCO's World Heritage List. After international consultations, the property, listed as "Auschwitz Concentration Camp" in 1979, is to have the title of "Auschwitz Birkenau" and the subtitle of "German Nazi Concentration and Extermination Camp (1940-1945)." In its ...
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Natural sites in Madagascar, China and Korea inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List
Wednesday, 27 June 2007
Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee on Tuesday decided to inscribe the three new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List: the Rainforests of the Atsinanana (Madagascar); South China Karst (China); and Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes (Republic of Korea). The Rainforests of the Atsinanana comprise six national parks distributed along the eastern part of the island. ...
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Galápagos and Niokolo-Koba National Park inscribed on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger
Tuesday, 26 June 2007
Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee today inscribed the Galápagos (Ecuador), and Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal) on UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger with a view to mobilizing support for their conservation. Situated in the Pacific Ocean some 1,000 km from the South American continent, the 19 islands of the Galápagos and their surrounding marine reserve ...
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World Heritage Committee keeps Dresden on UNESCO World Heritage List but warns against bridge project
Monday, 25 June 2007
Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee on Monday decided to keep Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) on the List of World Heritage in Danger. But it asked Germany to provide an alternative solution to traffic management than the bridge currently planned in the site inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2004. The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Christchurch for its ...
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Royal Palaces of Abomey and Kathmandu removed from Danger List
Monday, 25 June 2007
Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee has removed Royal Palaces of Abomey, Benin, and Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, from the List of World Heritage in Danger, recognizing progress in the two sites' state of preservation.The Palaces of Abomey, inscribed simultaneously on UNESCO's World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1985, are a unique ...
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Florida Everglades and Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve removed from Danger List
Sunday, 24 June 2007
The World Heritage Committee has decided that improvements in the preservation of the Everglades National Park (Florida, USA) and Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve (Honduras) were sufficient to remove both UNESCO World Heritage site from the List of World Heritage in Danger.The Committee commended the United States of America for its investment of scientific and financial resources to ...
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World Heritage Committee opening in Christchurch
Saturday, 23 June 2007
Christchurch, New Zealand, 23 June  - The Pacific region's traditional respect for both natural and cultural preservation was celebrated at the opening of the 31st session of the World Heritage Committee, chaired by Tumu te Heuheu of New Zealand, here Saturday.A traditional Powhiri welcome celebration took place at the Christchurch Town Hall auditorium to open the session in the presence ...
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UNESCO launches the re-erection project of the Aksum Obelisk
Tuesday, 19 June 2007
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre today signed the contract with Lattanzi SRL construction company to begin the re-erection of the Aksum obelisk. Also known as Stela 2, it is the second largest stela on the Aksum World Heritage site in Ethiopia. Transported to Rome by the troops of Mussolini in 1937, it was returned by the Italian Government in April 2005. Weighing 150 tons and 24 meters high, ...
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Agreement to Eradicate Rabbits on Macquarie Island
Friday, 8 June 2007
The Australian and Tasmanian Governments have today reached an agreement to jointly fund the eradication of rodent pests on Macquarie Island, Australia to protect its World Heritage values. The seabird populations and vegetation of the Island are under serious threat from plagues of rabbits, rats and mice. Following discussions, the Governments have agreed to provide funding of AUS$24.6 ...
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Virunga National Park: Mountain gorillas remain target for armed groups
Friday, 8 June 2007
On Friday June 8, 2007, a female gorilla was shot in the southern sector of Virunga National Park, and her 3-month old baby was found sitting on her dead body. This female belonged to a group of 33 gorillas referred to as "habituated", meaning they are used to contact with humans. The death of this female gorilla occurred less than six months after that of two males killed in the same ...
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Torrential landslide at the Kamchatka Volcanoes World Heritage Site
Monday, 4 June 2007
The World Heritage Centre expresses its deep concern after a torrential landslide of snow, mud, stones, trees and vegetation at the Geyser Valley in the Volcanoes of Kamchatka World Heritage site. Located in the eastern part of the Russian Federation, this is one of the most outstanding volcanic regions in the world, with a high density of active volcanoes, a variety of types, and a wide ...
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Annual Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award Winners Announced
Friday, 1 June 2007
The European Commission (DG EAC) and Europa Nostra, the pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, has announced the laureates of the annual European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards.The Awards will be presented to the representatives of the awarded achievements at the annual European Heritage Awards Ceremony, which will take place on 8 June 2007 in the Stockholm ...
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Committee to review 45 candidates for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Friday, 1 June 2007
The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of 45 new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when it meets for its 31st session in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 23 June to 2 July.During the session, the Committee will also examine a strategy to reduce risks from disasters at World Heritage properties; the impact of climate change on World Heritage sites; and ...
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‘Managing Rock Art World Heritage Sites’ Workshop Held
Thursday, 31 May 2007
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with the Centro Camuno per i Studi Preistorici (CCSP) and the Ministero per i Beni et le Attività Culturali, organised a workshop from 23-23 May 2007, financed by the Spanish Funds-in-Trust entitled ‘Managing Rock Art World Heritage Sites' with the participation of invited Rock Art experts from around the world to present new developments ...
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Fire on Cutty Sark, of Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site
Wednesday, 23 May 2007
The World Heritage Centre expresses its deep concern after the fire on the Cutty Sark tea clipper, part of the Maritime Greenwich World Heritage site located in the United Kingdom. On 21 May 2007, the British authorities informed the World Heritage Centre that a fire had swept through the Cutty Sark. The fire started around 4.45 am on Monday and the damage has been substantial. However, due ...
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First Extraordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
Tuesday, 22 May 2007
At its first session in Algiers (Algeria), November 2006, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage accepted the generous offer of China to host an extraordinary session of the Committee (Decision 1.COM 8). During this session, the Intergovernmental Committee will pursue the discussions initiated in Algiers.  The main participants of the first ...
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Inauguration of a World Heritage Training and Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific Region in China
Wednesday, 16 May 2007
The Government of China will launch a World Heritage Training and Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific Region in China. The inauguration ceremony of this institute will take place at Tongji University, Shanghai with the presence of Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Mr Mounir Bouchenaki, Director-General of the International Centre for the Study of the ...
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Prince of Wales inaugurates World Heritage site of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
The Prince of Wales received the UNESCO certificate for the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape during the inscription ceremony on 10 May 2007 at Cotehele House (Cornwall, United Kingdom). Dr Mechtild Rössler, Chief of the Europe and North America Section at the World Heritage Centre, highlighted in her speech the contribution the area had made to the industrial revolution and mining ...
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Director of World Heritage Centre Delivers 4th Dinos Leventis Memorial Lecture in Cyprus
Friday, 11 May 2007
Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, travelled to Nicosia, Cyprus, from May 8-10, 2007 to deliver the 4th Dinos Leventis Memorial Lecture. The lecture series is intended to commemorate the figure of Dinos Leventis, former Ambassador of Cyprus to UNESCO and founder of the internationally renowned Leventis Foundation, deceased in 2002. The lecture, entitled ...
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“World Heritage Memory Net” is coming soon!
Thursday, 3 May 2007
In November 2006, the World Heritage Centre signed a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to establish the first World Heritage Digital Center (WHDC) under the leadership of Dr. Ching-chih Chen, information technology Professor at Simmons Graduate School of Library and Information Science. "The World Heritage Centre considers this ...
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Director-General urges systematic measures to end poaching and killing of endangered animals in Democratic Republic of Congo World Heritage Sites
Thursday, 26 April 2007
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, has written to Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and to Jean-Marie Guehenno, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, asking for measures to stop the poaching and killing of endangered animals in the five World Heritage sites of the DRC. The Director-General's ...
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CAWHFI Steering Committee validates the annual action plan: Sustainable management of ecological landscapes and reinforced collaboration between stakeholders
Friday, 20 April 2007
The annual steering committee of the Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative (CAWHFI) took place in Libreville on March 21-22, 2007 under the aegis of the Central Africa Forest Commission (COMIFAC). This initiative aims to improve sustainable management of three forest landscapes of the Congo Basin: the Gamba-Conkouati complex, the Tri-National Sangha complex (TNS) and the ...
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UNESCO sends mission to assess the state of conservation of Machu Picchu World Heritage Site
Thursday, 19 April 2007
UNESCO will send a mission to the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, Peru, in view of concerns by the World Heritage Committee for the conservation of this outstanding Andean archaeological centre and its natural environment, inscribed as a mixed natural and cultural site on the World Heritage List in 1983.From 23 to 30 April, the UNESCO mission, which will include the participation of ...
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UNESCO Mission confirms threat to Galápagos Islands
Monday, 16 April 2007
A UNESCO mission has confirmed serious threats to the Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve and welcomed ambitious measures announced by the Ecuadorian authorities to preserve the site on UNESCO's World Heritage List.The mission confirmed the threat to the outstanding value and physical integrity of this iconic World Heritage site mainly from: the growing encroachment of invasive ...
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UNESCO-IUCN Mission to Galápagos Islands World Heritage Site
Thursday, 12 April 2007
A UNESCO World Heritage Centre/World Conservation Union (IUCN) mission is currently in Ecuador (April 8-12, 2007) at the request of the World Heritage Committee and at the invitation of the government of Ecuador, to assess the state of conservation of the Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve. The mission will include high-level meetings with senior government officials from the ...
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Rapid Response Facility for World Heritage Biodiversity Sites Exceeds Target
Wednesday, 11 April 2007
In its recently released first annual report, the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) Secretariat announced that it has taken an average of less than 6 days (below its 8-day target) to process requests for emergency grants, to solicit and receive reviews from at least two independent referees on the pertinence of the request, to decide on whether an application should be approved and to inform the ...
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'World Heritage: Challenges for the Millennium' Published in French and English
Tuesday, 10 April 2007
Now available online. To download the pdf version, please click here. This 200-page publication provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of more than three decades of the implementation of the World Heritage Convention and highlights a number of its successes and challenges. It includes a history of the 1972 Convention and its implementation, an analysis of the natural and cultural ...
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Climate change threatens UNESCO World Heritage sites
Tuesday, 10 April 2007
The threats posed by climate change to natural and cultural sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List are outlined in a new UNESCO publication, "Case Studies on Climate Change and World Heritage"*. The report features 26 examples - including the Tower of London, Kilimanjaro National Park and the Great Barrier Reef - case studies that are representative of the dangers faced by the 830 sites ...
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Concern for the State of conservation of the Church of St. Cyril, located near Saint-Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine
Wednesday, 28 March 2007
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the UNESCO Office in New York have received a large number of letters from individuals who are concerned about the state of conservation of the Church of St. Cyril - located near Saint-Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine- and in particular about planned reconstruction works in its interior.Please note that the Church of St. Cyril is not included in the ...
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Launch of New Cycle of UNESCO-VOCATIONS PATRIMOINE Co-Sponsored Fellowships for World Heritage Site Managers
Monday, 19 March 2007
World Heritage site managers and people intending to pursue a career in World Heritage site management are being invited to apply for Fellowships offered through the UNESCO-VOCATIONS PATRIMOINE World Heritage Site Managers Programme. This programme - launched in January 2006 - is made possible as a result of an innovative public-private partnership between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and ...
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Old City of Jerusalem: Publication of UNESCO’s technical mission Report
Thursday, 15 March 2007
"The technical mission that I had sent from 27 February to 2 March 2007 to the Old City of Jerusalem, which is inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and on the World Heritage in Danger List, completed its technical assessment on the works conducted on the Mughrabi pathway leading to the Haram el-Sharif.  The mission has submitted to me their Report (attached below) accompanied by ...
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Statement from the Chairman of the Executive Board on the activities under-way at the site of the Old City of Jerusalem
Tuesday, 13 March 2007
The following statement is issued by the Chairman of UNESCO's Executive Board, Mr Zhang Xinsheng. 1. The six Arab members of the Executive Board addressed a letter to the Chairman of the Executive Board on 14 February 2007, requesting that a special session of the Board be held on the subject of the activities under way at the site of the Old City of Jerusalem, in accordance with Rule 3 ...
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Old City of Jerusalem: return of the technical mission’s experts
Tuesday, 6 March 2007
The technical mission sent by the Director-General of UNESCO to the Old City of Jerusalem, which is inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, completed its technical assessment on the works conducted on the pathway to the Haram el-Sharif.This mission, conducted by Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre, took place from 27 February to 2 March 2007. It was composed of ...
