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Thursday, 15 December 2022
In December 2022, young scientists from the French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor (Institut polaire Paul-Émile Victor; IPEV) and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (Terres australes et antarctiques françaises; TAAF) participated in the UNESCO environmental DNA (eDNA) campaign on the Kerguelen Archipelago. This global campaign aims to improve knowledge and measure the effects of ...
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Wednesday, 14 December 2022
After launching the Patrimonito Storyboard Competition this summer, the World Heritage Centre received over 700 submissions from young people featuring solutions to the impacts of climate change on World Heritage sites. Climate change is the defining issue of our time and amongst the greatest threats facing cultural and natural heritage today. Involving the youth is essential to finding ...
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Monday, 12 December 2022
While countries start their last sprint for this decade’s UN biodiversity targets (COP15), UNESCO and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sign a new four-year (2022-2025) Programme Cooperation Agreement. Norway’s support of NOK 25 million to the World Heritage Fund makes a significant contribution to safeguarding of the unique biodiversity and rich cultural heritage of ...
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Thursday, 8 December 2022
On the Occasion of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15), UNESCO has issued new guidance for the corporate sector to ensure that their operations do not put World Heritage at risk.  play_arrow “This guidance is based on over two decades of collaboration with the corporate sector. During this time, companies have really stepped up their support to UNESCO World Heritage sites ...
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Thursday, 8 December 2022
Artist Mikaela Steby Stenfalk won Gävleborg, Sweden's fourth World Heritage Scholarship and residence with her project "Dialogue between two interiors". Fifty-two applications from 20 countried were received. The World Heritage Scholarship is intended for professional cultural creators and people who work with, research or have another connection to World Heritage. The scholarship is linked ...
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Tuesday, 6 December 2022
On 9 and 10 November 2022, local youth aged 6 to 12 years at Brazilian Atlantic Islands: Fernando de Noronha and Atol das Rocas Reserves World Heritage site joined the UNESCO environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling campaign as part of a global effort to better understand how climate change is affecting marine biodiversity.Amidst sea turtle and dolphin sightings, local children collected water ...
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Tuesday, 6 December 2022
Early morning of 6 December 2022, Costa Rican Park rangers & volunteers sailed out to Cocos Island National Park to filter environmental DNA (eDNA) from the water. The local sampling is part of the global eDNA expeditions initiative that UNESCO currently conducts across 25 marine World Heritage sites to better understand ocean biodiversity and the effects of climate change ...
access_time 3 min read
Wednesday, 30 November 2022
On 29 November 2022, the Kingdom of Morocco, represented by H.E. Mohammed Mehdi Bensaid, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, and Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, signed a framework agreement for the protection of African heritage, which will contribute to the implementation of activities for fostering cultural heritage safeguarding and capacity building, in the framework ...
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Tuesday, 29 November 2022
In collaboration with UNESCO and supported by BMZ and GIZ, a ‘cash for work’ scheme has been launched by the Agency for Protected Areas in Georgia and the Development Fund of Protected Areas of Georgia (DFPA) in the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands World Heritage property. 20 youth have been recruited as part of the project, and are receiving on the job training in visitor management and ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 29 November 2022
After fifteen years of grassroots youth activities and international cooperation, and on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Initiative meet the challenge of ‘The Next 50’ years to involve young people, communities and site managers in building together new, inclusive societies where World Heritage is a source of ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 28 November 2022
From 21 to 26 September 2022, nearly 100 youth from local schools collected environmental DNA (eDNA) samples across the Wadden Sea World Heritage area as part of a global UNESCO initiative to better understand how climate change is affecting marine biodiversity. Ocean species shed DNA into the water around them in the form of genetic material from waste, mucus or cells. Just one liter of ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 23 November 2022
“The Global Research and Action Agenda on Culture, Heritage, and Climate Change: Scientific Outcome of the International Co-Sponsored Meeting on Culture, Heritage, and Climate Change”, the result of collaboration between UNESCO and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), co-sponsored by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is now available online. This ...
access_time 4 min read
Wednesday, 23 November 2022
In order to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the UNESCO Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, known as the 1972 Convention, the UNESCO Cluster Office in San José collaborated with the National Museum of Costa Rica in the framework of a World Heritage Festival, which took place on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 November at the headquarters ...
