This publication provides a retrospective of the first 10 years of the World Heritage Volunteers Initiative, to increase its visibility and sustainability and support the organizations committed to its values. From ...
Wadi Al-Hitan – also known as Whale Valley – is located in the Western Desert of Egypt. It is an ‘open-air museum’ of invaluable fossil remains of the earliest, and now extinct, suborder of whales (Archaeoceti), as ...
George Town and Melaka were jointly inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2008 due to their shared rich multi-cultural trading heritage. However, they have also been subject to criticism and a feeling of ...
Vigan is an exceptionally intact and well-preserved example of a European trading town in East and South-East Asia. The architecture of the city reflects its historic roots and rich culture in both materials and ...
Ichkeul National Park is characterized by a very specific hydrological functioning system, based on seasonal alternation of water levels and salinity. The lake and surrounding marshes constitute a stopover for ...
The World Heritage Status Report showed that 41% of visitors to Edinburgh are aware that it is a World Heritage site, and 17% of all visitors think that Edinburgh’s World Heritage status influenced their choice. ...
Røros Mining Town and the Circumference is linked to the copper mines, established in the 17th century, which were used for 333 years until 1977. The site includes the Town and its industrial-rural cultural ...
Guide 2 Case Study: Angkor and The Tourism Development Strategic Plan 2012–2020 © Toolkit About the Sustainable Tourism Toolkit How to use this guide? Our Objective Resource ...
Avebury stone circle or ‘henge’ lies at the centre of half the Stonehenge, Avebury, and Associated Sites inscribed as World Heritage. It is the sister-site to the perhaps more widely recognizable monument: ...
Coral reefs around the world are threatened both by natural and anthropogenic factors, with tourism having an important role in the latter. Direct impacts in coral reefs are related with badly managed tourism ...
In was back in 1922 when the Chief Inspectorate of Ancient Monuments and Buildings (Riksantikvaren) first understood the potential value of Røros Mining Town heritage. At that time, a recommendation of protection ...
The Cornwall and West Devon mining landscape was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2006 comprised of 10 different mining landscapes across the area. As the largest World Heritage site in the United Kingdom, ...
Røros Mining Town and the Circumference is a clear case of a cultural landscape sustained by traditional socio-economic systems. In 2009 there were 21 active farms within the property and a number of redundant farms ...
The Land of Frankincense (LoF) World Heritage site is composed of four archaeological sites related to the antique trade of Frankincense and other luxury items across the Dhofar province of Oman: Shisr (sometimes ...
The aim of this Resource Manual (Second Edition 2011) is to help States Parties to achieve good quality World Heritage nominations.
UNESCO World Heritage Forests © David Geldhof / Yosemite National Park Forests are some of the most biodiversity-rich habitats on Earth. They play a crucial role in climate regulation by ...
UNESCO launches “50 Minds for The Next 50” to convene fifty leading, innovative, bold, respected thinkers of our times from diverse disciplines for the most interdisciplinary discussion on World Heritage ever to be ...
The UNESCO Japan Funds-in-Trust (Japan-FIT) project “Support for Documentation Standards and Procedures of the Silk Roads World Heritage Serial and Transnational Nomination in Central Asia (Phase I)” (Feb 2011 – ...
On the 25th Anniversary of the site's inscription on the World Heritage List, new tours aim to open the World Heritage site to everyone, including citizens with special needs. By partnering with relevant community ...
A pilot project to enhance public spaces using participatory processes helped to identify key lessons which can be later applied to other areas and cities.
Published in 2021, a new edition of the 1999 reference publication “Asante Traditional Buildings” updates and expands this important record of their outstanding architecture, making it once again available for the ...
A new, unified buffer zone and a management plan aim to preserve the Outstanding Universal Value of the World Heritage site “Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” and ...
Along with the nomination process of the Historic City of Vigan as a World Heritage site in 1999, the local government developed an ambitious conservation and management plan for the site. By implementing this ...
Between 2013 and 2020, an extensive programme of expert surveying, studies and conservation works aimed to reinforce and stabilise the military structures of the World Heritage site. The programme was implemented ...
An innovative initiative employs the Sustainable Development Goals as monitoring tools to track the contribution of heritage-related initiatives towards sustainable development.
A project to create a digital map of places associated with literature aims to promote sustainable cultural tourism, relieving tourism pressures in the historic areas and encouraging visitors to explore other parts ...
The revised Management Plan includes several strategic actions, such as urban rehabilitation and renovation programmes, regularisation of informal settlement and enhancement of public spaces.
In order to preserve historical documents related to World Heritage sites, the Iraqi State Board of Heritage and Antiquities has proposed to digitise historical documents from different archives and archive in a ...
An urban intervention becomes a major gateway linking the favelas and the lower city via two elevators, stairs and a pedestrian bridge. The complex was built on the premise of fostering inclusivity for the urban ...