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[in French only] Newsletter n° 5 de la Convention France-UNESCO
Monday, 5 March 2007
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets CFU :Le comité mixte de coordination (CMC) de la Convention France-UNESCO a eu lieu le 8 mars 2007 à l’UNESCO.Fleuve Niger et patrimoine : projet européen« Villages oubliés » du nord de la Syrie : suivi du projet de nomination sur la Liste du patrimoine mondialBéjaïa, Algérie : assistance à la création d’un plan de sauvegarde et de ...
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Royal Palaces of Abomey in Young African Hands
Thursday, 1 March 2007
Equipped with shovels, wheelbarrows and water buckets, twelve girls and thirteen boys between the ages of 14 and 17, from eight different countries in West Africa, set about attempting to put their newly learned conservation skills to work at the Royal Palaces of Abomey World Heritage site (Benin) from 19 to 23 February 2007.  The young people, participants in the First World Heritage ...
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UNESCO to send technical mission to assess the situation concerning the work on the access to the al-Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem
Friday, 23 February 2007
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, has decided to send a technical mission to the Old City of Jerusalem, inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and on the World Heritage in Danger List, to carry out a technical assessment of the works on the access to the al-Haram al-Sharif. Following extensive consultations with all the parties concerned, the Director-General requested ...
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Huge Settlement Unearthed Near Stonehenge World Heritage Site
Tuesday, 13 February 2007
Archaeologists at the University of Sheffield have unearthed a huge settlement at Durrington Walls, near Stonehenge, confirming that the Stonehenge monument was part of a larger ritual centre. The excavations reveal an enormous ancient settlement that once housed hundreds of people. Archaeologists believe the houses were constructed and occupied by the builders of nearby Stonehenge, the ...
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Publication on Eco-tourism in Central and South Asia Available
Monday, 12 February 2007
The project on the Development of Cultural and Ecotourism in the Mountainous Regions of Central and South Asia has just produced a publication entitled "Poverty Alleviation and Community-Based Tourism: Experiences from Central and South Asia". This publication reports on pilot activities carried out in eight Central and South Asian countries between 2002 and 2005 in order to develop ...
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Director-General offers UNESCO’s assistance to repair fire damage at World Heritage City of Valparaiso
Friday, 9 February 2007
Koïchiro Matsuura, the Director-General of UNESCO today offered the Organization's assistance in repairing damage caused by the fire that destroyed part of the historical city centre of Valparaiso, Chile, killing several people, on 3 February. "Firstly, I wish to extend my sincere condolences to the families and friends of the victims of this tragedy," the Director-General said. ...
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The Director-General of UNESCO voices his alarm over the resumption of tensions in the Old City of Jerusalem
Thursday, 8 February 2007
On Tuesday 8 February 2007, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, expressed his "deep concern over the work initiated by the Israeli authorities on the site of the Old City of Jerusalem, which is protected by the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972). By virtue of this Convention, the site is inscribed on the World Heritage ...
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'Management and Preservation of Historic Cities on World Heritage List' Conference Held in St Petersburg
Thursday, 1 February 2007
The conference on "Management and Preservation of Historic Cities inscribed on the World Heritage List" is taking place in St Petersburg from 29 January to 3 February 2007. It is a follow-up to the February 2006 international UNESCO/ICOMOS mission to St Petersburg reviewing a number of conservation and planning issues in this city, including the extension to the Marinsky Theatre. ...
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Concern for World Heritage site after British Coast Cargo Spill
Wednesday, 24 January 2007
The World Heritage Centre expresses its deep concern regarding the cargo spill off the British Coast. The MSC Napoli is grounded near Sidmouth's coastline, part of the Dorset and East Devon Coast World Heritage site, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2001. The chemical containers and oil released from the ship may represent a potential environmental disaster. If the information ...
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Situation Worsens at Virunga National Park (DRC): Two Male Gorillas Killed
Friday, 19 January 2007
The situation continues to get worse at Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo), where 2 male silverbacks have been killed.The gruesome tally continues: since late December the mountain gorilla, a flagship species that contributes to the recognition of the outstanding universal value of the Park, has suffered serious losses by armed groups. On January 6 and 11, two male ...
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The Director-General signs a funds-in-trust agreement for the restoration of the historical centre of Gjirokastra in Albania
Tuesday, 19 December 2006
On 15 December 2006, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, and Ambassador Tatjana Gjonaj, Permanent Delegate of Albania to UNESCO, signed an agreement establishing a Funds-in-Trust in favour of the restoration of the historical centre of Gjirokastra inscribed on the World Heritage List since 2005.Mrs Blegina Agalli, Secretary-General of the Ministry of Culture, Tourism, Youth and ...
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Re-opening of the Anna Amalia Library (World Heritage site of Classical Weimar) planned in October 2007 after the fire of 2004
Friday, 15 December 2006
The Anna Amalia Library, part of the World Heritage site of Classical Weimar which was inscribed on the UNESCO List in 1998, will reopen in October 2007, three years after it was damaged by a fire. According to the architect in charge of the restoration works, Mr Walther Grundwald, the deadline should be respected. "We have chosen the date of 24 October for the re-opening, as it is the ...
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Statement of the Director-General of UNESCO: Transmitting the past without alteration or omission
Wednesday, 13 December 2006
"In the face of the attempts to re-write history that are currently at work, I can but recall in the most emphatic manner that it is our moral duty to analyse the past and to pass it on without falsification, alteration or omission. Any attempt to call into question or to deny the reality of the Holocaust or of any other crime against humanity is to be  deeply regretted.  UNESCO has a ...
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Conclusions of the First HERITY International Conference
Saturday, 9 December 2006
This conference was held in Rome from December 5-9. The conclusions outlined below were reached thanks to contributions from ICCROM, UNESCO-WHC, UN-WTO, HERITY INTERNATIONALFrom the point of view of culture, no poor Countries exist around the World: every territory has a significant and priceless Heritage Wealth. This Heritage constitutes the collective memory of Humanity. As a non renewable ...
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2006-2007 World Heritage Map Available
Friday, 1 December 2006
The 2006-2007 World Heritage map, the second to be produced in collaboration with National Geographic and Hewlett Packard, is now available. The goal of the partnership, signed at the end of 2005 for an initial period of three years, is to raise awareness of the World Heritage Convention, and the map is an essential tool for this purpose. The partnership combines National Geographic's ...
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New cooperation agreement signed between Belgian Science Policy Office and World Heritage Centre
Friday, 24 November 2006
On 21 November 2006, the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Francesco Bandarin, signed a new cooperation agreement with Minister Marc Verwilghen, Belgian Minister for Science Policy. Under the agreement the Belgian Science Policy Office will, during a 5-year period, mobilize Belgian scientific expertise in using space technologies to assist State parties to the World Heritage ...
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Hippo Massacre in Virunga National Park (DRC): UNESCO Reacts
Thursday, 23 November 2006
Conservation activities continue in the World Heritage sites of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with particular attention given to Virunga National Park, where hippopotamuses are being massacred by the Mai Mai rebel group. In response to this massacre, UNESCO and its field partners have taken the following measures to stop the poaching which threatens to eradicate the hippo ...
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Jet Tours and World Heritage Centre Implement Safeguarding Projects
Wednesday, 22 November 2006
In an ongoing commitment to sustainable tourism, Jet tours will support two safeguarding projects scheduled for implementation early 2007. The projects are part of a joint endeavour through the World Heritage Centre-Jet Tours partnership to promote preservation and awareness through responsible tourism. On 9 November 2006, the Centre's director, Francesco Bandarin, and the ...
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New Report on World Heritage and Climate Change
Thursday, 9 November 2006
Threats to cultural and natural heritage sites from the effects of climate change are further substantiated in a new report presented at the 12th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change taking place in Nairobi, Kenya. The report, entitled 'The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World's Greatest Challenge' describes impacts such as rising sea ...
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Preserving Congolese Heritage in Armed Conflict
Monday, 6 November 2006
On the occasion of the United Nations' International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict, the World Heritage Centre would like to draw attention to the project "Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict: Protecting World Heritage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo". Initiated in 2000, the project continues with the ...
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UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2007 Now Available
Tuesday, 31 October 2006
The UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2007 has just been published. Featuring a useful week-at-a-glance design, it is illustrated with 77 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 ...
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UNESCO and Partners Demonstrate Space Technologies for Monitoring World Heritage
Saturday, 7 October 2006
At the 57th International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Congress held in Valencia, Spain from 2-6 October 2006, UNESCO and the European Space Agency's (ESA) Open Initiative on Space Technologies to Monitor Natural and Cultural Heritage of UNESCO Sites held a plenary event for the general public with the theme 'Space Technologies for the Benefit of Society'. It covered the use of ...
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Handbook on Cultural Heritage and Local Development for African Local Governments Published
Friday, 29 September 2006
The handbook "Cultural heritage and local development: A Guide for African local governments" was created in response to the request formulated during the special session 'African Towns and Heritage', organised by the World Heritage Centre and the France-UNESCO Co-operation agreement at the Summit Africities 3 (Yaounde, Cameroon, December 2003). This guide was designed as a ...
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No Survivors of WWF Helicopter Crash in Nepal
Monday, 25 September 2006
WWF Nepal has confirmed there are no survivors from Saturday's helicopter crash which occurred while transporting 24 delegates to attend the handover of Kangchenjunga Conservation Area in Taplejung, Nepal. The flight left Ghunsa Saturday afternoon at 12pm but did not arrive as per schedule (a 20-minute flight) back to Taplejung. Rescue teams searched for two days before finding the ...
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Sao Tome and Principe ratifies the World Heritage Convention
Thursday, 21 September 2006
On 25 July 2006, the Government of Sao Tome and Principe officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, its instrument of ratification, becoming the 183rd State Party to adopt the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.The World Heritage Convention will enter into force for this State Party on 25 October 2006.
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Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO-Greece), Deadline approaches
Wednesday, 20 September 2006
Nominations for the prize have to be at UNESCO by 1 November 2006!The purpose of the Melina Mercouri International Prize (UNESCO-Greece) is to reward outstanding examples of action to safeguard and enhance the world's major cultural landscapes. The prize, which consists of a certificate and of the sum of US$20,000 U (for 2007), may be awarded either to an individual or to a group of ...
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UNESCO Mission reports on war damage to cultural heritage in Lebanon
Tuesday, 19 September 2006
Experts* sent to Lebanon by UNESCO to assess the state of the country's cultural heritage sites have called for urgent measures to clean up the oil spill from the World Heritage edifices along the Byblos shore line. However, they found that major components of Lebanon's cultural heritage had been spared by the recent conflict. The experts' findings were presented at a press conference at ...
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A 7000 Euro Grant for the Realization of a Cultural Project Concerning the Mediterranean World
Tuesday, 19 September 2006
Born after 31 December 1977 you will be under 30 years of age in 2007. You are a native of a Mediterranean country. You wish to develop a project furthering the knowledge and understanding of Mediterranean cultures. Every year the Marc de Montalembert Foundation offers a grant of 7000 euro to enable the implementation of such projects.The grant is meant to incite research and appreciation of ...
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A Virtual Tour of World Heritage Sites
Wednesday, 13 September 2006
On the occasion of Journées Européennes du Patrimoine (European Heritage Days), and as part of the UNESCO-Vocations Patrimoine Fellowships programme for World Heritage managers established in January 2006, which provides fellowships to current and future managers of World Heritage sites, the Vocations Patrimoine, l'Héritage du Futur association is organizing an exhibition of images of ...
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TourismAfrica 2006 Promotes African World Heritage
Tuesday, 12 September 2006
With the support of UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, TourismAfrica 2006 (10-15 September, Geneva, Switzerland) is actively raising awareness of African World Heritage.  This four-day event gathers professional African and international decision-makers to advance the development of Africa's Tourism Industry, especially in the domain of sustainable tourism. The tourism industry has ...
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UNESCO sends experts to carry out technical assessment of the effects of the war on Lebanon’s cultural heritage
Friday, 8 September 2006
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today announced that the Organization will send a mission of experts, from September 10 to 16, to assess the potential damage caused to cultural sites in the recent conflict in Lebanon. The mission will, among other things, visit UNESCO's World Heritage sites of Tyre, Baalbek and Byblos. Tyre and Baalbek, first built by the Phoenicians grew ...
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Decisions adopted at the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee now available online
Friday, 25 August 2006
The Decisions adopted at the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Vilnius, Lithuania, from 8 to 16 July 2006, are now available online, in English and French.Decisions adopted at the 30 th session of the World Heritage Committee
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UNESCO Director-General launches “heritage alert” for the Middle East
Friday, 11 August 2006
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today launched an alert to protect heritage in the Middle East. The full text of the declaration follows: "The heritage site of Tyre is under threat."UNESCO has already launched two urgent appeals to the belligerents to ensure that the hostilities spare the site and its surroundings, which are part of the ancestral heritage of ...
