
Angkor: Managing Success
Friday, 20 December 2013
Two World Heritage sites in Azerbaijan and three in Belgium have been given "enhanced protection" status by the Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, which held its eighth meeting at UNESCO Headquarters from 18-19 December 2013. The properties, which have been granted this status, are the Walled City of Baku with the Shirvanshah’s Palace and ...

Happy New Year from the UNESCO World Heritage Centre
Friday, 20 December 2013
The proceedings of the International Colloquium on the conservation of World Heritage Earthen Architecture have been published in the latest edition of the UNESCO World Heritage Paper Series: Earthen Architecture in Today’s World, thanks to the generous support of the Italian Funds in Trust to UNESCO.
The Colloquium took place at UNESCO Headquarters on 17 and 18 December 2012 - the ...

A cultural centre and museum to be built at the Bamiyan World Heritage Site
Tuesday, 17 December 2013

UNESCO expert mission assesses recovery measures after Philippines disasters
Monday, 16 December 2013

Panasonic World Heritage 2014 Calendar in paper, online and tablet PC app formats now available
Thursday, 12 December 2013

28 students from 11 countries recognized at UNESCO for their work on preserving the environment
Wednesday, 11 December 2013

Nelson Mandela “a giant among men” says Director-General
Friday, 6 December 2013

Download the new World Heritage magazine app – free for a limited time!
Thursday, 5 December 2013

"Benefits Beyond Boundaries" published in French, Korean
Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Mobilizing living heritage for sustainable development
Monday, 2 December 2013

World Heritage Volunteers 2014 - Action for Sustainability
Monday, 2 December 2013

Heritage protection efforts underway after natural disasters in Philippines
Monday, 2 December 2013

Cocos Island National Park receives exceptional donation from Jaeger-LeCoultre
Friday, 29 November 2013
UNESCO strengthens cooperation with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
Tuesday, 26 November 2013

Twelve new members elected to World Heritage Committee
Wednesday, 20 November 2013

40th anniversary: Proceedings of the Closing Event published
Monday, 18 November 2013

'Managing Cultural World Heritage' reference manual published
Saturday, 16 November 2013

New database : State of Conservation of World Heritage properties
Saturday, 16 November 2013

Free app download for one day only: Atlas by Collins, including all World Heritage sites
Monday, 28 October 2013

UNESCO provides cultural heritage training to UN personnel in Mali
Monday, 21 October 2013

Managing Marine World Heritage: Our Crown Jewels of the Ocean
Thursday, 17 October 2013

UNESCO Director-General deplores suicide attack near Djingareyber Mosque in Timbuktu
Monday, 30 September 2013

Emergency Red List of Syrian Antiquities at Risk is launched in New York
Monday, 30 September 2013

Lumbini, Birthplace of Buddha: new book of photographs
Monday, 23 September 2013
Conclusions of the 3rd and 4th HERITY International Conferences
Tuesday, 10 September 2013

“Stop the destruction!” urges UNESCO Director-General
Friday, 30 August 2013

In Memoriam: Professor Walter Santagata
Monday, 19 August 2013

Cahokia Mounds welcomes 10 millionth visitor since it became a World Heritage site
Monday, 19 August 2013
On 10 November 2011 UNESCO’s General Conference adopted the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, six years after the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention adopted Resolution 15GA/7 (in October 2005) that called for the elaboration of a new international standard-setting instrument that would be based on the recognition and guidance of investment in and ...
The Val de Loire World Heritage cultural landscape (France) is organizing a one-day workshop on Economy, Heritage and Landscape, to be held 12th December 2013 in Tours.
The workshop will focus mainly on policies and politics, and assessing the economic, environmental and cultural current and future returns on investments in the economic, landscape and heritage spheres. Discussions ...
New report on lessons learned to engage local communities in the Conservation of World Heritage sites launched during the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee
The role of local communities in ensuring that World Heritage contributes to sustainable development was chosen by the World Heritage Committee as the central theme for the celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Convention ...

Africa Nature risk preparedness workshop held in South Africa
Tuesday, 6 August 2013

Wildlife crime is robbing the future of Africa - Jeune Afrique
Tuesday, 30 July 2013
For the first time, the Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems brought together all the local communities actively involved in the management of this exceptional marine World Heritage site from 5 to 6 July. The local management committees are unique in their endeavor to include the local population in the management of the lagoons in a very comprehensive ...
H.E. Gürcan Balik, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Turkey to UNESCO, and Kishore Rao, Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, on 17 July signed a Plan of Operations for a $1.2 million project to safeguard the Turkish World Heritage site of Göreme National Park and the Rock Sites of Cappadocia. H. E. Mr Isao Kiso, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Japan was also ...
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has expressed deep shock at news of further destruction to cultural heritage in Syria, and particularly following the publication of media reports and images depicting damage to the Crac des Chevaliers, one of Syria’s World Heritage sites. These two castles are outstanding examples of the region’s fortified architecture developed ...

