News

May 31, 1945 - May 5, 2018. Architect Augusto F. Villalon, one of Asia’s most renowned experts in heritage conservation, recently passed away in Manila, Philippines. During his long career, Arch. Augusto F. Villalon made an outstanding contribution to heritage conservation and to the World Heritage Convention in particular. A former President of ICOMOS Philippines, he was practically a lone ...

The “Warsaw Recommendation on Recovery and Reconstruction of Cultural Heritage” was developed at the ‘International conference on reconstruction: The challenges of World Heritage recovery’ held in Warsaw, Poland, from 6 to 8 May. The purpose of the international conference was to summarize previous discussions and experiences regarding the recovery and reconstruction of UNESCO World Heritage ...

This year’s World Migratory Bird Day is dedicated to the world’s major bird flyways—the flight paths of migratory birds that span continents and oceans. These flyways include World Heritage sites that are key stopover sites for birds, so the effective conservation of these sites are crucial for migratory bird conservation on a global scale. The three major flyways, shown below, contain ...

Today, for the third time, we celebrate African World Heritage Day. The Day was established to raise awareness of the immense potential of the African cultural and natural heritage. It also aims to alert the world to the vulnerability of this heritage: there are 21 African sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The preservation and enhancement of this heritage are essential factors ...

In keeping with UNESCO’s mandate to promote culture and education in Africa, the World Heritage Centre, in close collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund and the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa in Harare, organized a regional workshop entitled “World Heritage and Education Institutions in Africa” at the Great Zimbabwe, Masvingo (Zimbabwe) from 26 to 28 April 2018.  This ...

Barclays has announced their first public policy that will prevent the bank from financing projects in World Heritage sites and Ramsar Wetlands, following WWF’s call for the world’s banks to stop financing damaging activities in the planet’s most precious places.Despite being awarded the highest levels of protection by the United Nations, almost half of all natural and mixed World Heritage ...

Special Events in Host City St Petersburg The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador Herbie Hancock announced the programme for the 2018 edition of International Jazz Day, with events in Saint Petersburg (Russian Federation), a World Heritage site and this year’s Global Host City, and over 190 countries around the world. A series of educational and ...

Empowering the Commitment to World Heritage.  The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to publish the selected projects for the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Campaign 2018. What is the WHV Initiative? The WHV Initiative was launched in 2008 to encourage young people to undertake concrete actions and to play an active role in the protection, preservation and promotion of World Heritage ...

UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay and Shaikha Mai bint Mohammed Al Khalifa of Bahrain today signed an agreement recognizing the Kingdom of Bahrain as the host of the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee (Manama, Bahrain, 24 June - 4 July). This will be the second time that Bahrain hosts the World Heritage Committee since 2011 when Shaikha Mai Chaired the 35th session at UNESCO ...

#RevivetheSpiritofMosul, UNESCO flagship initiative. The United Arab Emirates, UNESCO and Iraq today signed a historic agreement whereby the Emirates will provide $50,4 million to contribute to the rebuilding of the cultural heritage of Mosul.  Audrey Azoulay, the Director-General of UNESCO, has welcomed the partnership. “This is a historic partnership, the largest and unprecedented ...

In recent years, big strides have been made toward protecting bigger shares of the ocean. According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), 6,97% of the ocean is now covered by marine protected areas. Yet many challenges remain. UNESCO’s World Heritage Marine Programme was invited to participate in the Monaco Blue Initiative to share and update on how the world’s ...

Rubbish and pollution are a problem at many World Heritage sites. Increased tourism means that more people are leaving trash at the world’s most iconic sites, so we need to learn to visit sites without leaving a trace behind. Marine pollution is also a problem at many World Heritage sites, where waste—including plastics—wash up on the beach. Birds, turtles and marine mammals get entangled in ...

18 April 2018 is the International Day for Monuments and Sites with the theme: Heritage for Generations. If our heritage is what we leave behind for future generations, we need to prepare young people to protect it—and the best way is through education. The World Heritage Education Programme gives young people around the world the chance to learn about their heritage, and to be a part of ...

UNESCO and World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) signed an agreement to cooperate by developing activities in order to raise awareness and mobilize young Scouts to participate in World Heritage conservation and promotion. As a main result of this agreement, WOSM produced the “World Scouting-UNESCO World Heritage Recognition Programme Guidelines” in collaboration with the UNESCO ...

Specially conceived for young people between the ages of 18 and 28, #MyAfricanheritage is an Instagram contest aiming to promote the exceptional cultural and natural heritage of the African continent. Each participant will post a photo of an African site inscribed on the World Heritage List along with a brief description of the site’s significance to the participant and his/her personal ...

The Geneva Declaration ‘Human Rights and Culture Heritage: Committed Cities Working Together’ was adopted in Geneva, Switzerland on 26 March 2018, marking the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Declaration aims to clarify cities’ obligations in the area of cultural heritage rehabilitation, particularly in relation to intentionally destroyed cultural heritage. ...

The Kenyan National Commission for UNESCO organized a three-day workshop from 26 to 28 March 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya in order to increase youth engagement in the conservation and promotion of World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage. As a State Party to three important UNESCO Conventions in the field of Culture, Kenya has made the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, ...

The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, today condemed the deadly attack perpetrated on 9 April against the staff of the Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, during which six guards and their driver lost their lives. “I condemn this deadly attack on six guards of the Virunga National Park and their driver. I call on the Democratic Republic of the Congo to take all the ...

The conservation of wetlands does not only contribute to the safeguarding of biodiversity, it can also support the safeguarding of their cultural and spiritual values. The workshop “The Cultural and Spiritual Significance of Wetlands Supporting the integration of nature and culture in their governance and management” organised by the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN) in ...

The International Meeting of experts on the Conservation and Revitalization of the Kasbah of Algiers, a World Heritage Site, organized by the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO jointly with the Algerian Ministry of Culture, took place from 20 to 23 January 2018 in Algiers, Algeria. It gathered 200 participants, including key actors of the conservation of the Kasbah of Algiers, international ...