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2006 International Youth Camp Held for Restoration of Khami Ruins National Monument
Thursday, 3 August 2006
The 2006 International Youth Volunteer Camp on the Restoration of Khami Ruins National Monument took place from 15 June to 8 July. The goal of the camp is to take remedial action and save crumbling World Heritage sites in their respective countries, and this year's camp was the seventh held since they began in 2000. UNESCO Harare Cluster Office Director and Representative Professor Juma ...
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Worldwide photography project launched in support of World Heritage
Wednesday, 2 August 2006
A new partnership to promote UNESCO World Heritage sites has been launched with the signing on 19 July of a Memorandum of Understanding between UNESCO and the New Zealand-based company GSP Our Place-World Heritage (GSP OP-WH Ltd). Under the partnership, GSP OP-WH Ltd and its international network of professional photographers will produce a series of books, television programmes and a website ...
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Dresden City Council Votes Against Bridge Construction at World Heritage Site
Friday, 21 July 2006
The World Heritage Committee at its 30th session in Vilnius decided to place the cultural landscape of Dresden Elbe Valley on the List of World Heritage in Danger following plans by the municipality of Dresden to build a bridge over the Elbe River in the core zone of the property. The Committee determined that plans to build a bridge across the Elbe would have such a serious impact on the ...
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New Sites Added to the World Heritage List 2006
Friday, 21 July 2006
During the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Vilnius, Lithuania from 8-16 July, 18 new sites were inscribed on the World Heritage List. They include two natural sites and the extension of one natural site, which also became a transboundary property. Sixteen cultural sites were inscribed, one of them transboundary and three existing sites were extended. Improvements in the ...
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UNESCO Courier, Virtual visit to five new World Heritage Sites
Thursday, 20 July 2006
Five sites newly inscribed into UNESCO's World Heritage List are highlighted in the July-August issue of the UNESCO Courier.Bisotun (Islamic Republic of Iran) Professor David Stronach, archeologist and former Director of the British Institute of Persian Studies in Tehran (1961-1980), looks back fondly on his experiences at Bisotun (Islamic Republic of Iran), a monument in bas-relief and ...
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UNESCO, EVERGREEN Digital Contents and NTT DoCoMo Work Together to Promote World Heritage Education in Japan
Tuesday, 18 July 2006
UNESCO and its long standing media partner EVERGREEN Digital Contents have launched a new partnership through a project aiming to promote World Heritage Education in Japan. The project focuses on raising the awareness of elementary school students about natural World Heritage sites and issues concerning them. As a part of this partnership, a new i-mode site was developed for NTT DoCoMo called ...
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Enhancing our Heritage: Monitoring and managing for success in natural World Heritage sites
Sunday, 16 July 2006
The 30th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Vilnius, Lithuania has been discussing the state of conservation of natural and cultural World Heritage sites. On Monday evening, delegates had the opportunity to hear about a joint IUCN and UNESCO project which is not only helping improve conservation on the ground but providing a consistent information base for reporting on the management ...
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Ancient irrigation system (Oman) and Palaces of Genoa (Italy) among ten new sites on World Heritage List
Thursday, 13 July 2006
The World Heritage Committee Thursday inscribed ten new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List. A number of outstanding proposals for inscription are to be discussed in the afternoon. The new sites inscribed are:Sewell Mining Town (Chile). Situated 85 km south of the capital, Santiago in an environment marked by extreme climate more than 2,000 m up the Andes, Sewell Mining Town was built ...
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World Heritage Committee puts Medieval Monuments in Kosovo on Danger List and extends site in Andorra, ending this year’s inscriptions
Thursday, 13 July 2006
The World Heritage Committee Thursday decided to extend the site inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2004 as Dečani Monastery (Serbia) and place it on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee also extended Andorra‘s site of Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley (Andorra), adding a buffer zone to the property that was listed in 2004. These inscriptions end additions and changes ...
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Giant panda sanctuaries and Tequila-producing area of Mexico among the eight new sites added to World Heritage List
Wednesday, 12 July 2006
The World Heritage Committee Wednesday added eight new sites and one extension to UNESCO's World Heritage List and removed the archaeological site of Tipasa (Algeria) from the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee will continue discussing new sites for inscription on the World Heritage List tomorrow. Below are the sites added to the World Heritage List Wednesday:Sichuan Giant ...
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World Heritage Committee threatens to remove Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) from World Heritage List
Tuesday, 11 July 2006
The World Heritage Committee decided Tuesday to place the cultural landscape of Dresden Elbe Valley on the List of World Heritage in Dangerwith a view to avert plans by the municipality of Dresden to build a bridge over the Elbe on the site. The Committee decided that plans to build a bridge across the Elbe would have such a serious impact on the integrity of property's landscape that it may ...
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World Heritage Committee adopts strategy on heritage and climate change
Monday, 10 July 2006
The World Heritage Committee on Monday adopted the recommendations on ways to respond to the threat of climate change to many World Heritage sites such as Mount Everest (Sagarmatha National Park in Nepal), Australia's Great Barrier Reef and Venice (Italy)."This is the start of a long process, which is important in that it helps draw attention to a far reaching issue," explained ...
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30th session of World Heritage Committee opens in Vilnius
Monday, 10 July 2006
The 30th session of the World Heritage Committee, chaired by Ina Marčiulionytė, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Lithuania to UNESCO, started its work Sunday with an address by the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, who highlighted the need for synergy between UNESCO's conventions on tangible heritage, intangible heritage, and diversity of cultural expressions. The ...
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Cologne Cathedral (Germany), Djoudj Bird Sanctuary (Senegal), Ichkeul National Park (Tunisia), and Hampi (India) removed from List of World Heritage in Danger
Monday, 10 July 2006
Improved conservation allowed the World Heritage Committee to remove Cologne Cathedral (Germany), Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (Senegal), the Group of Monuments at Hampi (India) and Ichkeul National Park (Tunisia), from the List of World Heritage in Danger on Monday. The debate on the List of World Heritage in Danger will continue tomorrow. The decision by the authorities of Cologne to ...
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World Heritage Committee to inscribe new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Tuesday, 4 July 2006
Thirty-seven new sites will be proposed for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List during the 30th session of the World Heritage Committee scheduled for July 8-16 in the Lithuanian capital, Vilnius. The President of Lithuania, Valdas Adamkus; the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura; and Ina Marčiulionytė, Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee and Permanent Delegate of ...
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Economy Minister Confirms French Commitment to Protect Congo Forests
Thursday, 8 June 2006
On April 13, 2006, Mr. Breton, French Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry met with Mr. Doumba, Minister of Forest Economy, Water, Fisheries and National Parks, Mme Raonimarahy, UNESCO's representative in Gabon, and Mr. Séverino, Director General of the French Development Agency, at the presidential palace of Libreville to confirm France's commitment to the protection of ...
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Celebrating World Biodiversity Day May 22: How the World Heritage Convention Contributes to Global Biodiversity Conservation Agenda
Monday, 22 May 2006
Having been identified as a cross-cutting theme for global biodiversity conservation initiatives at the Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa (2003) the World Heritage Convention, one of the five international conventions addressing biodiversity needs, serves as an instrumental action-orientated mechanism for the protection of the world's most valuable natural resources and ...
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World Heritage in Young Hands Kit Available in Hungarian
Wednesday, 17 May 2006
Világörökség ifjú kezekben, the Hungarian version of the World Heritage in Young Hands educational resource kit for teachers, has just been published in the framework of the UNESCO Young People's World Heritage Education Project, coordinated by the World Heritage Centre and UNESCO Associated Schools. The Kit introduces the concept of World Heritage education and conservation. It was ...
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Guinea-Bissau ratifies the World Heritage Convention
Thursday, 11 May 2006
On 28 January 2006, the Government of Guinea-Bissau officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, its instrument of ratification, becoming the 182nd 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 28 April 2006.
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Launch of African World Heritage Fund
Wednesday, 3 May 2006
A fund to help the States of sub-Saharan Africa improve the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage will be launched in South Africa on 5 May. The African World Heritage Fund will also be used to help boost the number of African sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Sub-Saharan Africa is severely under-represented on the List. Despite great cultural and natural diversity, ...
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Director-General and World Heritage Committee Chair welcome decision to alter course of pipeline near Lake Baikal
Friday, 28 April 2006
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, and the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, Ina Marčiulionytė, today welcomed the decision by Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, to change the course of an oil pipeline being built across Siberia to eliminate potential risk to the World Heritage site of Lake Baikal. "I wish to congratulate President Putin for ...
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"Promoting and Preserving Congolese Heritage" Publication Now Available
Tuesday, 18 April 2006
The proceedings of the International Donors' Conference "Promoting and Preserving Congolese Heritage: Linking Biological and Cultural Diversity", held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France from 13-17 September 2004, are now available as World Heritage Paper Series N° 17. The publication has been made possible thanks to the financial support of the Japanese Government. The ...
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Swaziland ratifies the World Heritage Convention
Friday, 14 April 2006
On 30 November 2005, the Government of Swaziland officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, its instrument of ratification, becoming the 181st 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 28 February 2006.
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Cities Named '2010 European Capital of Culture' include World Heritage sites
Wednesday, 12 April 2006
The selection panel for the 2010 European Capital of Culture have recommended that the German town Essen and the Hungarian city of Pécs should share this title together with a third one, Turkey's Istanbul.Asked to explain the purpose and added value of the concept of European Capital of Culture in general, Sir Jeremy Isaacs explained that the role of the European capital of culture is ...
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Mali Launches Development of Timbuktu Management and Conservation Plan
Monday, 10 April 2006
Since January 2006, the Malian authorities have been developing a management and conservation plan for Timbuktu, a World Heritage site since 1988. In March 2006, a management committee made up of the imams of the three mosques, representatives of all local areas, tour guides, and municipal and administrative authorities was officially created by municipal decree. The development of a ...
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World Heritage Centre Recognizes First World Migratory Bird Day
Sunday, 9 April 2006
The World Heritage Centre highlights the importance of World Heritage sites for mirgratory birds on the occasion of the first World Migratory Bird Day launched by the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and other partner organizations. UNESCO has a Memorandum of Understanding with CMS, and the World Heritage Centre is also working with CMS in the framework of the coordination of ...
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Opportunities for Small Islands States to Nominate Marine World Heritage Sites in the Caribbean
Wednesday, 5 April 2006
Representatives from 15 States Parties of the Caribbean region participated in a regional training workshop on marine World Heritage held in Soufriere, St Lucia, in the vicinity of the Pitons Management Area World Heritage site from 27 February to 3 March. The purpose of the workshop was to raise awareness on nominating marine areas from the Caribbean as World Heritage and to provide the ...
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Nature Conservation NGOs Pledge to Support World Heritage and Biodiversity Conventions
Tuesday, 4 April 2006
Following the January 2006 meeting on the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) Programme of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA), six of the largest nature conservation NGOs and other partners have produced a joint statement charting how they are best positioned to support the implementation of the PoWPA in World Heritage sites. The statement includes a list of indicative activities that ...
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New Centre for World Heritage Studies at University of Minnesota, USA
Friday, 24 March 2006
The College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (CALA) at University of Minnesota, USA, has established a Center for World Heritage Studies to undertake research and service projects in partnership with UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC).  The objectives of this partnership are embodied in an agreement (MoU) between CALA and WHC signed on December 6, 2004. The CALA Center for World ...
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World Heritage Committee Chairperson Sends Letter to President of Russian Federation concerning Lake Baikal
Friday, 24 March 2006
The Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee, Ina Marčiulionytė, has sent a letter to the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, concerning the state of conservation of the World Heritage site of Lake Baikal.The World Heritage Committee, the intergovernmental body established by the World Heritage Convention, regularly examines the state of conservation of properties ...
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Experts discuss World Heritage and Climate Change; results to be submitted to World Heritage Committee in July
Tuesday, 21 March 2006
A two-day expert meeting on World Heritage and Climate Change successfully concluded at UNESCO Headquarters on Friday, bringing together over 50 representatives from the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, various international organizations, non-governmental organizations, the advisory bodies to the World Heritage Committee, and academic and scientific experts to discuss current ...
