Wednesday, May 25, 2011
First South-East Europe World Heritage Youth Forum
The First South-East Europe World Heritage Youth Forum is currently underway with the theme 'World Heritage education: Networking for a ...

Friday, May 20, 2011
Parks Canada wins conservation award; celebrates 100 years
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 ...

Friday, May 20, 2011
[in French only] Formation intensive pour gestionnaires francophones de sites patrimoniaux
[in French only] « Construire ensemble l'avenir des sites patrimoniaux : élaborer et mettre en œuvre une gestion durable pour ...

Thursday, May 19, 2011
International Conference "What is the fate of Public Art?"
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 ...

Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Anti-Poaching Patrols to continue at Niokolo Koba National Park, thanks to Rapid Response Facility emergency support
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 ...

Wednesday, May 18, 2011
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
Some fifty potential Silk Roads Heritage Corridors have been identified, with twenty corridors being  considered as a medium priority, while ...

Monday, May 16, 2011
UNESCO World Heritage sites iPhone and iPad Application from HarperCollins
UNESCO and HarperCollins Publishers are pleased to announce the release of the world's first fully comprehensive World Heritage sites application ...

Friday, May 13, 2011
World Migratory Bird Day 2011 observed 14-15 May in over 50 countries
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 ...

Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Dr Kenton R. Miller, nature conservation leader and former IUCN Director General, dies
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and IUCN are deeply saddened by the loss of one of nature conservation’s leading lights. Dr Kenton ...

Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Human - Elephant conflict: Rapid Response Facility awards emergency grant to the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania
The UNESCO - FFI - UNF Rapid Response Facility awarded an emergency grant to the Wildlife Conservation Society of Tanzania this week in response to ...

Thursday, May 5, 2011
Forty-two sites to be considered for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in June
Remarkable natural and cultural properties from 40 countries will be considered for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during the ...

Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Jaeger-LeCoultre auction proceeds support Malpelo Fauna and Flora Sanctuary
From 18-22 April 2011, the Swiss watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre organized its third online auction for the benefit of World Heritage marine ...

Friday, April 29, 2011
World Heritage Memory Net Launched
World Heritage Memory Net (WHMNet) is a model global digital library of cultural, historical, and moveable heritage collections related to the current ...

Thursday, April 28, 2011
Increase in One-horned Rhinoceros reported at Royal Chitwan National Park World Heritage Site (Nepal)
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has released the results of its rhinoceros census in Nepal, reporting a reported 23% increase in rhino ...

Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Expert Working Group releases recommendations for Safeguarding Bamiyan
Following their meeting in UNESCO Headquarters, Paris 3-4 March 2011, a group of Afghan and international experts working on the safeguarding of ...

Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Conclusions of the Second HERITY International Conference
This conference was held in Rome December 3-5, 2008. The conclusions outlined below were reached thanks to contributions from ICCROM, UNESCO-WHC, ...

Tuesday, April 19, 2011
UNESCO for Haiti. 19 April 2011
UNESCO invites Member States, Intergovernemental Organizations, NGOs, the Private Sector and Civil Society to a Conference designed to demonstrate the ...

Thursday, April 7, 2011
Call for applications for the IV° edition of the Master in "World Heritage at Work"
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 ...

Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Rapid Response Facility Supports Post Tsunami Recovery in Galápagos
The devastating March 11th earthquake that struck the coast of Japan created a powerful tsunami that ravaged the  coastline and brought tragedy ...

Monday, April 4, 2011
2010 - 2011 World Heritage map now available
The latest version of the World Heritage Map, produced by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and National Geographic Maps with support from Ministry of ...

Thursday, March 31, 2011
Statement from the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee
Since the Kingdom of Bahrain became for the first time a member of the prestigious World Heritage Committee in 2007, one of the ...

Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Kishore Rao appointed Director of UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Kishore Rao has been appointed Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. An expert in forestry and natural resources policy and planning, Mr Rao ...

Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Director-General urges military forces engaged in Libya to refrain from endangering cultural heritage
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 ...

Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Call for Posters on World Heritage Cities and Climate Change for the 11th OWHC World Congress
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 ...

Monday, March 21, 2011
Statement of the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee
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 ...

Friday, March 18, 2011
Arab States meeting held to define regional programme
From 2008 to 2010, the Arab States Parties to the World Heritage Convention undertook the Periodic Reporting exercise, consisting in assessing the ...

Friday, March 18, 2011
Director-General welcomes suspension of oil prospection at Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has welcomed the announcement by the Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Tourism of the ...

Friday, March 18, 2011
35th session of the World Heritage Committee to meet in Paris in June 2011
Due to the prevailing situation in the Kingdom of Bahrain and following consultations with Bahraini authorities, the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina ...

Wednesday, March 16, 2011
UNESCO World Heritage Centre expresses its solidarity with Japanese people following tragic events
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to express its condolences for the loss of lives due to the devastating earthquake and tsunami which ...

Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Tsunami Spares Galapagos Wildlife, but Destroys Marine Laboratory
Minor damage has been reported at Galápagos Islands World Heritage site following the earthquake and tsunami that occurred off the coast of ...

Friday, March 11, 2011
[in French only] Newsletter N° 18 de la Convention France UNESCO
[in French only] Vie de la CFU * Réunion de bilan technique, 3 Février 2011, UNESCO, Paris* Rapport sur les possibilités de ...

Thursday, March 10, 2011
Resource Manual 'Preparing World Heritage Nominations' available online
The second title within the World Heritage Resource Manuals Preparing World Heritage Nominations (First Edition, 2010) series has just been ...

Monday, March 7, 2011
Experts outline future plans for the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley (Afghanistan)
Afghan officials and international experts outlined plans for the future safeguarding of the Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of Bamiyan ...

Thursday, March 3, 2011
Ten years on – remembering the tragic destruction of the giant Buddha statues of Bamiyan (Afghanistan)
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 ...

Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Statement from the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee on the earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand
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 ...

Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Sustainable Indicators in World Heritage Urban Areas, Mexico City, Mexico
A mission was organized from the 30th January - 5th February 2010 in view of strengthening Spanish Funds-in-Trust technical cooperation, focusing on ...

Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Publication of the Comparative Analysis on Archaeology of Hunter-gatherers. Archaeological sites of the Chinchorro Culture
The International Meeting "The Chinchorro Culture from a Comparative Perspective ", took place in Arica, Chile, 5-8 January, 2010. As a ...

Tuesday, February 22, 2011
UNESCO Special Envoy on Preah Vihear to meet with prime ministers of Thailand and Cambodia
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova's Special Envoy on the Preah Vihear Temple, Koïchiro Matsuura, will travel to Bangkok and Phnom Penh between ...

Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Lightning damages Pratapur Temple of Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site, Nepal
Pratapur Temple in the Swayambhu Monument Zone of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site, Nepal suffered damage from a lightning strike at around 5 ...

Thursday, February 10, 2011
UNESCO Director-General to send Special Envoy to Bangkok and Phnom Penh
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova regretted the continuing tension between Cambodia and Thailand over the issue of the Temple of Preah Vihear. "The ...

Tuesday, February 8, 2011
UNESCO to send mission to Preah Vihear
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today reiterated her call for calm and restraint around the Temple of Preah Vihear, inscribed on the ...

Sunday, February 6, 2011
Director-General expresses alarm over escalation of violence between Thailand and Cambodia
UNESCO Director- General Irina Bokova expressed her deep concern at the sudden escalation of tensions between Cambodia and Thailand on the issue of ...

Thursday, February 3, 2011
Cultural heritage update for Egypt
UNESCO's Director-General Irina Bokova today received assurances from Egypt's new minister for antiquities Zahi Hawass that every possible measure was ...

Wednesday, February 2, 2011
World Wetlands Day is 2 February
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Secretariat to the World Heritage Convention, wishes to extend its best wishes to the Secretariat for the Ramsar ...

Tuesday, February 1, 2011
UNESCO Director-General launches heritage and press freedom alert for Egypt
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today launched an appeal to protect cultural heritage and to respect freedom of expression in ...

Friday, January 28, 2011
Three guards and five soldiers killed in attack at Virunga National Park (DRC)
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 ...

Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Last Call: Caribbean Heritage Course in Curaçao
The University of the Netherlands Antilles is organizing a course on Caribbean Heritage in Curaçao from 21 to 25 March 2011 for Module 1 ...

Monday, January 17, 2011
Colorado State University (USA) offers Spanish-language course on Protected Area Management
Applications Open for the Colorado State University Spanish Language Short Course on Protected Area Management.  6 July – 6 August 2011 ...

Friday, January 14, 2011
Kinshasa Declaration to protect DRC World Heritage sites signed
At the invitation of the Congolese Government, the high-level meeting requested by the World Heritage Committee in 2007 (Christchurch 2007) was held ...

Friday, January 7, 2011
Rescuing the Congo's natural world heritage
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 ...

Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Two rhinos translocated to Manas Wildlife Sanctuary
Two rhinos, a mother and a female calf, were translocated on 29 December from the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary to Manas wildlife sanctuary in western ...

Monday, January 3, 2011
Panasonic World Heritage calendar released in online version
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 ...

Monday, January 3, 2011
2011 is the International Year of Forests
The World Heritage Centre welcomes the International Year of Forests.  With 104 WH sites recognized wholly, or in part, for their rich forest ...

Saturday, January 1, 2011
Best Wishes from the World Heritage Centre 2011
Best Wishes from the World Heritage Centre 2011

Monday, December 20, 2010
Strengthening the Crown Jewels of the Ocean
Faced with the growing threat of industrialization of the oceans and the persistent rush for marine resources, managers from the 43 marine sites on ...

