Friday, December 21, 2007
Best Wishes from the World Heritage Centre
A turreted castle in the icescape of Antarctica evokes not just the sublime beauty of nature but also its impermanence. Preserving this fragile ...

Thursday, December 20, 2007
United Nations 62nd General Assembly proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy
On 20 December 2007, the United Nations 62nd General Assembly proclaimed 2009 the International Year of Astronomy. UNESCO was designated as the lead ...

Friday, December 7, 2007
Renewed fighting threatens mountain gorillas in Virunga National Park
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.  ...

Friday, December 7, 2007
UNESCO regrets U.K. government's decision to cancel A303 road improvement scheme for Stonehenge World Heritage property
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 ...

Friday, December 7, 2007
Brasilia celebrates 20th anniversary as World Heritage site
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 ...

Friday, December 7, 2007
Sundarbans World Heritage site devastated by cyclone, according to UNESCO experts who visited the site
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 ...

Monday, December 3, 2007
Final “Sharing our Heritages” (SOH) master class in France and Belgium
Over the past two years the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO has defined a strategy that aims to encourage universities worldwide to develop World ...

Friday, November 30, 2007
Djibouti ratifies the World Heritage Convention
On 30 August 2007, the Government of Djibouti officially deposited with the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, its instrument of ...

Monday, November 26, 2007
Inscription of Old Town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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 ...

Thursday, November 15, 2007
UNESCO regrets decision on construction of bridge that threatens delisting of Dresden Elbe Valley from World Heritage List
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 ...

Monday, November 5, 2007
Restored Venaria Reale Palace re-opens
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 ...

Monday, November 5, 2007
Anna Amalia Library re-opens after extensive restoration
The Anna Amalia Library, part of Germany's Classical Weimar World Heritage site, re-opened to the public on October 24 after extensive restoration ...

Monday, November 5, 2007
Award of five UNESCO-Vocations Patrimoine fellowships to meet new economic and safeguarding challenges of heritage
Five young heritage professionals from around the world received UNESCO-Vocations Patrimoine fellowships to pursue post graduate research at ...

Friday, October 26, 2007
Nine new members elected to World Heritage Committee
Nine new members have been elected to the 21-member World Heritage Committee in charge of implementing UNESCO's Convention Concerning the ...

Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Members elected to World Heritage Committee
The 16th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention elected 5 new members to the World Heritage Committee. The following ...

Wednesday, October 24, 2007
[in French only] 16e Assemblée générale des Etats parties à la Convention du Patrimoine mondial
[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 ...

Wednesday, October 17, 2007
UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2008 Now Available
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 ...

Thursday, October 4, 2007
Terrorist attacks damage Pakistan Buddha
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 ...

Thursday, October 4, 2007
International Melina Mercouri Prize awarded to Russian Federation's Borodino Battlefield
At a ceremony held today at UNESCO Headquarters Mrs Françoise Rivière, Assistant Director-General for Culture, gave the award for the International ...

Monday, October 1, 2007
[in French only] Newsletter n° 7 de la Convention France-UNESCO
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets :Turin, Italie: Réunion technique d'urgence sur le site du patrimoine mondial du ...

Friday, September 14, 2007
Donate online to support World Heritage conservation
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 ...

Friday, September 7, 2007
Tragic accident at Kilwa Kisiwani World Heritage site
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre sends its condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Ruzna Amli, a young Tanzanian woman from Songo Mnara, ...

Thursday, August 30, 2007
New Book on World Heritage Sites in the Philippines
Living Landscapes and Cultural Landmarks: World Heritage Sites in the Philippines by Augusto F. Villalon, Photographs by Neal M. Oshima, Publisher: ...

Thursday, August 23, 2007
UNESCO Mission rallies support for the preservation of the mountain gorillas of the DRC
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 ...

Tuesday, August 21, 2007
UNESCO joins United Nations effort in response to Peruvian earthquake
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre extends its deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by the powerful August 15 earthquake in Peru, which ...

Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Inscription of Lopé-Okanda site (Gabon) on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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 ...

Tuesday, August 14, 2007
"Journalisme et Patrimoine Mondial" just published
Heritage advocates often reproach journalists for not being sufficiently interested in their field and for being only able to speak about it in a ...

Tuesday, August 7, 2007
New Episodes of Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures available
Two new episodes, the fourth and fifth in the series Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures ,are now available. 4th: Ethiopia ...

Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Dubrovnik Saved from Wildfires
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 ...

Thursday, August 2, 2007
Winners of Patrimonito Storyboard Competition 2007 Announced
The winners of the most recent Patrimonito Storyboard Competition have been announced. The winning storyboard will be developed into the next ...