Through innovative management and financing models and a combination of conservation actions aimed at both tangible and intangible heritage, the programme aims to make a contribution to the long-term sustainability ...
A wide-ranging programme aims to build capacity amongst local residents to understand the potentials offered by cultural heritage, by supporting and enhancing local cultural entrepreneurship. The initiative includes ...
In reaction to the sharp increase in incoming visitors over the last decades, San Gimignano has developed several initiatives to support jobs and local livelihoods while respecting the town’s cultural heritage, ...
A community engagement programme has provided key data and inputs for the sustainable development of the World Heritage site.
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the World Heritage site “Royal Exhibition Building and Carlton Gardens” began a process to review its World Heritage Management Plan. The review process began with a community ...
An online platform connects and supports small- and medium-sized enterprises located in World Heritage Cities in Mexico, promoting national tourism and increasing local businesses' digital presence.
The community event encourages young people to deepen their knowledge about cultural heritage and propose ideas for its conservation through workshops, cultural visits, educational activities and an ideas ...
The multi-level, heritage-based development and spatial plan aims to link the World Heritage site and buffer zone with the wider city context by using town planning as a tool to bridge spatial and social divides.
The symbolic ritual of cleaning and purification pays tribute to the spirits of the African ancestors who reached this entry port in captivity. The ritual started shortly after the discovery of the remains in 2011, ...
The model of the Polo del 900 proposes collaboration as a solution for institutional and cultural fragmentation which forms the core of a new ecology of creative cultural systems and puts community at the core of ...
The local government analysed mobile usage data from major telephone operators to collect useful data for infrastructure design and tourism management.
An ongoing programme in a remote Algerian town aims to connect the local community with the archaeological site through workshops and activities for young residents.
A variety of projects aim to protect Cusco’s cultural heritage, promote social development through crafts and strengthen traditional knowledge for sustainable development.
As part of a wider effort to create a pedestrian-only zone in the historic centre, the city of Graz carried an ambitious programme to re-design its historic streets and public spaces through high-quality design ...
The system includes a new local coordination office dedicated to the conservation and sustainable development of the historic centre.
The initiative Atlas World Heritage brings together the cities of Florence, Santiago de Compostela, Edinburgh, Oporto, Bordeaux to share their experiences and strategies to safeguard the sites’ OUV. The project has ...
A farming cooperative system conserves the agricultural landscape around the historic town of Røros and promotes sustainable tourism.
In order to improve the coordination between the two component cities of this serial property, the Municipalities of Mantua and Sabbioneta have created a central management office. This office is in charge of ...
Through a series of strategic actions, Urbino has sought to improve its environmental sustainability and promote climate change mitigation and adaptation. An update of the management plan is currently under way in ...
An update of the World Heritage management plan and urban planning tools seeks to integrate cultural and natural heritage values and their attributes in order to improve the city’s liveability and micro-climate.
In the city of Bamberg, traditional gardening practices are part of the city’s strategy to promote urban sustainability. The COVID-19 pandemic helped to strengthen the local community’s connection with its gardening ...
The long-term plan aims to promote sustainable urban transportation, reduce emissions and pollution, and enhance liveability in the historic city by enhancing cycling networks and infrastructure, improving existing ...
After the World Heritage Committee warned in 2016 that the poor state of conservation of the property could lead to its inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, a number of local, national and ...
In the context of long-standing conflict, a cash-for-work scheme provides young people with employment opportunities while contributing to the conservation of urban heritage in four historic cities.
A long-standing project has been working to revitalise a commercial street in the historic district of Darb al-Ahmar and reconnect the local community with their cultural heritage. The project, developed with help ...
Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) has partnered with the World Heritage Centre to communicate important messages about World Heritage to a large public audience, using television, radio, and other media. TBS strives ...
The mid ocean ridge systems are the largest geological features on the planet. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) is a mostly underwater mountain range in the Atlantic Ocean that runs from 87°N -about 333km south of the ...
The preliminary process was implemented in cooperation with some Regional Offices (Lima, Quito, Montevideo, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Havana), and some of the Category 2 Centres approved by the General Conference in ...
In the framework of the World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism Programme (WH+ST Programme), the UNESCO World Heritage Centre has developed a capacity building tool for site managers (“How To” Guides) to help them ...
Kat Borlongan and Chance Coughenour discussed digital innovation and inclusivity. As thinkers, they explored the interconnection between technologies and heritage, agreeing that an inclusive digital environment is ...
Climate change is among the greatest threats facing cultural and natural heritage today. One in three natural sites and one in six cultural heritage sites are currently threatened by climate change. In recent years ...
The dialogue between Rachel Sibande and Johanna Figueira centred around the digital empowerment of communities. They agreed that technology can benefit local communities to share their own stories and conceive ...
The dialogue between Fatemah Alzelzela and Alfred Brownell centred around communities and vulnerabilities. Fatemah and Alfred agreed that the natural phenomena have severely impacted heritage. This negative impact ...