Workshop on management and valorization of paleo-metallurgical sites
Monday, 15 July 2013

"Rivers and heritage" UNESCO Chair created
Monday, 15 July 2013
New excavations within the Maya Devi Temple of Buddha’s birthplace in Lumbini, Nepal, have revealed evidence of a series of shrines extending the history of the site to a much earlier date than previously known.
Until now, the earliest Buddhist temples have been attributed to Emperor Ashoka, who in the 3rd century BC spread Buddhism across the region, as evidenced by his Pillar and ...
Some 500 of the 1400 participants of the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee made the journey from Phnom Penh to Siam Reap and visited the Terrace of the Elephants at Angkor Thom ahead of the closing ceremony of the event.
The stone elephants that flank the impressive platform built some eight centuries ago by Angkor's King Jayavarman VII for public ceremonies were surrounded by ...
Two new sites and one extension to a Polish site were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on Sunday afternoon, bringing to 19 the total number of sites added to the List during the 37th session taking place in Phnom Penh.
The latest inscriptions are:
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, (Germany)
Descending a long hill dominated by a giant statue of Hercules, the monumental water ...
After 16 years of excavation and restoration work, a group of tower temples and monuments belonging to the My Son Sanctuary, once the religious and political capital of the Champa Kingdom, were inaugurated by the Director-General with Vietnamese authorities and the Ambassador of Italy to Viet Nam on 22 June.
Under steady rainfall, dancers and musicians lined the path leading through lush ...
The World Heritage Committee inscribed the following three sites on Sunday morning:
Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora (Ukraine).
The site features the remains of a city founded by Dorian Greeks in the 5th century BC on the northern shores of the Black Sea. It encompasses six component sites with urban remains and agricultural lands divided into several hundreds of chora, ...
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed a site of rice terraces in Yunnan (China) and an extension to the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park which is now known as the mixed cultural and natural Maloti Drakensberg Tranboundary World Heritage Site (Lesotho and South Africa).
Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China
The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China covers ...
Qatar and Fiji had their first World Heritage sites inscribed during the afternoon session of the World Heritage Committee on Saturday, as the intergovernmental body added six properties to UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Fujisan, Sacred Place and Source of Artistic Inspiration (Japan)
The beauty of the solitary, often snow-capped, stratovolcano, known around the world as Mount Fuji, ...
China’s Xinjiang Tianshan and Namib Sand Sea (Namibia) were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on Friday. Mount Kenya-Lewa Wildlife conservancy (Kenya), was also inscribed as an extension to Mount Kenya Natural Park / Natural Forest.
Xinjiang Tianshan (China)
Xinjiang Tianshan (China) comprises four components—Tomur, Kalajun-Kuerdening, Bayinbukuke and ...
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed natural sites from Tajikistan, Italy, and Mexico on the World Heritage List.
Tajikistan National Park (Mountains of the Pamirs) (Tajikistan)
Tajikistan National Park (Tajikistan) covers more than 2.5 million hectares in the east of the country, at the centre of the so-called “Pamir Knot”, a meeting point of the highest mountain ranges ...
The World Heritage Committee today inscribed two new cultural World Heritage sites, one in India and the other astride the border of Poland and Ukraine.
Hill Forts of Rajasthan (India)
The serial site, situated in the state of Rajastahan, includes six majestic forts in Chittorgarh; Kumbhalgarh; Sawai Madhopur; Jhalawar; Jaipur, and Jaisalmer. The ecclectic architecture of the forts, some up ...