Monday, December 20, 2010
'Tides of Time Archive' now available online
In 2008, Jaeger-LeCoultre signed a long-term 'Tides of Time ' partnership with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the International Herald Tribune, ...

Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Satellite analysis of global mangrove forests released
The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the US Geological Survey have released a first ever satellite analysis of global ...

Thursday, December 9, 2010
[in French only] Newsletter N° 17 de la Convention France UNESCO
[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 ...

Tuesday, December 7, 2010
UNESCO sends expert mission to investigate state of Pompei’s conservation
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 ...

Monday, November 29, 2010
Four World Heritage sites in Cyprus and Italy granted “enhanced protection” in the event of armed conflict
Three World Heritage sites in Cyprus and a fourth in Italy have been given "enhanced protection" status by the Committee for the Protection of ...

Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Plans underway for the creation of an International World Heritage Rock Art Archive
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with the University of Witwatersrand, South Africa, organized the international meeting, ...

Monday, November 22, 2010
Monnaie de Paris produces diamond-studded Taj Mahal coin
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 ...

Friday, November 19, 2010
Rapid Response Grants awarded to protect elephants, help with oil spill clean-up
The Rapid Response Facility is an emergency small grant programme that provides rapid assistance to counter major threats to wildlife conservation, ...

Friday, November 19, 2010
Caribbean Heritage Course in Curaçao
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 ...

Tuesday, November 9, 2010
In memoriam: Andrzej Stanislaw Tomaszewski 1934 - 2010
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to express its sincere condolences on the death of Andrzej Tomaszewski, renowned professor of built ...

Monday, November 8, 2010
Managing Historic Cities, World Heritage Series n°27
With over 250 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, cities are one of the most abundant and diverse categories of heritage. This quantity ...

Tuesday, November 2, 2010
UNESCO and the Regional Government of Flanders sign a Trust Fund Agreement for the support of UNESCO’s activities in the field of heritage.
On 2 November 2010, the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, and Kris Peeters, Minister - President of the Government of Flanders (Kingdom of ...

Thursday, October 28, 2010
Go4BioDiv International Youth Forum held for natural World Heritage sites
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 ...

Friday, October 22, 2010
World Heritage at the COP 10 in Nagoya, Japan
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 ...

Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Fire ravages heart of La Réunion National Park
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 ...

Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Information note on proposed highway in Serengeti National Park
The state of conservation of Serengeti National Park was examined at the 34th Session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia, in July ...

Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Youth from around the world concerned with biodiversity protection unites in Japan
In an effort to involve the young generation in the decision-making process and present their experience in biodiversity conservation, young adults ...

Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Director-General calls for cooperation regarding the preservation of the Old City of Jerusalem
On 14 October 2010, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova convened Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian experts for a 'brainstorming meeting' to ...

Tuesday, October 19, 2010
A 7000 € grant for a project awarded to a young person from the Mediterranean
You wish to undertake a project related to  Mediterranean cultures or art and crafts ?Are you a national from a Mediterranean country ?Born ...

Friday, October 8, 2010
Message from the Director of the World Heritage Centre on the toxic spill in Hungary
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 ...

Thursday, October 7, 2010
World Sky Race event is launched in Times Square, New York City
Promotion of the World Sky Race, an unprecedented race among skyships, blimps and zeppelins to begin in September 2011, was launched on two giant ...

Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Inauguration of the transboundary Wadden Sea World Heritage site
The German Minister of the Environment Hans-Heinrich Sander (Lower Saxony) and the Minister of Fishery Dr Juliane Rumpf (Schleswig-Holstein) received ...

Monday, October 4, 2010
International Youth Forum Go4BioDiv to be held in parallel to COP 10 for Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan
In an effort to involve young people in the decision-making process and present their experience in biodiversity conservation, young conservationists ...

Thursday, September 30, 2010
“Heritage and Development: diversity as an alternative”, publication of the proceedings
The proceedings of the special session "Heritage and Development: diversity as an alternative" held on 18 December 2009 in the framework of the ...

Thursday, September 30, 2010
UNESCO launches safeguarding project at New Gourna Village, part of Ancient Thebes World Heritage site
UNESCO, in cooperation with the Egyptian Ministry of Culture and the Governorate of Luxor, will organize the first Scientific Committee meeting on the ...

Friday, September 24, 2010
World Heritage Sites Around the World: Photo Exhibition by Tom Till
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 ...

Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Charter of commitment for the management of World Heritage sites in France signed by the Minister of Culture
On 20 September Mr Frédéric Mitterrand, Minister of Culture and Communication, Ms Chantal Jouanno, Secretary of State for Ecology and Mr ...

Tuesday, September 21, 2010
UNESCO and the Smithsonian sign a Memorandum of Understanding for cultural and natural heritage
On 17 September, UNESCO Assistant Director General for Culture Mr Francesco Bandarin signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with Ms ...