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The Basic Texts of the World Heritage Convention Available in Portuguese
Monday, 20 March 2006
As part of its commitment to World Heritage in Portuguese-speaking countries, the Portuguese National Commission for UNESCO has generously supported the translation of the Basic Texts. These texts are made available on the UNESCO World Heritage Centre's web-page so that the broad community of lusophone countries can access and draw on this information for heritage safeguarding efforts in ...
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Co-sponsored Fellowships for World Heritage Site Managers
Thursday, 16 March 2006
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre has signed a partnership agreement with the French not-for-profit organization, ‘Vocations Patrimoine, l'Héritage du futur', aimed at enhancing the management capacities of professionals currently working, or intending to work in the future, at World Heritage sites. The Association, whose President is the renowned paleo-anthropologist Professor ...
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Second Spanish Edition of World Heritage in Young Hands Kit
Tuesday, 7 March 2006
Patrimonio Mundial en Manos de Jovenes, the second Spanish edition of the World Heritage in Young Hands educational resource kit for teachers has just come off the press. The 2,000 copies are currently being distributed to ASPnet schools, ASP national coordinators, National Commissions, and UNESCO Field offices in all Spanish-speaking countries in the world.The WHYH resource kit was prepared ...
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Information Related to the World Heritage Convention Available in Arabic
Monday, 6 March 2006
Within the framework of the World Heritage Convention, the clarity and precision of the information made available to the States Parties are two essential requirements for an appropriate implementation of the principles relating to its functioning and its application at the level of each country. Experience has shown that many of these principles are generally not well assimilated by the ...
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First Steering Committee of the Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative
Wednesday, 1 March 2006
On February 13-16, 2006, the World Heritage Centre organized the Steering Committee of the Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative (CAWHFI) in Libreville, Gabon. During this event, conservators and wildlife directors of the Congo, Cameroon, Gabon and the Central African Republic met with representatives of the United Nations Foundation, World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Wildlife ...
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Rapid Response Facility Launched for Natural World Heritage Sites
Thursday, 23 February 2006
The World Heritage Centre, the United Nations Foundation, and Fauna and Flora International have launched a Rapid Response Facility (RRF) for natural sites inscribed on the World Heritage List for biodiversity values. Up to US$30,000 can be quickly accessed to help overcome sudden and significant threats to these sites. The RRF is designed to make funds available within 3 weeks of having ...
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Meeting Held to Support Implementation of Biological Diversity Convention Programme
Thursday, 23 February 2006
From January 30 to February 1st, 2006, a meeting was held in Paris to consider actions in support of the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity's Programme of work on Protected Areas (CBD PoWPA) in natural World Heritage sites.  To this end, the World Heritage Centre invited the Convention on Biological Diversity secretariat, representatives of six of the largest ...
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Poster Competition Raises Awareness of Samoan Heritage
Tuesday, 21 February 2006
A poster competition for high school students was part of the "Heritage in Young Hands" awareness-raising campaign to promote understanding and appreciation among young Samoans about the meaning of "heritage", the World Heritage Convention, and the value of conserving and protecting cultural and natural heritage sites in Samoa. It was coordinated by the MNREM (Ministry of Natural Resources, ...
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UNESCO Presents Design for Reinstallation of Aksum Obelisk
Thursday, 16 February 2006
The project for the reinstallation of Aksum Obelisk (Stela 2) is completed UNESCO has completed the engineering design for the reinstallation of the Aksum Obelisk (Stela 2). The design was developed by the Italian engineer Prof Giorgio Croci (Director of Studio Croci & Associati) who was also in charge of the dismantling of Stela 2 in Rome and of its air transportation to Aksum in April ...
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2006 World Heritage Map: New UNESCO World Heritage Centre, National Geographic and Hewlett Packard Partnership
Friday, 20 January 2006
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the publication of the 2006 World Heritage map, the first to be produced in collaboration with National Geographic and Hewlett Packard. The partnership, signed in 2005 for an initial period of three years, combines National Geographic's famous cartography with Hewlett Packard's quality print technology to beautifully illustrate ...
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Jane Goodall receives UNESCO’s 60th anniversary medal
Thursday, 19 January 2006
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, awarded UNESCO's 60th Anniversary Medal to Jane Goodall, the British-born primatologist, on Tuesday 17 January, at the Organization's Headquarters in Paris. The medal was presented in recognition of Ms Goodall's lifelong dedication to the preservation of Africa's endangered apes. "Ms Goodall's untiring work to preserve the great apes of ...
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Conservation and Sustainable Management of Wildlife surrounding National Parks of the Congo Basin
Friday, 13 January 2006
On Friday November 25, 2005, the French Global Environmental Fund (FGEF) approved the financing of an ambitious project of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. This project aims to improve the conservation and sustainable management of wildlife in the forest landscapes surrounding some of the major tropical forest national parks of the Congo Basin. With a € 2.5 million budget, this project will ...
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Ten years of decentralised cooperation between the cities of Chinon and Luang Prabang sponsored by UNESCO
Thursday, 22 December 2005
On the occasion of the celebration of the 10th anniversary of Luang Prabang's inscription on the World heritage list, this brochure presents the spirit, the concept, the process, the practice, the partnerships, the implementation and the achievements of this complex multi partner cooperation fostered by the World Heritage Centre and based on a city-to-city partnership between the city of ...
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Workshop Held for Identification of Cultural World Heritage in the Pacific Region
Thursday, 22 December 2005
The World Heritage Centre and the Vanuatu Cultural Centre (with funding from the World Heritage Fund, and the technical contribution of the Department of Conservation of New Zealand) organized a workshop at Port Vila, Vanuatu, from 5-8 September. It was attended by 32 participants representing 12 States Parties from the Pacific Islands, as well as by experts and representatives from ICOMOS, ...
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Fourth Expert Working Group on the Preservation of the Bamiyan Site issued recommendations for Safeguarding Bamiyan
Tuesday, 20 December 2005
The Fourth Expert Working Group on the Preservation of the Bamiyan Site was successfully held in Kabul/ Aghanistan from 7 to 10 December 2005. Afghan and international experts working on the safeguarding of Bamiyan issued a list of concrete recommendations for further activities to preserve the site. The Expert Working Group was formed in 2002 within the framework of the coordination mandate ...
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Goldman Sachs declares World Heritage sites “off limits”
Tuesday, 20 December 2005
Following in the footsteps of Shell International and the International Council on Mining & Metals (an industry association of the largest mining companies in the world), yet in a bold show of leadership within the international financing community, Goldman Sachs, a global investment banking firm, has formally committed itself to "not knowingly finance extractive projects or commercial ...
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Town of Bamberg Spared Construction Project Potentially Harmful to World Heritage Values
Friday, 9 December 2005
Ongoing efforts by the Office of the Mayor of Bamberg (Germany) to preserve the Town of Bamberg, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1993 have succeeded:  A construction project in the buffer zone (“City Arcade Project”), which might have had a negative impact on the World Heritage value and the integrity of the site, was stopped by the city authorities. The Mayor informed the ...
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Cultural and Ecotourism Developments in Central Asia
Friday, 9 December 2005
Within the framework for the project on the Development for Cultural and Ecotourism in the Mountainous Regions of Central and South Asia, there is very positive news concerning activities carried out by UNESCO project partners in Ladakh, India - the Snow Leopard Conservancy (SLC), in Murghab, Tajikistan (ACTED), and in the mountainous region surrounding Lake Issy Kul, Kyrgyzstan (NoviNomad). ...
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Fourth Expert Working Group on the preservation of the Bamiyan World Heritage site
Wednesday, 7 December 2005
Bamiyan remains one of the most important examples of Gandharan art in the world, despite the Taleban’s destruction of its two monumental Buddhas in 2001. The Expert Working Group was formed in 2002 within the framework of the coordination mandate for all cultural projects in the country entrusted to UNESCO by the Afghan government, and will meet for the fourth time from 7 to 10 December 2005 ...
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[in French only] Sauver les derniers rhinocéros blancs du Nord du Parc national de la Garamba (RDC)
Friday, 2 December 2005
[in French only] Le Centre du Patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO, l’Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature, l’Union mondiale pour la nature, African Parks Foundation et Fauna and Flora International déterminés à sauver les derniers rhinocéros blancs du Nord du site du patrimoine mondial de la Garamba (République démocratique du Congo) Début septembre 2005, les autorités congolaises ...
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UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2006
Monday, 28 November 2005
The perfect planner for all those with a passion for World Heritage! The UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2006 features a helpful week-at-a-glance design. It is illustrated with 67 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 ...
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World Heritage Alliance launched
Friday, 18 November 2005
United Nations Foundation and Expedia announced the launch of the World Heritage Alliance, an innovative joint initiative to promote sustainable tourism and awareness of World Heritage sites and communities around the world.  This partnership believes conscientious travelers can contribute directly to nature conservation, historic preservation, and poverty reduction through sustainable ...
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Second training workshop for Jet tours guides held at UNESCO HQ
Tuesday, 25 October 2005
After a successful first workshop held on 29 September, the second of a series of training workshops for Jet tours guides is to be held at UNESCO Headquarters on 27 October 2005. Organized in the context of the recently signed agreement between Laurence Berman-Clément, Director-General of Jet tours and Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre, the workshops aim to train, ...
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Monuments and Sites in their Setting: Conserving Cultural Heritage in Changing Townscapes and Landscapes
Monday, 17 October 2005
The 15th ICOMOS General Assembly and the International Scientific Symposium with the theme Monuments and Sites in their Setting: Conserving Cultural Heritage in Changing Townscapes and Landscapes were officially opened on 17 October in Xi’an, China. A special celebration marking ICOMOS’s 40th anniversary and an exhibition on its achievements during its existence are planned during the meeting ...
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Final Result of the election to the World Heritage Committee
Tuesday, 11 October 2005
The 15th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention elected Kenya and Peru to the World Heritage Committee at the 3rd open ballot. The World Heritage Committee is composed of the following States Parties:BeninCanadaChileCubaIndiaIsraelJapanKenyaKuwaitLithuaniaMadagascarMauritiusMoroccoNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPeruRepublic of KoreaSpainTunisiaUnited ...
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Results of the election to the World Heritage Committee
Tuesday, 11 October 2005
The 15th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention elected Cuba to the World Heritage Committee at the 2nd open ballot.
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Election to the World Heritage Committee
Monday, 10 October 2005
The 15th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention elected Mauritius to the World Heritage Committee (reserved seat) . Elections will continue in Room VIII.
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[in French only] 15e Assemblée générale des Etats parties à la Convention de 1972 sur la protection du patrimoine mondial, culturel et naturel
Monday, 10 October 2005
[in French only] UNESCO Flash Info : A l’heure où la protection du patrimoine mondial occupe une place sans cesse croissante dans les préoccupations de la communauté internationale, se tient à l’UNESCO, la quinzième Assemblée générale des Etats parties à la Convention de 1972 pour la protection du patrimoine mondial, culturel et naturel. L’Assemblée générale, qui se réunit, tous les deux ans, ...
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Results of the election to the World Heritage Committee
Monday, 10 October 2005
States Parties elected at the 1st Open Ballot: Canada Israel Korea, Republic of Madagascar Morocco Spain Tunisia United States of America State Party elected at the Ballot for the Reserved Seat: Mauritius Detailled Results of the 1st Open Ballot Number of States Parties present and voting: 160 Invalid votes: 2 Number of valid ...
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15th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention
Saturday, 8 October 2005
The 15th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention will be held in Room IV on 10-11 October. During the meeting, the General Assembly will elect twelve (12) new members to the World Heritage Committee. Delegates attending only the General Assembly can enter the building through the Place de Fontenoy entrance, where they will be given their security badges. The World ...
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Final Decisions of the 29th Session of the World Heritage Committee now available
Thursday, 29 September 2005
The Decisions adopted at the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee, held in Durban, South Africa from 10 to 17 July 2005, are now available online at the following address:htpp://whc.unesco.org/archive/2005/whc05-29com-22e.pdf
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Nova Scotia Provincial Government buys 17 waterfront properties in the Town of Lunenburg, Canada
Friday, 23 September 2005
In mid-August 2005 the Government of the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada, finalized the purchase of seventeen properties, including 22 buildings and eight wharfs for $5.5 million Canadian (over $4,678,000 USD) in the waterfront district of Old Town Lunenburg, a World Heritage site since 1995.  The buildings had been for sale since the previous winter by Clearwater Seafoods, a major employer ...
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China's Pingyao forms yoke of friendship with Provins of France
Friday, 16 September 2005
Pingyao city of north China's Shanxi Province signed an accord of friendship ties with Provins of France, as part of the on-going concluding ceremony of the French Culture Year, at the Great Hall of the People Thursday.This is the first time the two cities, both listed as cultural heritages by the United Nations Education, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), signed an agreement to ...
