News

On 22 July 2024, the Republic of Nauru officially deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), with the UNESCO Director-General Ms Audrey Azoulay. With this new ratification, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention now has 196 States Parties making the Convention one of the most ratified instruments in the ...

The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee ended on Wednesday July 31st in New Delhi, India.  The 10 days of work resulted in significant advances in the recognition and protection of African heritage, with the inscription of five new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List and the removal of Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal) from the List of World Heritage in Danger. Thanks to these ...

On February 22, 2024, Somalia officially submitted its first Tentative List. This act marks an important milestone in the country's recovery and testifies to its ongoing efforts to identify, preserve and promote its national heritage. The List features two natural sites. The first, "The Hobyo grass and Shrubland", is located along the south-east coast from Galkacyo to Warsheik, and stretches ...

The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee ended on Wednesday in New Delhi, India. The Committee inscribed 26 new cultural and natural properties on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The session concluded with Nauru ratifying the World Heritage Convention and becoming its 196th State Party. The Committee inscribed 26 new properties, including making 2 major extensions to properties which ...

During its 46th session in New Delhi, India today - the World Heritage Committee adopted the 2024-2031 Regional Action Plan of Europe and North America, as one of the outcomes of the Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting for this region. Action Plans are a tool for setting regional priorities for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. It is a way of interpreting and translating the ...

On 23 July 2023, during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee, UNESCO organized a side event to showcase the progress and achievements of the 'Dive into Heritage' project. Generously funded by the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia, this event presented an opportunity to highlight the project's advancements to a broader audience, invite States Parties to share their digital World ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, meeting in New Delhi, India, has decided to inscribe the site ‘The Monastery of Saint Hilarion/Tell Umm Amer’ in Palestine simultaneously on the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger. This decision recognizes both the site's value and the need to protect it from danger. In view of the threats to this heritage site posed by the ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, meeting in New Delhi (India), decided on Wednesday to remove Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal from the List of World Heritage in Danger, following the positive steps taken by the State Party, which have contributed to improving the natural site’s state of conservation. Inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1981 for its unique biodiversity and ...

The latest version of the World Heritage map, produced by the World Heritage Centre and Geo4Map with the generous support of India, can now be ordered from the World Heritage Centre website. The featured image on the map presents the Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat World Heritage property in India, country hosting the next session of the World Heritage Committee in July ...

The National Monuments Service World Heritage Scholarship programme has been established in support of the newly proposed National Strategy for World Heritage. A goal of the Strategy is to advocate for World Heritage nationally and internationally and a principle means of doing this is through education and capacity building initiatives. To this end, Ireland's National Monuments Service is ...

In April and May 2024, UNESCO and its partners organised a webinar series aimed to raise awareness of the site management authorities on the impacts of the avian influenza outbreak on wildlife in UNESCO World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and Ramsar sites. The webinars were attended by nearly 700 people and financially supported by the Swiss Federal Office for Environment ...

Oaxaca, Mexico.― On 17-18 June, 2024, UNESCO organized the first workshop for the project ‘Latin America and the Caribbean: Strengthening Capacities for Resilient Communities through Sustainable Tourism and Heritage Safeguarding’, an initiative supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia The workshop brought together site managers from Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, ...

Discover the World Heritage Volunteers Initiative and join the 2024 campaign! © UNESCO When the World Heritage Volunteers Initiative was launched jointly with the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service in 2008, 12 projects involving 153 volunteers were selected. Since then, more than 10,000 volunteers have taken part in over 600 action camps in more than 80 countries ...

Gathered in Vilnius on Friday, at the initiative of Lithuania, nearly 30 States pledged to increase their support to the recovery of Ukraine’s cultural sector, through the coordination of UNESCO. A medium and long-term plan of action, drawn up by the Organization in consultation with over 40 international and Ukrainian institutions, will be implemented. There can be no healing of the ...

The African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) has launched a call for the Moses Mapesa Research Grant to support African Doctoral and Masters Students in the field of natural and cultural heritage. This research grant seeks to further research (particularly supporting fieldwork) on World Heritage and tentative listed sites in Africa.EligibilityThe call is open to students who are:a) Currently or ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the selected projects of the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) 2024 Campaign, under the theme of ‘World Heritage Volunteers 2024 - Working on the Future’. 90 action camp projects will be implemented from April to December 2024 at 85 World Heritage properties and sites on the Tentative Lists, by 69 organizations in 41 countries around the ...

On 8 - 9 May 2024, UNESCO, in partnership with the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, through the financial support from the Governments of Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Fund for Culture at UNESCO, successfully launched the Majestic Cinema Rehabilitation Project during a two-day event in Stone Town of Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania. In collaboration with HIFADHI ...

On 22 May 2024, managers from the 29 UNESCO World Heritage-listed coral reefs came together online with experts from the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to share experiences in monitoring the effects of the fourth mass bleaching event that is currently unfolding around the globe. The world is now experiencing its fourth global coral bleaching event, as ...

With large ocean spaces and customary land tenures, UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Pacific region link culture and nature with people and communities through their unique values and management systems. However, Pacific Island countries are underrepresented on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is not due to the lack of globally significant natural and cultural heritage places but to ...

It is with deep sadness that UNESCO has learned of Professor Dawson Munjeri's death. He passed away at his home in Helensvale, Harare, on 29 April 2024. Professor Munjeri was an eminent scholar and ardent defender of the World Heritage of Africa and beyond. Professor Dawson Munjeri was a towering figure in the realm of heritage preservation, a guiding light of cultural stewardship in ...