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Tuesday, 15 November 2022
The Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting started in Europe and North America with a two-day online event (20-21 October) that brought together the national focal points for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the region. In this year of the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention that UNESCO has chosen to celebrate under the theme ‘World Heritage as a source of ...
access_time 2 min read
Friday, 4 November 2022
UNESCO World Heritage sites demonstrate the impacts of climate change on cultural heritage and are important resources for traditional knowledge and practices and lead the way for heritage-based solutions and strategies. UNESCO is at the forefront of collecting data and evidence concerning climate change's impact on culture. Through the World Heritage Canopy platform, heritage-based solutions ...
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Friday, 4 November 2022
This expert mission is part of the collaboration offered by the Director-General of UNESCO during her official visit to the World Heritage site "Historic District of the Port City of Valparaíso", which took place in May 2022. The objective is to provide the Chilean Government and the Municipal Corporation for the Administration of the World Heritage Site with technical advice to help guide ...
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Thursday, 3 November 2022
New UNESCO data highlight the accelerated melting of glaciers in World Heritage sites, with glaciers in a third of sites set to disappear by 2050. But it is still possible to save the other two thirds, if the rise in global temperatures does not exceed 1.5°C compared to the pre-industrial period. This will be a major challenge for COP27. play_arrow play_arrow Watch 50 UNESCO World ...
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Tuesday, 1 November 2022
From 19 to 25 October 2022, the Monaco Explorations mission conducted a series of scientific operations around Aldabra Atoll (Seychelles) with the aim of better understanding and protecting the coral reefs of this UNESCO World Marine Heritage site and promoting youth involvement. On this occasion, H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco visited Aldabra Atoll on 24 and 25 October. The site was one ...
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Monday, 31 October 2022
The 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation) is a perfect herald for the theme of the 2022 World Cities Day, “Act local to go global”. The HUL Recommendation provides a global approach based on shared principles and tools that supports historic cities in developing sustainable urban models adapted to local conditions. In line with this vision, the World ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 26 October 2022
Gathered in Yaoundé (Cameroon) at the invitation of the Government of Cameroon, the ministers and experts in charge of World Heritage from eight countries in Central Africa (Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and Sao Tomé and Principe) called on UNESCO and its partners, including the African World Heritage Fund, to support them in ...
access_time 3 min read
Monday, 24 October 2022
Following the visit of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Antonio Guterres to the World Heritage site of Moenjodaro on 8 September 2022, two experts designated by UNESCO jointly with the national authorities will start their emergency missions to Archaeological Ruins of Moenjodaro and to Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta, two World Heritage properties in Pakistan which have ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 21 October 2022
UNESCO and the Development Fund of Protected Areas (DFPA) of Georgia have signed an agreement to support sustainable tourism and heritage conservation activities in Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands (Georgia) World Heritage site. The partnership between UNESCO and DFPA, worth around US$ 150 000, will support Georgia’s sustainable tourism recovery through enhancing visitor management and ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 11 October 2022
President Zelensky made official the candidacy of the historic centre of Odesa for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in a speech to the Organization’s Executive Board on Tuesday afternoon. Receiving the application, Audrey Azoulay, the Organization’s Director-General, stressed that “this initiative marks confidence in UNESCO's protection mechanisms.” President Zelensky made the ...
access_time 3 min read
Thursday, 29 September 2022
On 29 and 30 September 2022, UNESCO organised the second online meeting for UNESCO’s Dive into Heritage project, with the support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. UNESCO is currently developing the “Dive into Heritage” platform, an online tool to make World Heritage and its related intangible heritage more accessible to the general public through digital data. During its pilot phase the ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 27 September 2022
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of 1972 World Heritage Convention, UNESCO is exhibiting a collection of images of World Heritage sites. More than one hundred outstanding photographs are displayed around the UNESCO gates, offering a unique panorama of the diversity of the World Heritage sites. A selection of works by the photographer Yan Bighetti de Flogny, retracing his journey of ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 23 September 2022
World Heritage City Lab: concluding the 10th Anniversary of the UNESCO HUL Recommendation in Córdoba On 12, 13 and 14 September 2022, the World Heritage City Lab concluded the 10th Anniversary of the UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation) celebrations in Córdoba, Spain. This concluding event was organised by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, World ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 21 September 2022
50 Years of UNESCO World Heritage in partnership with National Geographic For 50 years now, UNESCO World Heritage has been a source of resilience, humanity and innovation. Through 30 splendid photographs, accompany us on a virtual world tour, focused on the future and youth.  Temporal Illusion, Pyramids of Giza, UNESCO World Heritage, Cairo, Egypt, 2018​ Memphis and its ...