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Biodiversity-Related Conventions Speak on Millennium Development Goals
Monday, 12 September 2005
BiodiversityLife Insurance for our Changing WorldThis week, in New York, leaders of the world will review progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals embody the international community's aspirations for a better world, where hunger and poverty are eradicated, all people enjoy basic rights, and equity and health prevail in all countries. We call upon ...
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Hurricane Katrina Causes Damage to Everglades National Park
Wednesday, 7 September 2005
Everglades National Park in Florida, USA, has almost entirely reopened to the public following damage from Hurricane Katrina, which passed directly over the Park bringing heavy wind and rain.Most of the park remained closed in the days following the hurricane due to damage to the visitor complex at Flamingo, 40 miles (64 km) southwest of Park Headquarters. Employee housing, the sewer system, ...
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Melina Mercouri Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes goes to the Iranian village of Maymand
Monday, 5 September 2005
The historical village of Maymand in southern Iran will be awarded the Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO Greece) in a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters on September 7. 
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Mostar, Macao and Biblical vestiges in Israel are among the 17 cultural sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Friday, 15 July 2005
Durban (South Africa) – The World Heritage Committee, chaired by Themba Wakashe, South Africa’s Deputy Director-General for Heritage and National Archives, today inscribed 17 cultural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The World Heritage List now numbers 812 sites in total, which includes: 628 cultural; 160 natural and 24 mixed sites in 137 States Parties. With ...
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Norwegian Fjords and Japan’s Shiretoko peninsula are among the seven natural sites added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Thursday, 14 July 2005
Durban (South Africa), The World Heritage Committee chaired by Themba Wakashe, South Africa’s Deputy Director-General for Heritage and National Archives, today inscribed seven natural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. The Committee also made decisions concerning two natural sites already on the List. The one is extended in size while the inscription of the other under cultural criteria ...
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Three sites withdrawn from UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger
Wednesday, 13 July 2005
Improvements in the preservation of three threatened World Heritage sites have led to their withdrawal from the List of World Heritage in Danger. The World Heritage Committee decided to remove the sites of Sangay (Ecuador), Timbuktu (Mali) and Butrint (Albania) during its 29th session currently taking place in Durban, South Africa (July 10 to 17). The Committee is chaired by Themba Wakashe, ...
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New Sites to be Inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List
Thursday, 30 June 2005
Forty-two new sites will be proposed for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List during the 29th session of the World Heritage Committee scheduled for July 10-17 at the International Convention Centre (ICC) in Durban, South Africa. Extensions will be proposed for nine already inscribed sites. UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura will address the opening session, which is open ...
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New findings from Peking Man site
Tuesday, 21 June 2005
The results of the latest geological and geophysical surveys conducted at the site of the Peking Man in Zhoukoudian (China) will be presented at the Espace EDF Electra, 6 rue Récamier, 75007 Paris, on Tuesday July 5 (11 a.m.) during a joint UNESCO/EDF scientific conference. The symposium will bring together Yves Coppens, Professor at the Collège de France, Yves Bamberger, Research and ...
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Colleagues Honoured for 25 and 30 years at UNESCO
Tuesday, 14 June 2005
Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura awarded diplomas and medals to colleagues who had completed 25 and 30 years of service to UNESCO at a June 14 ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France. 29 individuals joined UNESCO or the UN in 1975, including Mrs Marielle Richon and Mrs Silvia Simmonds of the World Heritage Centre.62 individuals joined UNESCO or the UN in 1980, including Mrs ...
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Opening of UNESCO Intl. Symposium on “Conserving Cultural and Biological Diversity”
Monday, 30 May 2005
The Symposium, an activity of the World EXPO 2005 in Aïchi, Japan has opened today at the United Nations University, Tokyo, and will continue until 2 June. It aims to highlight the interrelationship between the natural and cultural diversity of our planet. Bringing culture and nature closer together in a comprehensive approach, the symposium will present case studies on sacred natural sites ...
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World Heritage and contemporary architecture: Towards new conservation standards
Monday, 9 May 2005
Growing understanding that the outstanding universal value of urban heritage goes well beyond the value of the individual buildings it contains, has created a pressing need for internationally accepted guidelines and criteria for the preservation of historic city centres. Conservationists, municipalities, architects and developers will address the issue at the Conference on World Heritage ...
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Durmitor World Heritage site is no longer threatened
Monday, 25 April 2005
The government of Montenegro, Serbia and Montenegro, has cancelled a project to build a dam that would flood part of the Tara River Canyon in the buffering UNESCO Biosphere Reserve next to Durmitor National Park, a World Heritage site inscribed in 1980. The decision comes as the result of meetings that UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura had with the Presidents of Serbia and Montenegro ...
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Major archaeological discoveries in Aksum
Monday, 25 April 2005
Major archaeological vestiges have been discovered at the World Heritage site of Aksum (Ethiopia) by the experts UNESCO sent to Aksum (Ethiopia) to survey the World Heritage Site last week. They were sent to prepare for the elevation of the Aksum Obelisk at its original location. The last segment of the 160-tonne 24.6-metre high stele arrived at the airport of Aksum this morning. It had been ...
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Aksum obelisk arrives in Ethiopia
Wednesday, 20 April 2005
The first of three parts of the Aksum obelisk arrived in Ethiopia by airplane on April 19. The two other pieces of the obelisk, which has been in Rome since 1937, will be sent to Aksum (a World Heritage site) in the following days. Following a mission of UNESCO experts who conducted a field evaluation, UNESCO is to draw up the project for the installation of the obelisk and the enhancement ...
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Space branch of Chinese Science Academy joins UNESCO’s World Heritage Preservation
Friday, 15 April 2005
China has signed an agreement to join UNESCO in the Open Initiative on the Use of Space Technology in Support of the World Heritage Convention. The signing - by Guo Huadong, Deputy Secretary-General of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Director of its Joint Laboratory for Remote Sensing Archaeology, and Marcio Barbosa, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO – took place at Organization ...
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World Heritage Cities in Mauritania celebrated at UNESCO April 11 to 14
Thursday, 7 April 2005
The President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Maaouya Ould Sid'Ahmed Taya, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura and the World Bank's Vice President for Europe, Jean-François Rischard, will open a conference and an exhibition at UNESCO Headquarters celebrating the cultural heritage of Mauritania and its ancient cities of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata, on April 11 ...
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Space technology to protect mountain gorillas
Wednesday, 6 April 2005
Accurate and detailed maps of inaccessible zones in Central Africa that will allow authorities to monitor the habitat of the region's threatened mountain gorillas, have been produced for the first time by the European Space Agency (ESA) and UNESCO. The results of this joint project, known as BEGo (Build Environment for Gorillas), will be presented at a meeting on April 7 at ESA headquarters ...
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Paper Series N°12 "The State of World Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (2003)"
Monday, 4 April 2005
The State of World Heritage in the Asia-Pacific Region (2003) is now available as publication number 12 in the World Heritage Paper Series. This publication is composed of: a paper version, providing an overview of the results of this first cycle of Periodic Reporting for the Asia-Pacific Region; and a CD-Rom which includes a synthesis of country and site-specific Periodic Reports of the ...
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Trinidad and Tobago ratifies the World Heritage Convention
Monday, 4 April 2005
On 16 February 2005, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, its instrument of ratification, becoming the 180th State Party to adopt the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage. The World Heritage Convention will enter into force for this State Party on 16 May ...
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Aksum obelisk returns to Ethiopia: UNESCO to handle its reintegration into the World Heritage site
Thursday, 17 March 2005
At the request of the Ethiopian and Italian governments, UNESCO will send an evaluation team to Aksum, in northern Ethiopia, to prepare the return of its celebrated obelisk. The obelisk has been in Rome since 1937. UNESCO will draw up the re-installation project for the obelisk and the development of the site, which will be funded by Italy. The obelisk has been cut into three sections to ...
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Sierra Leone ratifies the World Heritage Convention
Wednesday, 2 March 2005
On 7 January 2005, the Government of Sierra Leone officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, its instrument of ratification, becoming the 179th State Party to adopt the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and natural Heritage. This Convention, first adopted in November 1972, seeks to encourage the identification, protection and ...
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Agreement between UNESCO and NASA will strenghten conservation of World Heritage
Tuesday, 1 March 2005
Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, and Frederick D. Gregory, Deputy Administrator of the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), today signed a cooperation agreement at NASA Headquarters in Washington D.C. According to the agreement, UNESCO will benefit from NASA’s expertise in the earth sciences and space technology to strengthen its work ...
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UNESCO Director-General attends World Heritage inscription ceremony in Saint Lucia
Friday, 18 February 2005
The Director-General, Mr Koïchiro Matsuura, paid his first official visit to St Lucia from 13 to 15 February 2005. It was the first official visit of a UNESCO Director-General to the country. He was accompanied by Mr Gilbert Chagoury, Permanent Delegate of St Lucia to UNESCO. During his visit, the Director-General met with the highest authorities in the country. In particular, he held ...
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WHC participates in the UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction
Monday, 7 February 2005
The World Heritage Centre participated in the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction, held in Kobe, Japan, from the 18th to the 22nd of January, 2005. This meeting was especially timely in light of the recent earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean region, and also coincided with the 10th anniversary of Kobe’s devastating 1995 earthquake. As part of the broader Kobe ...
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Operational Guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention
Wednesday, 2 February 2005
The World Heritage Centre is pleased to inform you that the Revised Operational Guidelines for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention are now available on the following Web address: https://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines. As decided by the Committee at its 7th Extraordinary session, the revised Operational Guidelines have entered into force on 2 February 2005, on the understanding ...
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The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentences a former Yugoslav General, among other things, for the destruction of and damage to the World Heritage site of the Old Town of Dubrovnik
Tuesday, 1 February 2005
On 31 January 2005, the Trial Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia sentenced retired General Pavle Strugar of the Yugoslav Peoples’ Army to eight years in prison for war crimes perpetrated in 1991. He has been found guilty of war crimes against the civilian population and, under Article 3(d) of the Tribunal’s Statute, of the destruction of and wilful ...
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Agreement between Lithuania and the Russian Federation keeps Curonian Spit off List of World Heritage in Danger
Tuesday, 1 February 2005
The Curonian Spit, an elongated sand-dune peninsula straddling the border of Lithuania and the Russian Federation, will not be inscribed on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger. The decision follows an agreement between the two countries to undertake an environmental assessment of the impact of oil exploration and production in the Baltic Sea, 22 kilometres from the World Heritage site. ...
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First meeting of experts on the cultural heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem
Wednesday, 26 January 2005
UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura today opened the first meeting of a Committee of Experts on the Cultural Heritage of the Old City of Jerusalem, a site inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1981 by virtue of its outstanding cultural value. The opening session was held in the presence of the Permanent Delegates of UNESCO’s Member States and Norway’s Minister of Culture and ...
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The decisions taken by the World Heritage Committee during its 7th Extraordinary Session can now be consulted online
Sunday, 23 January 2005
The decisions taken by the World Heritage Committee during its 7th Extraordinary Session, held in Paris from 6 to 11 December 2004, can now be consulted online ( whc04-7extcom-17e.pdf). During this important meeting, the Committee examined, among other things, the relations between the World Heritage Convention and other UNESCO conventions relating to heritage and considered proposals for the ...
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Further information about damage to two World Heritage sites in Indonesia
Tuesday, 11 January 2005
The conservation community mourns the loss of several staff members of the Gunung Leuser National Park, one of the three national parks within the Tropical Rainforest of Sumatra World Heritage site. According to most recent information, the Tropical Rainforest of Sumatra and the Ujung Kulon National Park have not sustained important damage during the recent tsunami disaster. The ...
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World Heritage sites in regions hit by the recent earthquake and tsunami
Wednesday, 5 January 2005
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, has offered UNESCO’s support to the countries devastated by the earthquake off the coast of Sumatra and the ensuing tsunami. Mr Matsuura said that "UNESCO stands ready" to assist the national authorities within its fields of competence and "give whatever support it can to the United Nations Emergency Relief ...
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Countess Setsuko Klossowska de Rola named UNESCO Artist for Peace
Tuesday, 4 January 2005
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, will name the internationally renowned painter, Countess Setsuko Klossowska de Rola, UNESCO Artist for Peace, in a ceremony at Organization Headquarters on January 7 (12.30 p.m.). Countess Klossowska de Rola is being named Artist for Peace for her role in promoting the World Heritage Education Project", which was launched by UNESCO in ...