Thursday, August 2, 2007
Director-General voices concern over fate of Virunga National Park gorillas
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, is concerned over attacks perpetrated against the mountain gorillas of the Virunga National Park in ...

Friday, July 27, 2007
Virunga National Park: 4 more gorillas slaughtered
The death toll continues to rise in Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo), where three females and one male silverback gorilla were ...

Monday, July 9, 2007
UNESCO confirms that it is not involved in the "New 7 wonders of the world" campaign
In order to avoid any damaging confusion, UNESCO wishes to reaffirm that there is no link whatsoever between UNESCO's World Heritage programme, ...

Thursday, July 5, 2007
[in French only] Newsletter n° 6 de la Convention France-UNESCO
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets : Fleuve Niger et patrimoine : projet europeen Formation internationale à la gestion des ...

Friday, June 29, 2007
Twenty-two new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, and one deleted during Committee meeting in Christchurch
Christchurch, New Zealand, 29 June - The World Heritage Committee inscribed 22 new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List during its ongoing ...

Friday, June 29, 2007
Three new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
The World Heritage Committee today finalized this year's additions to UNESCO's World Heritage List with the inscription of three new sites: ...

Thursday, June 28, 2007
World Heritage Committee inscribes two natural, one mixed, and four cultural sites onto UNESCO’s World Heritage List
The World Heritage Committee today inscribed two natural sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List: Teide National Park (Spain); Primeval Beech Forests of ...

Thursday, June 28, 2007
World Heritage Committee approves Auschwitz name change
Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee has approved Poland's request to change the name of Auschwitz on UNESCO's World Heritage ...

Thursday, June 28, 2007
World Heritage Committee inscribes four new cultural sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
The World Heritage Committee on Thursday afternoon inscribed four cultural sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List: Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its ...

Thursday, June 28, 2007
Oman's Arabian Oryx Sanctuary : first site ever to be deleted from UNESCO's World Heritage List
Christchurch, New Zealand, 28 June - The World Heritage Committee on Thursday took the unprecedented decision of removing a site from UNESCO's ...

Thursday, June 28, 2007
Bosnian Bridge among five new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List this evening
Christchurch, New Zealand, 28 June - The World Heritage Committee on Thursday evening inscribed another five sites on UNESCO's World Heritage ...

Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Natural sites in Madagascar, China and Korea inscribed on UNESCO World Heritage List
Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee on Tuesday decided to inscribe the three new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List: the ...

Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Galápagos and Niokolo-Koba National Park inscribed on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger
Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee today inscribed the Galápagos (Ecuador), and Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal) on ...

Monday, June 25, 2007
Royal Palaces of Abomey and Kathmandu removed from Danger List
Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee has removed Royal Palaces of Abomey, Benin, and Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, from the List of ...

Monday, June 25, 2007
World Heritage Committee keeps Dresden on UNESCO World Heritage List but warns against bridge project
Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee on Monday decided to keep Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) on the List of World Heritage in ...

Sunday, June 24, 2007
Florida Everglades and Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve removed from Danger List
The World Heritage Committee has decided that improvements in the preservation of the Everglades National Park (Florida, USA) and Río Plátano ...

Saturday, June 23, 2007
World Heritage Committee opening in Christchurch
Christchurch, New Zealand, 23 June  - The Pacific region's traditional respect for both natural and cultural preservation was celebrated at the ...

Tuesday, June 19, 2007
UNESCO launches the re-erection project of the Aksum Obelisk
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre today signed the contract with Lattanzi SRL construction company to begin the re-erection of the Aksum obelisk. Also ...

Friday, June 8, 2007
Virunga National Park: Mountain gorillas remain target for armed groups
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 ...

Friday, June 8, 2007
Agreement to Eradicate Rabbits on Macquarie Island
The Australian and Tasmanian Governments have today reached an agreement to jointly fund the eradication of rodent pests on Macquarie Island, ...

Monday, June 4, 2007
Torrential landslide at the Kamchatka Volcanoes World Heritage Site
The World Heritage Centre expresses its deep concern after a torrential landslide of snow, mud, stones, trees and vegetation at the Geyser Valley in ...

Friday, June 1, 2007
Annual Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Award Winners Announced
The European Commission (DG EAC) and Europa Nostra, the pan-European Federation for Cultural Heritage, has announced the laureates of the annual ...

Friday, June 1, 2007
Committee to review 45 candidates for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List
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 ...

Thursday, May 31, 2007
‘Managing Rock Art World Heritage Sites’ Workshop Held
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 ...

Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Fire on Cutty Sark, of Maritime Greenwich World Heritage Site
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 ...

Tuesday, May 22, 2007
First Extraordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage
At its first session in Algiers (Algeria), November 2006, the Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage ...

Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Inauguration of a World Heritage Training and Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific Region in China
The Government of China will launch a World Heritage Training and Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific Region in China. The inauguration ...

Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Prince of Wales inaugurates World Heritage site of the Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape
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 ...

Friday, May 11, 2007
Director of World Heritage Centre Delivers 4th Dinos Leventis Memorial Lecture in Cyprus
Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, travelled to Nicosia, Cyprus, from May 8-10, 2007 to deliver the 4th Dinos ...

Thursday, May 3, 2007
“World Heritage Memory Net” is coming soon!
In November 2006, the World Heritage Centre signed a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Simmons College, Boston, Massachusetts, USA, to ...

Thursday, April 26, 2007
Director-General urges systematic measures to end poaching and killing of endangered animals in Democratic Republic of Congo World Heritage Sites
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, has written to Joseph Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and to ...

Friday, April 20, 2007
CAWHFI Steering Committee validates the annual action plan: Sustainable management of ecological landscapes and reinforced collaboration between stakeholders
The annual steering committee of the Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative (CAWHFI) took place in Libreville on March 21-22, 2007 under the ...

Thursday, April 19, 2007
UNESCO sends mission to assess the state of conservation of Machu Picchu World Heritage Site
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 ...

Monday, April 16, 2007
UNESCO Mission confirms threat to Galápagos Islands
A UNESCO mission has confirmed serious threats to the Galápagos National Park and Marine Reserve and welcomed ambitious measures announced by the ...

Thursday, April 12, 2007
UNESCO-IUCN Mission to Galápagos Islands World Heritage Site
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 ...

Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Rapid Response Facility for World Heritage Biodiversity Sites Exceeds Target
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 ...

Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Climate change threatens UNESCO World Heritage sites
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 ...

Tuesday, April 10, 2007
'World Heritage: Challenges for the Millennium' Published in French and English
Now available online. To download the pdf version, please click here. This 200-page publication provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of ...

Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Concern for the State of conservation of the Church of St. Cyril, located near Saint-Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, Ukraine
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 ...

Monday, March 19, 2007
Launch of New Cycle of UNESCO-VOCATIONS PATRIMOINE Co-Sponsored Fellowships for World Heritage Site Managers
World Heritage site managers and people intending to pursue a career in World Heritage site management are being invited to apply for Fellowships ...

Thursday, March 15, 2007
Old City of Jerusalem: Publication of UNESCO’s technical mission Report
"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 ...

Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Statement from the Chairman of the Executive Board on the activities under-way at the site of the Old City of Jerusalem
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 ...

Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Old City of Jerusalem: return of the technical mission’s experts
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, ...

Monday, March 5, 2007
[in French only] Newsletter n° 5 de la Convention France-UNESCO
[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 ...

Thursday, March 1, 2007
Royal Palaces of Abomey in Young African Hands
Equipped with shovels, wheelbarrows and water buckets, twelve girls and thirteen boys between the ages of 14 and 17, from eight different countries in ...

Friday, February 23, 2007
UNESCO to send technical mission to assess the situation concerning the work on the access to the al-Haram al-Sharif, Jerusalem
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, has decided to send a technical mission to the Old City of Jerusalem, inscribed on UNESCO's ...

Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Huge Settlement Unearthed Near Stonehenge World Heritage Site
Archaeologists at the University of Sheffield have unearthed a huge settlement at Durrington Walls, near Stonehenge, confirming that the Stonehenge ...

Monday, February 12, 2007
Publication on Eco-tourism in Central and South Asia Available
The project on the Development of Cultural and Ecotourism in the Mountainous Regions of Central and South Asia has just produced a publication ...

Friday, February 9, 2007
Director-General offers UNESCO’s assistance to repair fire damage at World Heritage City of Valparaiso
Koïchiro Matsuura, the Director-General of UNESCO today offered the Organization's assistance in repairing damage caused by the fire that ...

Thursday, February 8, 2007
The Director-General of UNESCO voices his alarm over the resumption of tensions in the Old City of Jerusalem
On Tuesday 8 February 2007, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, expressed his "deep concern over the work initiated by the Israeli ...

Thursday, February 1, 2007
'Management and Preservation of Historic Cities on World Heritage List' Conference Held in St Petersburg
The conference on "Management and Preservation of Historic Cities inscribed on the World Heritage List" is taking place in St ...

Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Concern for World Heritage site after British Coast Cargo Spill
The World Heritage Centre expresses its deep concern regarding the cargo spill off the British Coast. The MSC Napoli is grounded near Sidmouth's ...

Friday, January 19, 2007
Situation Worsens at Virunga National Park (DRC): Two Male Gorillas Killed
The situation continues to get worse at Virunga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo), where 2 male silverbacks have been killed.The ...