access_time 7 min read
Wednesday, 21 September 2022
As foreseen by the World Heritage Convention in its Article 29, Periodic Reporting is a global conservation monitoring mechanism that aims to give the key stakeholders of World Heritage properties, i.e. World Heritage site managers and focal points responsible for the implementation of the Convention at national level, an opportunity to reflect on the implementation of the World Heritage ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 7 September 2022
From 19-20 July 2022, a two-day workshop on “Sustainable Tourism Strategy for World Heritage Properties in Suriname” was organized which brought together representatives of government institutions, World Heritage site managers, and representatives of local communities to identify current challenges and opportunities for the development of sustainable tourism at UNESCO-designated sites. The ...
access_time 3 min read
Thursday, 1 September 2022
UNESCO expresses its deep regret at the passing of Ms. Corinne Forest, who passed away in France on Wednesday, August 24, 2022. Ms. Forest was the Head of the Technical Unit at the Aapravasi Ghat, Mauritius (World Heritage property, inscribed in 2006), a museologist by training and an ardent defender of World Heritage. "Corinne Forest was a remarkable professional, with a sharp mind and ...
access_time 1 min read
Wednesday, 24 August 2022
A training workshop was organized in Cairo, Egypt, to strengthen the capacities of heritage site managers and for those developing projects in and around heritage sites to train them in applying Impact Assessments in a World Heritage context. Impact assessments is an important tool to find the best possible solutions to meet both conservation priorities and development needs in the framework ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 23 August 2022
In January 2005, Sierra Leone became a State party to the 1972 Convention and identified, in 2012, in its first Tentative List the sites that could potentially be proposed for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. This year, in January 2022, this Tentative List was updated to include Gola-Tiwai complex as the potential site for the country’s first nomination dossier. Being among the ...
access_time 3 min read
Tuesday, 23 August 2022
On the night of 22 to 23 August 1791, in Saint Domingue, today the Republic of Haiti, saw the beginning of the uprising that would play a crucial role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. It is against this background that the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is commemorated on 23 August each year. It was first celebrated in a number of ...
access_time 1 min read
Friday, 12 August 2022
The Historic Cairo was Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1979. Tucked away amid the modern urban area of Cairo lies one of the world's oldest Islamic cities, with its famous mosques, madrasas, hammams and fountains. It is also the place of origin for many expressions of craftsmanship, showing the synergies between the 1972 World Heritage Convention and the 2003 Convention for the ...
access_time 2 min read
Thursday, 11 August 2022
On 13 July 2022, experts in coral bleaching preparedness and local management teams from UNESCO World Heritage coral reefs met online to share best practices to recognize bleaching alerts and rapidly deploy monitoring and evaluation measures during such events. Coral reefs have been increasingly exposed to heat stress in recent years due to rising temperatures that result from climate ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 9 August 2022
By resolution 49/214 of 23 December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly decided that the International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples shall be observed on 9 August every year. The date marks the day of the first meeting, in 1982, of the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights. In 1990, the UN General ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 2 August 2022
WHITRAP Secretariat General launches the 2nd edition of the Awards for World Heritage Education Innovative Cases on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. The objective is to build an international exchange platform focusing on innovative World Heritage Education case studies, and to provide action guidelines and references for practitioners of World Heritage ...
Friday, 29 July 2022
UNESCO and the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee have issued new guidance for assessing impacts from projects that could potentially affect the planet’s most precious heritage places. Designed specifically for heritage management institutions, governments and project developers, it aims to help find the best possible solutions to meet both conservation priorities and development ...
access_time 4 min read
Friday, 29 July 2022
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to launch the 2022 edition of the Patrimonito Storyboard Competition. This competition aims to provide young people with an opportunity to use their creative and problem-solving skills to raise awareness about World Heritage sites. The World Heritage Education Programme is welcoming secondary school pupils and youth to create storyboards on the ...
