News

On 10 November 2015, World Heritage Centre Director Mechtild Rössler, and Panama Minister of Environment Mirei Endara, met for the first time since the establishment of the new government in Panama. The meeting focused on conservation issues in Coiba National Park and its Special Zone of Marine Protection and the forthcoming mission to the transboundary site (with Costa Rica) Talamanca ...

The meeting between Mechtild Rössler, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, and Ana Tostões on 10 November 2015 focused on conservation and documentation of Modern Heritage worldwide and allowed to strengthen the links between the World Heritage Centre and DOCOMOMO (International Committee for Documentation and Conservation of buildings, sites and neighborhoods of the modern ...

Today Mr Mamoun Abdulkarim, Director-General of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM, Syrian Arab Republic) met with UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova, Assistant Director-General for Culture Francesco Bandarin, and Director of the World Heritage Centre Mechtild Rössler, as well as experts in the field of heritage conservation. Discussions focused on the state of the art of cultural heritage in ...

Pacific Region Training on HUL in Shanghai (China) 14-17 December 2015 The 2015 WHITRAP Asia-Pacific Region Training on Historic Urban Landscaoe (HUL) aims to update professionals on the what, why and how of HUL with the latest developments in the field. Furthermore, through this training course, WHITRAP seeks to strengthen and expand the specialist network for HUL in this area of the world ...

On 22 October 2015, the UNESCO Regional Office in Dakar united 31 experts, site managers, advisory body and community representatives in Cabo Verde to update the national Tentative List of natural and cultural properties Cabo Verde is considering nominating for future UNESCO World Heritage inscription. A success story The first Cabo Verde’s Tentative List, submitted to the World Heritage ...

The World Heritage Centre (WHC) is pleased to announce the Call for Projects for the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Campaign 2016. In the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, the Initiative is led by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) in collaboration with the Co-ordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS), European Heritage Volunteers (as a ...

The Rapid Response Facility has made an emergency grant to Garamba National Park, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to help tackle the continuing elephant poaching crisis there. Over 215 elephants have been killed in the past 18 months, and the park’s elephant population is now estimated to have fallen to between 1,100-1,400 individuals. If the poaching continues unchecked, it could lead to ...

The Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture has published a positive strategic plan for the preservation of world’s heritage for the next ten years.  The publication entitled Our Common Heritage focuses mainly on the national strategy for heritage preservation, but encourages also the collaboration on Nordic and international levels, particularly with properties in the developing ...

On 1st November 2015, the Korean National Commission for UNESCO announced a donation of 100,000 USD to the World Heritage Fund. The announcement was made at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris by the Korean National Commission Secretary-General, Mr Dong-seok Min, in the presence of UNESCO Director-General, Ms Irina Bokova, and the Director of the World Heritage Centre, Ms Mechtild Rössler. The ...

Many different types of professionals respond to an unfolding crisis.This course provides strategies for interlocking culture specialists with humanitarian specialists during an emergency situation and aims to unify these sometimes conflicting perspectives. The course imparts practical skills and knowledge for taking simple measures to secure and stabilize endangered cultural heritage during ...