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UNESCO offers tsunami assistance to countries in South Asia
Thursday, 30 December 2004
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, has offered UNESCO’s support to the countries devastated by the earthquake off the coast of Sumatra and the ensuing tsunami, and expressed his sorrow at the tragic loss of life in the region. Writing to the King of Thailand, and to the presidents of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka, the Director-General voiced his ...
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Protected Areas and World Heritage
Thursday, 23 December 2004
Six case studies, looking at manager experience of how World Heritage may help to build support for protected areas are now available here
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First anniversary of the earthquake at World Heritage city of Bam (Iran)
Thursday, 23 December 2004
The inscription of Bam and its Cultural Landscape, the ancient Silk Road landmark, on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and on the World Heritage List in Danger will be celebrated in a ceremony on December 27, marking the first anniversary of the earthquake that destroyed much of the site and killed more than 26,000 people. The Vice President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Hossein Marashi, ...
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UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2005
Tuesday, 14 December 2004
The 2005 UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary is now available. Discover 54 natural and cultural sites with beautiful colour photographs and informative descriptions in English, Spanish and French. Order it at http://publishing.unesco.org/ or at UNESCO Publishing - 7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, France.
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UNESCO and Japanese Broadcasting Corporation NHK Launch Partnership for heritage images archives initiative
Monday, 13 December 2004
On Friday, 27 August 2004, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura and Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) President Katsuji Ebisawa held a public signing ceremony at NHK Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan to seal their new partnership agreement. Through the Heritage Images Archives Initiative, NHK is offering to contribute to the documenting and safeguarding of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, ...
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International Donors’ Conference in support of the World Heritage in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), UNESCO, Paris, 13 - 17 September 2004
Tuesday, 7 December 2004
The opening and closure speeches as well as the PowerPoint presentations are now available on: https://whc.unesco.org/en/events/95
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Opening of the 7th Extraordinary Session of the World Heritage Committee
Monday, 6 December 2004
The 7th Extraordinary Session of the World Heritage Committee opened on 6 December 2004 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, under the chairmanship of Mr Themba P. Wakashe from South Africa. The session will last until 11 December 2004. This important meeting will examine, among other items, the relations between the Convention for the protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage ...
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Professor Chamaeleo, Ambassador at Large for Diversity
Thursday, 18 November 2004
You can now access a film featuring Professor Chamaeleo, Ambassador at Large for Diversity, in which he urges everyone to unite and act for the conservation of biodiversity. The film was used to open the IUCN World Conservation Congress (WCC). Prof. Chamaeleo’s compelling appeal to humanity is at http://www.diversity.info. The production of the film was made possible with support from: ...
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Workshop Discusses World Heritage Nomination of Central Pacific Islands And Atolls from Kiribati
Friday, 22 October 2004
Within the framework of the World Heritage Central Pacific Project, a workshop was held over the previous seven days on Kiritimati (Christmas) Island, Republic of Kiribati to plan for the nomination of reef islands and atolls of Kiribati to the World Heritage List. The World Heritage List was established by the World Heritage Convention, adopted by UNESCO in 1972 to profile and protect the ...
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Three new publications in the World Heritage Papers Series
Friday, 22 October 2004
There are three new publications in the World Heritage Papers Series: No.9: Partnerships for World Heritage Cities - Culture as a Vector for Sustainable Urban Development (in English and French) provides a summary of the papers presented and the debates held at the Urbino workshop to mark the 30th anniversary of the WH Convention. No.10: Monitoring World Heritage (in English) ...
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Safeguarding of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage: Toward an Integrated Approach
Wednesday, 20 October 2004
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, participated today in Nara (Japan) at the opening ceremony of the international symposium “ Safeguarding of Tangible and Intangible Cultural Heritage: Toward an Integrated Approach” organised by Bunkacho (the Japanese Cultural Agency) and UNESCO, in the presence of Mr Toshio Kojima, Senior Vice-Minister of Ministry of Education, Culture, ...
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NHK - World Heritage on the screen
Friday, 15 October 2004
A new partnership between UNESCO and the Japanese Television channel NHK will see the co-production and broadcast of some 200 short television programmes that will form of the core of a new Heritages Image Archives Initiative. The Initiative aims to produce quality threedimensional moving images and reconstruction images, using state-of-the-art digital visual and sound processing ...
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Launch of the book Les 200 plus beaux sites du monde
Thursday, 14 October 2004
A new book Les 200 plus beaux sites du monde (The 200 most beautiful sites in the World), published by Hachette-Tourism to commemorate 10 years of the Voir collection, was launched in Paris at UNESCO Headquarters on 11 October 2004. Among the 200 sites selected by the editors, 125 are inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List. Published in large format, two full pages of the book ...
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Michel Batisse (1923-2004)
Thursday, 14 October 2004
The World Heritage Centre deeply regrets to announce the passing away, in Paris on Monday 27 September, of Michel Batisse (1923-2004), UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Science from 1972 to1984 and one of the founding fathers of the 1972 World Heritage Convention. He played a critical role in the preparation and negotiation of this Convention, by guaranteeing the rightful place of ...
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New weekly radio chronicle on World Heritage sites
Monday, 11 October 2004
Every Sunday, listeners of the French radio station France Info can learn more about UNESCO's World Heritage sites, by listening to a new chronicle entitled “Treasures of Humanity” . Olivier Emond, a 31 years old journalist and History graduate, explains in short chronicles the history of World Heritage sites selected among the 788 that are inscribed on the World Heritage List today. The ...
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A 7000 Euro Grant For The Realization Of A Cultural Project Concerning The Mediterranean World
Thursday, 7 October 2004
B orn after 31 December 1975 you will be under 30 years of age in 2005. You are a native of a Mediterranean country. You wish to develop a project furthering the knowledge and understanding of Mediterranean cultures. Every year the Marc de Montalembert Foundation offers a grant of 7000 euro to enable the implementation of such projects. To apply for the 2005 Marc de ...
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The Director-General opens exhibition on "World Heritage Sites in Croatia" and appoints Mr Relja Bašic as UNESCO Artist for Peace
Thursday, 7 October 2004
On 6 October, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, opened an exhibition on "World Heritage Sites in Croatia" in the presence of Mr Krešimir Filipec, Assistant Minister of Culture; Ambassador Ritz, Permanent Delegate of Croatia to UNESCO; the Mayors of Dubrovnik, Split and Togir, as well as the Deputy Mayor of Poreć and the Director of Plitvice Lakes National Park ...
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"Congo - Nature and Culture in the Democratic Republic of Congo"
Friday, 10 September 2004
On Thursday 9 September, the Director-General of UNESCO together with H.R.H. Prince Philippe of Belgium, Mr Z’Ahidi Ngoma, Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mr De Decker, Belgian Minister for Co-operation and Development, inaugurated the exhibition "CONGO - Nature and Culture in the Democratic Republic of Congo". Curated by the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren, ...
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Congo - Heritage in Danger
Wednesday, 8 September 2004
UNESCO is organizing, with the United Nations Foundation (UNF) the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and several conservation organizations, the first international event to support the DRC’s heritage in danger. The event, “Congo – Heritage in Danger” aims to contribute to the long-term survival of this unique natural heritage. Placed under the high patronage of Mr Jacques ...
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UNESCO and Japanese Broadcasting Corporation NHK Launch Partnership for heritage images archives initiative
Friday, 27 August 2004
On Friday, 27 August 2004, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura and Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) President Katsuji Ebisawa held a public signing ceremony at NHK Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan to seal their new partnership agreement. Through the Heritage Images Archives Initiative, NHK is offering to contribute to the documenting and safeguarding of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, ...
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The 28th Session of the Committee
Wednesday, 28 July 2004
The 28th session of the World Heritage Committee was held in Sushou, China, under the chairmanship of Zhang Xinsheng, Vice Minister of Education of China and Chairperson of China’s National Commission for UNESCO, from 28 June to 7 July 2004. Over 700 delegates from States Parties, Advisory Bodies and non-governmental organizations participated. 29 cultural sites and 5 natural sites were ...
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Periodic Report and Regional Programme: Arab States 2000-2003
Monday, 26 July 2004
This document was prepared by the Arab States Unit of the World Heritage Centre, following the request of the World Heritage Committee that an analytical summary of the Periodic Reporting exercise be prepared for the Arab Region in view of its publication. This report aims at evaluating the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the Arab Region, on the basis of the Periodic ...
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New Chinese edition of UNESCO World Heritage Review
Friday, 16 July 2004
A new Chinese edition of UNESCO’s World Heritage Review is being launched by the publishing house World Affairs Press of the People’s Republic of China, UNESCO and Ediciones San Marcos (Madrid). The Chinese edition will be launched at the 28th session of the World Heritage Committee in Suzhou on 28 June 2004. UNESCO’s World Heritage Review has been published in English, French and Spanish ...
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Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani and Ruins of Songo Mnara in Tanzania inscribed on World Heritage in Danger List
Wednesday, 7 July 2004
The ruins of the great sea-ports of Kilwa Kisiwani and of Songo Mnara situated off the coast of the United Republic of Tanzania were inscribed yesterday on the List of World Heritage in Danger by the 21-member World Heritage Committee, which is holding its annual meeting in Suzhou until July 7. The Committee took this decision in response to threats to the integrity of the site, which was ...
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World Heritage Committee sounds the alarm for Cologne Cathedral
Tuesday, 6 July 2004
One of Europe’s masterpieces of Gothic architecture, was inscribed today on the List of World Heritage in Danger by the 21-member World Heritage Committee, which is holding its annual meeting in Suzhou until July 7. The Committee sounded the alarm for the integrity of the urban landscape around the Cathedral after hearing of the construction of several high-rise buildings on the bank ...
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Angkor Among the three Properties Removed from Unesco’s List of World Heritage in Danger
Sunday, 4 July 2004
Cambodia’s celebrated temples and palaces at Angkor were removed from UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger today, as were the Bahla Fort (Oman) and Rwenzori Mountains National Park (Uganda). As it reviewed the state of conservation of World Heritage sites whose outstanding universal value is severely threatened, the 21-member World Heritage Committee meeting in Suzhou until July 7 ...
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Iran's Ancient City of Bam among the 34 new sites inscribed on World Heritage List
Saturday, 3 July 2004
The rich archaeological remains of the Iranian city of Bam, where 26,000 lost their lives in the earthquake of December 26, 2003, was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, alongside 12 other new cultural sites listed today by the World Heritage Committee holding its 28th session in Suzhou. This brings to 788 the number of cultural, natural and mixed sites now on the List. Bam Cultural ...
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13 more properties added to World Heritage List at 2004 Committee session
Friday, 2 July 2004
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea had its first site inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List today with the addition of a complex of Koguryo tombs. Andorra also entered the List with the cultural landscape of Madriu-Claror-Perafita Valley. They were among 13 cultural sites listed in Suzhou today. Below are the new sites inscribed on July 1 at the World Heritage Committee meeting ...
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First wave of new properties added to World Heritage List for 2004
Thursday, 1 July 2004
A glacier-fjord in Greenland, the Ilulissat Icefjord, is among the five new natural sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, while the extraordinary earthen architecture of Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba, in Togo, is one of three new cultural sites inscribed by the World Heritage Committee in Suzhou today. The ongoing 28th session of the Committee, chaired by Zhang ...
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New properties to be added to World Heritage List
Tuesday, 22 June 2004
Forty-eight sites will be considered for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List of outstanding cultural and natural sites during the 28th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, which will meet at the Urban Planning Convention Center in Suzhou (China) from June 28 to July 7.UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura will address the inaugural session of the meeting, which will be ...
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World heritage to the fore in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Friday, 11 June 2004
The Fifth International Volunteer Khami Restoration Camp (3-26 June) near Bulawayo is now in progress, to be followed by a “1972 World Heritage Workshop” for Zimbabwean journalists. Operating on an annual basis since its inception in 2000, this year’s camp groups a total of 20 students from Botswana, Cameroon, Germany, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Reunion, South Africa, Zambia and ...
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IUCN News
Friday, 11 June 2004
The web site for one of the World Heritage Advisory Bodies, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), regularly updates news on IUCN's work on protected areas. Recent features include: Guidelines for Planning and Managing Mountain Protected Areas; A mission to the Volcanoes of Kamchatka World Heritage Site in the Russian Federation; Establishment of a Global network on Transboundary ...