access_time 1 min read
Tuesday, 26 July 2022
From the intertwining roots to the tips of the branches, in a complex habitat, many species come to feed and reproduce, forming together one of the most flourishing ecosystems in existence. And we humans depend on these environments that slow down coastal erosion and are a source of food for many. This is probably why the Colombian poet Tomas Gonzalez made it the symbol of his poetry ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 19 July 2022
In June 2022, the Resilient Reefs Initiative was launched in Palau with the appointment of its first Chief Resilience Officer and Resilience Advisor. The Chief Resilience Officer will be tasked with bringing local communities, businesses, NGOs, and tourism operators together in an effort to build an inclusive resilience strategy for this globally outstanding World Heritage coral reef. The ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 18 July 2022
Dr Michael Jansen was a scholar and professor in conservation engineering, and the Managing Director of the German University of Technology | GUtech · Urban Planning and Architectural Design in Oman. "We pay tribute to the memory of Michael Jansen and for the immense contribution he made to safeguarding heritage of many countries. He has been involved for decades as expert in heritage ...
access_time 1 min read
Monday, 18 July 2022
With the support of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia a first online workshop on the future UNESCO’s Dive into Heritage platform entitled “Expert Workshop on the Dive into Heritage platform’s scientific content” was organised by UNESCO on the 12th and 13th of July 2022. UNESCO is working on the creation of a new web tool “Dive into Heritage,” a comprehensive platform that will host digital data of ...
access_time 2 min read
Friday, 15 July 2022
On 27 -28 June 2022, UNESCO's World Heritage Centre organized an experts meeting on Modern Heritage of Africa and the 1972 World Heritage Convention, with the aim to integrate the modern heritage concept into World Heritage in the African context and provide a new conceptual understanding from an African perspective. It builds upon the work already done in the Centre regarding Modern Heritage ...
access_time 3 min read
Wednesday, 6 July 2022
With support from the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust, a hybrid-format Stakeholder Consultation Dialogue “Towards Developing Sustainable Livelihoods in the East Rennell World Heritage Site” was co-organised by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development and UNESCO in Honiara on 31 May 2022. Building on community meetings organised in East Rennell between 28 April and 1 May ...
access_time 2 min read
Monday, 4 July 2022
On 4 July 2022, the Scientific Advisory Board of the environmental DNA initiative convened for the first time, sharing crucial recommendations as UNESCO prepares the global roll-out of the citizen science initiative. The project “Environmental DNA Expeditions in UNESCO World Heritage Marine Sites” is guided by an international Scientific Advisory Board that brings together some of the ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 29 June 2022
A series of online workshops were organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) in collaboration with ICOMOS to support Iraq in its efforts towards the conservation of World Heritage properties, particularly those inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Within the framework of the UNESCO/Netherlands Funds-in-Trust project for 'Strengthening capacities in state of ...
access_time 2 min read
Wednesday, 29 June 2022
UNESCO Member States are invited to complete the survey to report on their implementation of the 2011 Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL Recommendation) based on an assessment of the situation for the period 2019-2022.  In 2022, the survey contains two sections: Section A, concerning the implementation of the HUL Recommendation at national level, and Section B, concerning the ...
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Tuesday, 28 June 2022
UNESCO is working in close collaboration with the Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training of Madagascar (METFP) for the creation of green jobs to tackle youth unemployment and strengthen the protection of Rainforests of the Atsinanana, UNESCO World Natural Heritage site. Located in the south-east of Madagascar, Andohahela straddles Fort-Dauphin and Amboasary Sud in Anosy ...
access_time 2 min read
Tuesday, 28 June 2022
On 28 June 2022, the UNESCO eDNA initiative was featured at the United Nations Oceans Conference in Lisbon (Portugal), during a side event which showcased ambitious science-based initiatives that inform policy. Environmental DNA (eDNA) has the potential to revolutionize marine biodiversity assessments. This could save marine World Heritage site managers' precious time and resources, while at ...
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Friday, 24 June 2022
According to a new count, 152 cultural sites in Ukraine have been partially or totally destroyed since the beginning of the war. UNESCO reiterates its call to respect international law, and continues its actions in support of cultural professionals in the field. On Thursday, UNESCO published an updated assessment of the damage caused to cultural sites in Ukraine since 24 February 2022, when ...
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Thursday, 23 June 2022
In the last 12 months, 145 cities, institutions and individuals have signed up to the HUL Call for Action to raise awareness about the 2011 UNESCO Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) and to accelerate inclusive urban and heritage management. Responses came from 59 countries from all regions of the world. They included stakeholders from academia, cultural institutions, the ...
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Thursday, 23 June 2022
Equinor, one of the leading energy companies and an important player in the oil and gas sector and the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), a leading standard-setting organization for the jewellery and watch industry, have confirmed their commitments to safeguard World Heritage sites. With an aim to preserve biodiversity and sensitive areas, and to reverse nature loss by 2030, Equinor ...
access_time 3 min read