News

UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, Mr. Ernesto Ottone R., joined the Buganda Kingdom and local communities in mourning the serious destruction of one of the sacred houses (Abalongo) at the Tombs of Buganda Kings of Kasubi, following a devastating fire which took place on 5 June, in Uganda, a property inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000. "We are in contact with the ...

June 5th is World Environment Day. The foods we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and the climate that makes our planet habitable all come from nature. These are exceptional times, and to care for ourselves we must care for nature. A few projects: Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative The conservation, sustainable exploitation and management of forest sites in Central ...

On 2 June 2020, UNESCO successfully launched its first online international Expert Workshop on the Culture|2030 Indicators, with an opening speech by Mr Ernesto Ottone R., UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Culture and Ms Silvia Montoya, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The Culture|2030 Indicators were developed in collaboration with the UNESCO Institute for ...

UNESCO has welcomed the announcement by Bernard Looney, CEO of BP, that the energy giant will refrain from undertaking new oil and gas exploration or production activities within natural, cultural or mixed UNESCO World Heritage sites. The company has furthermore agreed to consult with UNESCO in case they consider such projects in buffer zones or other areas adjacent to World Heritage sites. ...

UNESCO expresses its deep concern over cyclone 'Amphan', which recently hit Bangladesh and eastern India, and wishes to express its deepest sympathy for the loss of human life and the material damage caused by this disaster, in solidarity with the people affected. On 20 May 2020, cyclone Amphan made landfall across the West Bengal-Bangladesh coast, which includes two World Heritage ...

The theme of the 2020 International Day for Biological Diversity is “Our Solutions are in Nature”. The year 2020 was defined as a 'biodiversity super year', but because of the Covid-19 pandemic, major events dedicated to Biodiversity protection have been postponed to a later date. The current pandemic has shaken the international biodiversity agenda but has also revealed our total ...

As nearly half of the global population went into lockdown in recent months, rare wildlife sightings emerged in the most unexpected places. CO2 emissions dropped by 8% since the start of the year, the largest decrease ever recorded.  Nature seemed to finally take a breath from the relentless human pressures that have been the primary reason for biodiversity reduction and habitat loss for at ...

Children's Artwork on World Heritage Sites Thank You Children's Artwork on World Heritage Sites The artwork displayed below was posted in response to a global call for the Little Artists Exhibition inviting children around the world to draw a UNESCO World Heritage site that matters to them. This could be a site in their community, a memory from a family vacation, or a place ...

UNESCO welcomes the decision taken by Mr. Abbas Mortada, Minister of Culture of Lebanon, to halt the construction project at the Archaeological Site of Nahr El-Kalb. Since 2019, the Archaeological Site of Nahr el-Kalb has been on Lebanon’s Tentative List for potential future World Heritage nomination, and since 2005 on UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register. It consists of several ...

On April 24, a tragic attack from armed militia groups caused the death of four civilians and thirteen staff members of the Virunga National Park, a natural World Heritage site in the Democratic Republic of Congo (RDC). In order to ensure the continuity of conservation actions, the Rapid Response Facility (RRF), an emergency fund established by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Fauna ...

On 9 May 2020, people around the world will celebrate World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) – a global campaign dedicated to raising awareness of migratory birds and the need for international cooperation to conserve them.  This year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic, many of us must stay at home. But we can reach for our binoculars to celebrate the theme of World Migratory Bird Day “Birds Connect Our ...

The World Heritage Centre would like to express its sadness at the death of Dr. Guy Suzon Ramangason, former Director General of Madagascar National Parks, who passed away on 30th April 2020.  Guy Suzon made an important contribution to biodiversity conservation in Madagascar and beyond.  After an international career at IUCN and WWF, Guy Suzon took the reins of Madagascar National Parks, ...

On 6 May 2020, Dr Mechtild Rössler, Director of the World Heritage Centre, is launching the UNESCO publication Empowering Youth for Heritage. Dedicated to the World Heritage Volunteers Initiative (WHV), it kick-starts a series of Webinars to support and build the capacities of the WHV-implementing organizations during the COVID-19 pandemic. This publication provides a retrospective of the ...

African World Heritage Day May 5th 2020 Youth, Entrepreneurship and Heritage Sustainability in Africa Due to COVID-19, 90% of World Heritage sites around the globe are closed or partially closed, and many of them are in Africa. As African World Heritage sites cope with the current situation, they are also looking ahead to the post-Covid time and planning for the short and ...

The Director-General of UNESCO, Ms Azoulay, strongly condemned the killing of 13 employees of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of Nature (ICCN), and of four civilians on 24 April 2020 in the vicinity of Virunga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage property in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  "In a global context already weakened by a health crisis linked to COVID-19, the ...

Over 130 Ministers and Vice-Ministers of Culture joined the online meeting convened by UNESCO to discuss actions to bolster the cultural sector, which is facing unprecedented upheaval due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The ministers spoke of the direct effects of the current crisis on tourism, museums, cultural production and artists, as well as the measures that they have taken to mitigate the ...

Recent heavy rains reported in the Old City of Sana’a, Yemen, have resulted in extensive damage to the city’s infrastructure, homes, and residential areas located along Wadi Sailah. “UNESCO is deeply concerned about the impact of these flash floods on the Old City of Sana’a and the people who live there. We stand ready to assist in any way we can,” said Ernesto Ottone R., Assistant ...

UNESCO’s Assistant Director-General for Culture, Mr. Ernesto Ottone R., expressed his concern about the fire that, on the morning of 13 April, seriously affected the Milot Church inside the National Historic Park - Citadel, Sans Souci, Ramiers, in Haiti, a property inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1982. "We are in contact with the National Heritage Preservation Institute (ISPAN), ...

A year has passed since the fire that ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France. The Cathedral is part of the World Heritage site “Paris, Banks of the Seine” and a fine symbol of Gothic architecture. The flames tore through the upper levels of the 12th century cathedral on the evening of 15 April 2019, destroying two-thirds of its roof and collapsing its famous spire. Parisians and ...

COVID-19 has presented a host of new challenges for parents and guardians of young children, the majority of whom are out of school. Yet confinement can also be an opportunity – for learning, creativity and discovery. To encourage this creativity, UNESCO is inviting children between ages 6 and 12 to draw a UNESCO World Heritage site that matters to them, from now until 17 May 2020. This ...