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Jebel Ouenat Technical Report
Friday, 4 June 2004
Tripoli-Kufra-Jebel Ouenat, 27 March - 5 April 2004Jebel Ouenat (in Arabic "Mountain of the springs") is a natural and cultural heritage site located at the border among Egypt, Libya and Sudan, which was discovered by the Egyptian explorer Ahmed Hassanein Bey only in 1923. This spectacular mountain, together with the neighbouring Jebel Arkenu, in Libya, and Jebel Kissu in Sudan, is the result ...
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Preparations for 28th Session of World Heritage Committee going smoothly
Sunday, 30 May 2004
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Workshop on Conservation of the Kathmandu Valley (3-7 May 2004, Kathmandu, Nepal)
Wednesday, 26 May 2004
The workshop focused on the redefinition of the boundaries, the preparation of an Action Plan addressing conservation challenges and the discussion of mechanisms to assist the Nepalese Government in soliciting international cooperation. Various stakeholders including national and local authorities, Nepalese and international experts, members from Universities and INGOs, actively ...
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Promoting and Preserving Congolese Heritage
Wednesday, 19 May 2004
UNESCO Conference 16-17 September at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris to evaluate the current status and future needs of the World Heritage Centre / UNF project: "Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict: Protecting World Heritage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo". Co-sponsored by the Government of Belgium and the Government of Japan, this conference aims to raise global ...
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Second workshop on the use of Information Technology for World Heritage Sites in the Arab Region
Tuesday, 18 May 2004
The 2nd workshop obtained excellent feedback from the fifteen Arab trainees nominated by their governments. Experts were again brought in from leading international institutions, including: Department of Geography, University of Ghent R. Lemaire International Centre for Conservation, University of Leuven WCMC, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre University of California, ...
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ITB Features First Ever Unesco World Heritage Stand
Monday, 3 May 2004
Presentations will be made everyday at 10am, 1pm and 3pm on issues such as World Heritage destinations, sustainable tourism at World Heritage sites, the effects of tourism on the conservation of World Heritage sites, individual conservation efforts, the trade's role in site conservation, and World Heritage tours as new markets. World Heritage Site Managers will be on hand to present ...
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Training Workshop: Information Technology for Natural Heritage Sites in the Arab Region, Tunis 2004
Monday, 3 May 2004
2nd training workshop to be organized in the Arab region for the application of Information Management for World Heritage Sites, fucusing on nature. This training to be organized from may 3 to 16, 2004 will gathered a group of trainees from different Arab Countries and known specialists on World Heritage environmental issues.
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Announcing the 28th Session of the World Heritage Committee
Wednesday, 28 April 2004
The World Heritage Committee consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, elected by the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention. The current composition of the Committee is: Argentina, Benin, Chile, China (Chair), Colombia, Egypt, India, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Netherlands, ...
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Deadline for submissions of entries for UNESCO Heritage Awards
Wednesday, 31 March 2004
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is still accepting entries for the 2004 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.The Awards programme recognizes outstanding conservation projects of the built heritage, undertaken by private sector entities or through public-private partnerships. Now in its fifth year, the programme has ...
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UNESCO signs agreement with NHK Television to digitalise cultural heritage for future generations
Tuesday, 11 November 2003
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Atsunori Kawarmura, Executive Producer of Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK TV) at UNESCO Headquarters.The MoU launches a new public service project aimed at creating a database of high-definition, digital motion pictures on different forms of cultural heritage to ensure the transmission of ...
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Letter from the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee concerning Yellowstone
Monday, 16 June 2003
The letter follows the receipt of numerous individual letters and e-mails sent to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
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Web Site of the 27th Session of the World Heritage Committee
Wednesday, 26 March 2003
Paris - The Web site of the 27th session of the World Heritage Committee, which will take place in Suzhou (China), from the 29th of June to the 5th of July 2003, is now online at this address: http://www.27whc.org. The Web site is available in Chinese and English versions (French to come) and provides numerous useful information about the forthcoming session of the Committee, the organizing ...
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Hatra
Monday, 17 February 2003
A large fortified city under the influence of the Parthian Empire and capital of the first Arab Kingdom, Hatra withstood invasions by the Romans in A.D. 116 and 198 thanks to its high, thick walls reinforced by towers. The remains of the city, especially the temples where Hellenistic and Roman architecture blend with Eastern decorative features, attest to the greatness of its civilization. ...
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Fire Destroys Yuzhengong Palace in Hubei Province of China
Wednesday, 5 February 2003
On 20 January 2003, a fire broke out in the Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains in Hubei Province, China.Two-and-a-half hours later, the Yuzhengong Palace was burned to the ground. No one was injured in the fire but many of the structures from the Ming dynasty (14th-17th centuries) were damaged. Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994, the Ancient Building Complex in ...
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Letter From the Chairperson Concerning the "Historic Centre of Sighisoara" (Romania)
Wednesday, 5 February 2003
Following decision from the President of Romania to halt the proposed development of the themepark "Draculaland" at the World Heritage site of the "Historic Centre of Sighisoara". WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEECHAIRMAN / PRESIDENT 6 February 2003 Excellency, In my capacity as Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee I would like to applaud the decision to halt the proposed ...
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Belgium Signs Joint Cooperation Agreement with UNESCO for World Heritage Conservation
Tuesday, 26 November 2002
Brussels - The Belgian Government and UNESCO signed an Agreement of Cooperation today, wishing to enhance their cooperation, especially between the Federal office for Scientific, Technical and Cultural affairs (OSTC) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “Through this Agreement, we will make available the Belgian know-how and the expertise of the Universities of Ghent and Louvain in the use ...
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30th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention
Saturday, 16 November 2002
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1972-2002: 30th Anniversary of the World Heritage Convention
Thursday, 12 September 2002
Special events and activities Record of Decisions of the 26th session of the World Heritage Committee Budapest, Hungary, 24-29 June 2002 Budapest Declaration World Heritage 2002: Shared Legacy, Common ResponsibilityAn International Congress organized by UNESCO with the support of the Government of Italy and under the patronage of the city of Venice on the occasion of the 30th anniversary ...
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Message on the Occasion of the Floods Affecting a Number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites
Tuesday, 20 August 2002
From Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre We have noted with great concern, the news of massive floods sweeping across Europe and that a number of World Heritage sites in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Hungary are threatened by the worst flooding in a century. I would like to transmit our solidarity with the regional crisis committees and the people of the ...
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World Heritage Committee Concludes 26th Session in Budapest, Hungary
Monday, 15 July 2002
The World Heritage Committee concluded its 26th session (24 to 29 June 2002) by adopting the Budapest Declaration on World Heritage, marking the 30th anniversary of the signing of the World Heritage Convention in 1972. Adopted in the presence of the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, and representatives of the Hungarian government, the Budapest Declaration recognizes the near ...
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Tipasa (Algeria) Added to List of World Heritage in Danger
Monday, 15 July 2002
Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1982, Tipasa on the shores of the Mediterranean, comprises Phoenician, Roman, palaeochristian and Byzantine ruins alongside indigenous monuments such as the Kbor er Roumia, the great royal mausoleum of Mauritania. An ancient Punic trading-post conquered by Rome, Tipasa turned into a strategic base for the conquest of the kingdoms of Mauritania. However, ...
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World Heritage Sites, June 2002 inscriptions
Monday, 1 July 2002
This map was produced by the Cartographic Section of the World Heritage Centre. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of UNESCO, any judgement on legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. January 2002 UNESCO World Heritage Centre.Legend:The grey points and triangles show World ...
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World Heritage Committee Inscribes 9 New Sites on the World Heritage List
Wednesday, 26 June 2002
Budapest, Hungary. The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Budapest since June 24, has inscribed today 9 new sites on the World Heritage List. The List now numbers 730 sites of "outstanding universal value" in 125 countries. For the first time, a site from Afghanistan appears on the List. The 9 inscriptions this year include only cultural sites.Simultaneously with its inscription ...
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26th Session of the World Heritage Committee opens in Budapest, Hungary; Elects New Bureau
Monday, 24 June 2002
Budapest, Hungary - 24 June 2002. The World Heritage Committee opened its 26th annual session in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday, 24 June. The opening session was attended by 320 participants representing all 21 Committee members, over 50 observers from States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, representatives from the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee (ICOMOS, IUCN, and ...
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Three States Join the World Heritage Convention
Wednesday, 5 June 2002
Three States have recently signed the World Heritage Convention. This will bring the total of States Parties to the Convention to 170. The three States, with the dates on which they deposited their instrument of ratification or acceptance, are: Liberia 23 March 2002 Barbados 09 April 2002 Marshall Islands 24 April 2002 The Convention will come into force for the three countries three months ...
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New World Heritage Web Address
Tuesday, 9 April 2002
Important announcement for the visitors of the World Heritage Centre portal The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has established a new simpler web address: https://whc.unesco.org (without www) Web browsers using the old address will be automatically referred to the appropriate page on the new server.
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Report of the 25th Session of the World Heritage Committee
Wednesday, 9 January 2002
The annual report of the du World Heritage Committee (Helsinki, Finland, 11 - 16 décember 2001) has been issued.
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World Heritage Committee Inscribes 31 New Sites on the World Heritage List
Thursday, 13 December 2001
Helsinki, Finland - 14 December 2001. The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Helsinki since December 11, has inscribed 31 new sites on the World Heritage List. The List now numbers 721 sites of "outstanding universal value" in 124 countries. For the first time, sites in Botswana and Israel appear on the List. The 31 inscriptions this year include six natural sites and 25 cultural ...
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World Heritage Committee Inscribes Two Sites on the the List of World Heritage in Danger
Wednesday, 12 December 2001
Helsinki, Finland - In its annual review of the state of conservation of sites on the World Heritage List, the World Heritage Committee today decided to include two additional sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger, while at the same time removing a third site. As a result, the List of World Heritage in Danger now includes 31 properties. BRAZIL Iguacu National Park Committee agreed to ...
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25th Session of the World Heritage Committee opens in Helsinki, Finland
Tuesday, 11 December 2001
Helsinki, Finland - The World Heritage Committee opened its 25th annual session in Helsinki, Finland, on Tuesday, 11 December. The meeting, hosted by the Finnish Government, was opened by the Director-General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura; the President of Finland, Ms Tarja Halonen, and the Finnish ministers of Culture and Environment. The opening session was attended by 280 participants ...
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Summary Report of the First Day of the Thirteenth General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention
Tuesday, 30 October 2001
Paris. The General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention opened Tuesday, 30 October 2001 at 10 a.m. in the presence of the majority of the States Parties to the Convention. After the opening of the session by Mounir Bouchenaki, UNESCO ADG Culture and representative of the Director General, Samuel Fernandéz Illanes, Ambassador of Chile to UNESCO, was elected ...
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Summary Report of the Second Day of the Thirteenth General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention
Tuesday, 30 October 2001
Paris - The 13th session of the General Assembly of the State Parties of the World Heritage Convention ended on the 31st October with the election of eight new members of the World Heritage Committee. The following States Parties were elected: Argentina India LebanonNigeriaOman Russian Federation Saint Lucia United Kingdom  1 November 2001: Fifth Extraordinary session of the World Heritage ...
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Thirteenth General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention
Friday, 26 October 2001
Paris - The Thirteenth General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention will take place this week at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris. The bi-annual two-day meeting, which opens Tuesday, is an opportunity for all of the countries which have signed the Convention to take part in its governance. Provisional AgendaParticipation: In accordance with Rule 2 of the Rules of Procedure ...
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Twenty-fifth Session of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee to meet, 25 - 30 june at UNESCO Headquarters, Paris
Friday, 22 June 2001
The twenty-fifth session of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee will open on Monday, 25 June for its annual six-day meeting at UNESCO Headquarters. The seven Bureau members, Australia, Canada, Ecuador, Finland, Morocco, Thailand, and Zimbabwe will be joined by observer delegations from many other States Parties to the Convention, as well as representatives from the Advisory Bodies ...
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World Heritage Committee to hold 26th Annual Session in Budapest, Hungary, 24 - 29 june 2002
Thursday, 21 June 2001
Paris - The World Heritage Committee will hold its 26th annual session from June 24 to 29 in Budapest, Hungary, during which it will inscribe new sites on the World Heritage List and review the List of World Heritage in Danger. The intergovernmental World Heritage Committee consists of 21 members elected by the General Assembly of the 172 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention. The ...