Syria’s Six World Heritage sites placed on List of World Heritage in Danger
Thursday, 20 June 2013
The World Heritage Youth Forum, Cambodia 2013 was held at the site of Angkor, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 8 to 16 June 2013, in conjunction with the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee. The event gathered 36 youth representatives from 16 countries, including 20 from Cambodia.
The World Heritage Youth Forum aimed at raising awareness among young people about the ...
New opportunity for training in risk management at World Heritage sites
Wednesday, 19 June 2013

UNESCO and Panasonic renew strategic partnership agreement
Tuesday, 18 June 2013

World Heritage Committee inscribes East Rennell on the List of World Heritage in Danger
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
On 16 June, during her official visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, met with His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni, who underscored the "strong ties which unite the Kingdom of Cambodia and UNESCO".
"I will always stand at the side of UNESCO to uphold its values," declared the King, voicing his pride and privilege to host the 37th session of the World ...
On 17 June 2013, in the context of the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Director-General, Irina Bokova, took part in the Round Table of African Ministers, organized by UNESCO and the African World Heritage Fund and attended by over 100 participants.
Ministers from Namibia, Tanzania, Chad, Mali, Kenya, Cape Verde, and Cameroun discussed the situation ...
The World Heritage Committee has decided that improvements in the management and conservation of the World Heritage site of Bam and its Cultural Landscape, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, meant the property could be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Bam was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004, shortly after it was struck by a major earthquake. Damage caused by the ...

African ministers concerned by the region’s World Heritage sites
Monday, 17 June 2013
The 37th session of the World Heritage Committee is now underway in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from 16 to 27 June 2013.
Media contacts: Roni Amelan +33 (0)1 45 68 17 64 and, during the Committee meeting: +33 (0)6 31 54 30 36Photo: A photo gallery with pictures that can be used for editorial purposes (with mention of copyright) will be available here: www.unesco.org/new/whc-photosVideo: ...
Solemn appeals for the preservation of the heritage of humanity and colourful cultural performances marked the opening of the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh on 16 June.
The opening ceremony was marked by the moving return to Cambodia of two major art treasures of the 10th century by Emily K. Rafferty, President of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art ...
From 23 to 26 April 2013, 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 watch inspired by the Memovox Deep Sea of 1959: Prototype N° 1 of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph ...

Enter a "competwition" to win a copy of Benefits Beyond Borders (UK only)
Friday, 14 June 2013

Historic Urban Landscape approach explained
Friday, 14 June 2013

World Heritage Candidates announced for 2013 Business Planning Programme
Tuesday, 11 June 2013

UNESCO expert mission evaluates damage to Mali’s cultural heritage
Sunday, 9 June 2013

World Heritage celebrates World Oceans Day!
Friday, 7 June 2013
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has published a brochure reporting the events and activities carried out in 2012 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. This colorful, illustrated publication provides a record of the various initiatives that the World Heritage community undertook at the international, national and local levels-- more than 120 events in 48 ...
The World Heritage Committee will consider the inscription of 32 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during its next session, from 16 to 27 June in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Cambodia).
Media wishing to attend the meeting must register online. The Committee’s debates, chaired by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, will also be webcast. A press conference with the ...

UN On-line Volunteers and World Heritage
Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Protecting Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park from Shipping Threats
Monday, 3 June 2013
In the wake of alarming media reports on damage to several historic and religious sites in various regions of Syria, I wish to express my grave concern for the safety of Syria’s cultural heritage. I call upon the perpetrators to cease the destruction immediately and demonstrate respect for the beliefs and traditions of all Syrians.
I also strongly urge all the parties to the conflict ...
Most people know Bamiyan as the site where giant statutes of the Buddha were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001. But it is the location of other important archaeological sites too, such as Shahr-i-Zohak (Red City), an impressive mass of ruins that was once the fortress protecting the entrance to Bamiyan in the 12th and 13th centuries. Now this site will be restored and conserved as part of a ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park Hosts World Heritage Fellow
Monday, 27 May 2013
The Nordic World Heritage Fund (NWHF) and the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research in the Asia and the Pacific Region (WHITR-AP), have signed a cooperation agreement as an extension of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2009. Ms Anne-Kristin Endresen, Director of NWHF, and Mr Jian Zhou, Director of WHITR-AP, represented their organizations. NWHF and WHITR-AP are centres that ...
Following certain media announcements reporting on the cancellation of the UNESCO Mission to the Old City of Jerusalem, Director-General Irina Bokova wishes to underscore that contrary to such information, consultations are being pursued by the Government of Israel, and the Palestinian and Jordanian authorities with a view to finalizing the terms of the mission and determining its date.
On the 3rd of May, the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) received a request for emergency support in confronting a surge of rosewood poaching in Dong Phayayen Kao Yai Forest Complex World Heritage site. The petitioners/advocates explained that poaching was becoming more organized and had for the first time turned deadly. On March 14th, 33 year-old Thaweesak Chomyong, a park ranger, ...

Two New Episodes of Patrimonito’s World Heritage Adventures Available Online
Tuesday, 7 May 2013