The dialogue between Rita Keegan and Laura Yawanawa was centred on the cultural and economic protection of people from underrepresented regions. They pointed out that the cultural values and knowledge of minority ...
The dialogue between Gabriel Zuchtriegel and Doris Maria Woerfel centred on the engagement of the local community in tourism. They agreed that involving local communities is fundamental to sustainable tourism ...
The dialogue between Adrian Jo Milang and Mariam Kamara focused on the importance of understanding the true narratives of local and indigenous communities. Adrian and Mariam concurred that local culture should not ...
Ibrahim Mahama and Azra Akšamija discussed the role of culture and heritage to highlight narratives of the under-represented regions. Both address questions of the ethics of preservation and how we deal with ...
Nicolas Nova and Habiba Djahnine discussed the role of new media and technologies in a balanced representation of culture. They agreed that technologies, including films and documentaries, can raise recognition of ...
Jimmy Jean-Louis and Hoor Al-Qasimi emphasized the importance of connecting people with the help of culture, but they expressed different ways of working to that end. Al Qasimi believes that the essence of culture ...
The COVID-19 pandemic is an unprecedented health crisis that has affected each one of us, and we still cannot predict its long-term effects. Inevitably, our World Heritage sites suffered too: the abrupt halt in ...
The digital aspects of heritage are growing enormously, ranging from creating virtual visits and online exhibitions to cataloguing inventory of heritage objects and creating 3D models of archaeological sites. ...
The dialogue between Ammar Khammash and Bianca Jagger focused on indigenous peoples and their link to technology. Ammar and Bianca agree that the knowledge of indigenous peoples should play a significant role in ...
The dialogue between Kidlat Tahimik and Bahia Shehab was mainly about celebrating local narratives to move towards a balanced representation of heritage. The two artists noted that popular culture today is greatly ...
The dialogue between Kamal Mouzawak and Kotchakorn Vorrakhom centred on the importance of local communities for sustainable tourism. They agreed that sustainable tourism must pay paramount attention to locals and ...
The dialogue between Jana Apih and Jascivan Carvalho highlighted the value of local communities for sustainable tourism. They agreed that knowledge of local communities can be used to promote sustainable practices ...
During the dialogue, Bruce Yerkovich and Aubin Arroyo introduced their innovative practices that create positive change in people towards sustainability. Bruce underlined that sustainable tourism can truly empower ...
The dialogue between Hamdan Abdul Majeed and Michael Pinksy focused mainly on how sustainable tourism could benefit local communities. Tourists are generally confined to their ‘bubble’, which is not conducive to ...
Carissa Klein and Neeshad Shafi focused on the relationship between human-induced climate issues and heritage preservation. They both agreed that reducing carbon emissions should be a priority to safeguard heritage.
There are now more than 1,000 World Heritage sites in 177 countries, and a great many of them are important tourist destinations. At best, tourism drives economic development and brings needed financial and social ...
Dialogue between Rana Dajani and Zoe Butt centred around storytelling and the narrative of the Global South. Since storytelling is fundamental to transferring knowledge and informing different situations, ...
Krista Kim and Ahmed Salman mainly discussed the intersectionality between art and science. COVID-19 highlighted the importance of bridging the gap between science and culture in order to reduce scepticism and ...
The dialogue between Maria Fernanda Espinosa and Salim Abdool Karim was centred on the impacts and pre-exisiting problems of society during COVID-19. The pandemic uncovered the vulnerability of a divided society and ...
The dialogue between Adi Utarini and Frank Snowden mainly focused on the close collaboration between public health and heritage. Utarini and Snowden agreed that the pandemic was a multifaceted problem that affected ...
The dialogue between Jean-Michel Jarre and Ethel D. Cofie mainly addressed the role of digital tools for heritage accessibility. They agreed that digital technologies can contribute to making heritage more ...
The dialogue between Max Tegmark and Tino Sehgal centred around the dangers and opportunities of technological development for heritage. The two thinkers agreed that we must take into account the impacts of ...
The dialogue between Abeer Abu Ghaith and Vít Šisler centred around respecting different cultural values, and the ways they are shared and transferred. Ghaith emphasized the importance of having protocols to protect ...
The dialogue between Refik Anadol and Anab Jain focused mainly on synergies between built heritage and digital technologies. As digital artists, Anadol and Jain elaborated on projects that explore diverse digital ...
Malgorzata Gorska and Hans Cosmas Ngoteya spoke about their experiences in protecting natural habitats and possible methods for natural heritage preservation. They both envision the next 50 years with specific legal ...
The Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System (BBRRS) won its place on the World Heritage List in 1996 as an outstanding natural system, consisting of the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, offshore atolls, ...
As of May 2012, the Government of Mali sought help from the international community through UNESCO. Timbuktu and the Tomb of Askia were placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger and UNESCO initiated a series of ...