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World Heritage Committee Inscribes 61 New Sites on World Heritage List
Thursday, 30 November 2000
Cairns - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, meeting since November 27 in Cairns, Australia, has inscribed 61 new cultural and natural sites on the World Heritage. The List now has 690 sites of "exceptional universal value" in 122 countries. Sites in Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Nicaragua and Suriname are on the List for the first time. Ten of the new sites are properties inscribed for ...
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World Heritage Committee Adds Three Sites to the List of World Heritage in Danger
Wednesday, 29 November 2000
Cairns - On the third day of its 24th session, the World Heritage Committee added three sites to the List of World Heritage in Danger. The three sites, the Historic Town of Zabid (Yemen), the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (Senegal) and the Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore (Pakistan), were the subject of extensive discussion during the previous day's deliberations on the state of ...
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World Heritage Committee opens 24th Session in Cairns, Australia, Elects New 7 Members Bureau
Monday, 27 November 2000
Cairns, Australia - The World Heritage Committee today opened its 24th annual session in Cairns, Australia. The meeting, hosted by the Australian Federal government and the government of the State of Queensland, was attended by over 320 people. The meeting was attended by all twenty-one members of the World Heritage Committee: Australia, Belgium, Benin, Canada, China, Colombia, Cuba, ...
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World Heritage Committee to Hold 24th Annual Session in Cairns, Australia, November 27 - December 2
Wednesday, 15 November 2000
The World Heritage Committee will hold its 24th annual session from November 27 to December 2 in Cairns, Australia, during which it will inscribe new cultural and natural sites on the World Heritage List and review the List of World Heritage in Danger. The intergovernmental World Heritage Committee consists of 21 States Parties elected for a term of six years by the General Assembly of the ...
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Chairman of World Heritage Committee Named as Candidate for post of Director-General of UNESCO
Friday, 20 October 2000
Paris - UNESCO's 58-member Executive Board - whose 157th session opened on October 5 - today nominated, in the third round of voting, Koichiro Matsuura as its candidate for the post of UNESCO Director-General, to replace the present Director General Federico Mayor at the end of his second 6-year mandate. Mr Matsuura's candidacy will be submitted to the approval of UNESCO's General Conference ...
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President of Mexico Announces Decision to Halt Saltworks Project at World Heritage Site, El Vizcaino Whale Sanctuary
Tuesday, 7 March 2000
The President of Mexico, Ernesto Zedillo, announced on 2 March 2000 that the development of the proposed saltworks at San Ignacio would not proceed. The decision was made following the international UNESCO expert mission to the site in August 1999. The results of the mission were presented to, and adopted by, the World Heritage Committee at its twenty-third session held in Marrakesh ...
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The Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino in Mexico Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 1993
Wednesday, 8 December 1999
The World Heritage Committee at its twenty-third session held in Marrakesh (Morocco) from 29 November to 4 December 1999, adopted the conclusions and recommendations of the mission of international experts sent to the Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (Mexico). The Committee endorsed the main findings of the mission's report which "concluded that the World Heritage site under present ...
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World Heritage Committee Inscribes 48 New Sites on Heritage List
Thursday, 2 December 1999
Marrakesh - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, meeting since November 29 in Marrakesh (Morocco), has inscribed 48 new cultural and natural sites on the World Heritage List. The List now has 630 sites of "exceptional universal value" in 118 countries. Sites in South Africa, Nigeria, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Turkmenistan are on the List for the first time. Notable among the new ...
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World Heritage Committee Adds Four Sites to the List of World Heritage in Danger
Tuesday, 30 November 1999
Marrakesh - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, meeting in Marrakech (Morocco) since November 29, has today included four new sites on its List of World Heritage in Danger. They are the Iguacu National Park (Brazil), the Rwenzori Mountains (Uganda), the Salonga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the Groups of Monuments at Hampi (India). The inclusion of the Iguacu National ...
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United Nations Foundation (UNF) Broadens Support for World Natural Heritage
Monday, 29 November 1999
Marrakesh - The 23rd session of the World Heritage Committee in Marrakesh, Morocco, was informed today that the United Nations Foundation (UNF) would contribute $2.9 million to World Heritage sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The project, "Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict: Protecting World Natural Heritage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo", ...
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In Depth Debate on Kakadu National Park in Extraordinary Session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee
Monday, 12 July 1999
UNESCO's World Heritage Committee in an Extraordinary meeting today welcomed efforts by the Australian government to help resolve the controversy surrounding uranium mining and milling in an enclave within the Kakadu National Park which, some claim, endangers this unique archaeological and ethnological site. The Committee decided not to inscribe the site, which has been on the World Heritage ...
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Second letter from the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee to the Environmental Groups concerning the Whale Sanctuary of El Viscaino (Mexico)
Tuesday, 25 May 1999
Second letter from the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee to the Environmental Groups concerning the Whale Sanctuary of El Viscaino
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Letter from the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee Concerning the Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (Mexico)
Friday, 4 December 1998
The letter follows the receipt of about 30,000 petitions received and numerous individual letters and e-mails sent to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Letter sent by the Chairman of the World Heritage Committee to the Environmental Groups concerning the Whale Sanctuary of El Vizcaino (Mexico)
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UNESCO World Heritage Committee Adds 30 Sites to World Heritage List
Wednesday, 2 December 1998
Kyoto,Japan - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, meeting in Kyoto since November 30, has added 30 new sites and one extension to its World Heritage List of cultural and natural sites, bringing the number of listed sites of "exceptional universal value" to 582 in 114 countries. For the first time, the List includes sites located in Belgium and the Solomon Islands. Among this year's ...
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World Heritage Committee Removes Old City of Dubrovnik and Wieliczka Salt Mine from its List of Endangered Sites
Tuesday, 1 December 1998
Kyoto, (Japan) - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee today announced it removed the Old City of Dubrovnik (Croatia) and the Wieliczka Salt Mines (Poland) from its List of World Heritage in Danger due to the success of measures undertaken for their restoration and preservation. Dubrovnik, the Dalmatian Coast city dubbed "the pearl of the Adriatic" and dotted with beautiful Gothic, ...
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World Heritage Committee to Announce New Sites on December 5 in Kyoto, Japan
Wednesday, 25 November 1998
Paris - UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee will hold its annual meeting from November 30 to December 5 in Kyoto (Japan) at the close of which it will inscribe new cultural and natural sites on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger. Alongside the 22nd session of the Committee, UNESCO is organising another event in Japan the International World Heritage Youth Forum ...
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Disaster for Doñana - a Spanish World Heritage Site
Monday, 27 April 1998
At 3.30 AM on Saturday 25th April 1998 the south coast of Spain was host to what has been dubbed the worst environmental disaster in Europe. A supporting wall of the reservoir containing the toxic wastes of the Aznalcollar mine burst, releasing 5 million cubic metres of toxic mud and acidic water onto the surrounding landscape. The toxic waste entered the Agrio River, a tributary of the ...
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World Heritage Committee Inscribes 46 New Sites on World Heritage List
Sunday, 7 December 1997
The following sites have been inscribed on the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee at its 21st session, meeting in Naples, Italy, 1-6 December, 1997. A total of 46 sites were inscribed: 7 natural sites; 38 cultural sites; and 1 mixed site. The work of the 21st Session thus brings the total number of sites on the World Heritage List to 552 (418 cultural, 114 natural and 20 ...
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Kakadu, Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Sites, Australia
Monday, 22 September 1997
Threats to World Heritage areas in Australia continues to claim media headlines. At the Kakadu World Heritage area the Australian Government is supporting the development of a new uranium mine. At present the Government is awaiting an environmental impact statement and negotiating with the local indigenous population who are opposing the mine. In the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area the ...
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Publication Of The Proceedings Of The International Symposium In Hildesheim, Germany: World Cultural Heritage - A Global Challenge
Thursday, 18 September 1997
The organizers of a symposium on world cultural heritage, held in Hildesheim, Germany 23 February - 1 March 1997 have announced the publication of the proceedings of this symposium, entitled: "World Cultural Heritage: A Global Challenge." The work contains all the presentations and the resolution adopted at this week-long conference.Seven representative projects from all five continents ...
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Fire At Machu Picchu, Peru, 6-11 September
Friday, 12 September 1997
Between 6 and 11 September, the Incan ruins of Machu Picchu, were threatened by a large brush fire, eventually consuming over 800 hectares of mountain forest. At one time more than 400 firefighters pumped water on the dense vegetation on the hills surrounding the World Heritage site to prevent the fire from reaching the ruins.The fire was believed to have been started by local farmers burning ...
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New E-Mail Mailing List For International Conservation: Icons_L
Wednesday, 10 September 1997
We have opened the ICONS_L mailing list for discussing issues related to the International Conservation Networking System (ICONS), a relational database management system in support of networking on biodiversity and conservation issues, and for information management by indigenous and community-based organizations.ICONS provides basic structures for the management of bibliographies, ...
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UNESCO Launches Appeal To Safeguard Island Of Mozambique
Wednesday, 3 September 1997
Paris - UNESCO'S Director-General Federico Mayor launched yesterday in Maputo an international appeal to safeguard the Island of Mozambique. He also inaugurated, on behalf of the United Nations System, a trust fund to implement the Agenda for the Sustainable Development and Integral Conservation of the World Heritage Site of the Island of Mozambique. UNESCO is contributing US$100,000 to the ...
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Ninth Forum Of Ministers Of Cultural Heritage Of Latin America And The Caribbean Endorses Proposed WH Nomination Of "Fortifications In The Caribbean"
Monday, 1 September 1997
The Ninth Forum of Ministers of Cultural Heritage of Latin America and the Caribbean, which took place in Cartagena, Colombia from 27 to 30 June 1997 has formally endorsed the conclusions and recommendations of an expert meeting calling for the nomination of a multi-national "Fortifications in the Caribbean."  The Ministers decided to support the initiative of Colombia to work towards the ...
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Unesco Director-General Expresses Sadness Over Death Of Raymond Lemaire
Thursday, 14 August 1997
Paris - UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor expressed sadness over the reported death yesterday of Raymond Lemaire, his special advisor and representative on the cultural heritage of Jerusalem."UNESCO has lost one of its most outstanding experts. No cultural site or monument in the world was foreign to Raymond Lemaire," Mr Mayor said. "He applied his great expertise as one of the editors ...
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Best Practices In Heritage Development And Cultural Tourism
Thursday, 24 July 1997
The National Center for Heritage Development with conference host, the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor, announce Rally III for America's Real Places: Best Practices in Heritage Development and Cultural Tourism. If you would be interested in becoming a conference Sponsor, Partner or Exhibitor please contact the National Center at 202-885-8910 or by e-mail at nchd@al.net. ...
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New Web Addresses for Advisory Bodies and World Heritage Natural Site Data Sheets
Saturday, 19 July 1997
Both ICOMOS and ICCROM have recently established new addresses on the World Wide Web. In addition to its site at www.icomos.org in North America, ICOMOS now also has a second site in Europe, www.international.icomos.org. Both sites contain the same materials, and users should choose the site which is closest to them for access.ICCROM, which until recently has shared space on the ICOMOS ...
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Request for Proposals: Surveys at the Monasteries of St. Paul and St. Anthony and the Ottoman fort at Quseir, Red Sea, Egypt
Monday, 7 July 1997
The Antiquities Development Project of the American Research Center in Egypt is committed to undertaking three dimensional architectural surveys at the two Monasteries of St. Paul and St Anthony and the Ottoman Fort at Quseir, by the Red Sea coast of Egypt. This is part of the conservation and restoration projects currently carried out by the Antiquities Development Project at these ...
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Archaeologis, a GIS Programme in the Mediterranean Area
Wednesday, 2 July 1997
in the environment of EU INFO2000 programme has been realized a proposal regarding an Archaeological Geographic Information System in the Mediterranean area. In this first phase a demo prototype on the Via Aurelia (Italy) and Via Domizia (France) is working at the address: www.aec2000.it/archeologis
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21st Session of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee, 23-28 june 1997
Saturday, 28 June 1997
The twenty-first session of the Bureau of the World Heritage Committee was held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 23 to 28 June 1997. The seven Bureau members, Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Morocco and Niger, were joined by observer delegations from thirty-seven other States Parties, as well as representatives of the Advisory Bodies.The agenda included an examination of the ...
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Asia & West Pacific Network for Urban Conservation (AWPNUC)
Monday, 23 June 1997
The Asia & West Pacific Network for Urban Conservation (AWPNUC) was formed in 1991 for the purpose of exchanging cultural information and technical expertise in the area of urban conservation. The members are predominantly urban conservation advocates, professionals and practitioners who are actively involved in international networking and/or projects outside their home countries.Anyone who ...
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