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Friday, 19 December 2008
On 18 December 2008, the European Commission and UNESCO signed an agreement in Libreville, Gabon for a contribution of €2.5 million to the Central Africa World Heritage Forest Initiative (CAWFHI).
Since 2004, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre has been coordinating the Initiative for a total amount of about $10 million, with $3.3 million financed by the United Nations Foundation, $3.3 by ...
1 min read
Friday, 12 December 2008
Brochures on the World Heritage Convention and World Heritage in Young Hands programme are available in Bulgarian.
"Our World Heritage" and "Today and tomorrow with young people" were originally published by UNESCO in English, French and Spanish. The brochures were translated into Bulgarian thanks to the financial contribution of the Regional Inspectorate of Environment and ...
1 min read
Friday, 12 December 2008
The Australian Funds-in-Trust, established in August 2008 between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the Australian Government, has been increased. A sum of $AUS830,000 has been added to the Australian Government's first generous contribution of $AUS2.5 million. From the Funds-in-Trust, $AUS1.13 million will be used to support the development of a conservation and management ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Béthanie - the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Landmark Heritage Campus has been awarded an Honourable Mention at the 2008 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Cultural Heritage Awards.
An award presentation ceremony will take place on 9 December 2008 at the Béthanie campus. Officiating guests include Ms Béatrice Kaldun, UNESCO's China representative for Culture and Heritage; Mrs ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 2 December 2008
Dr. Keiji Tachikawa, President of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and Koïchiro Matsuura, Director-General of UNESCO, on 2 December signed a cooperation agreement through which JAXA will assist UNESCO by bringing the benefits of space technology to the monitoring of World Heritage sites.
With this agreement JAXA joins a group of more than 50 partners, including 25 space ...
2 min read
Thursday, 20 November 2008
Experts from UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and from the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) undertook a reactive monitoring mission to examine development projects affecting the Old and New Towns of Edinburgh (United Kingdom), inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1995.
Undertaken at the request of the World Heritage Committee during its most recent session (Quebec ...
2 min read
Monday, 10 November 2008
The devastating fires that raged across Greece in the summer of 2007 seriously affected the World Heritage site of Olympia, stopping short of destroying its Museum and archaeological area, which could only be saved thanks to the strenuous efforts of the responsible authorities. Disasters such as the one that threatened Olympia are in fact increasing, including as a result of climate change, ...
3 min read
Monday, 3 November 2008
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets CFU :
« Niger - Loire : gouvernance et culture ». Projet européen.
Coopération décentralisée Riga, Lyon et Bordeaux : voyage d'étude sur la conservation des centres historiques. 21-25 septembre 2008.
Réseau des villes indiennes de culture ...
Thursday, 30 October 2008
A Memorandum of Understanding is to be signed today, 30 October 2008, between UNESCO and the International Astronomical Union (IAU). The IAU will be integrally involved in the process of developing UNESCO's Astronomy and World Heritage Initiative, helping to promote astronomical sites of "Outstanding Universal Value".
Thursday, 30 October 2008
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, said today he was alarmed by the violent incidents taking place in the province of North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
Mr Matsuura voice his support to the statement made earlier by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-Moon, calling on "all parties to immediately cease hostilities and pursue in good ...
1 min read
Friday, 24 October 2008
Five young heritage professionals from Canada, Egypt, Hungary, Peru, and Zimbabwe, received UNESCO-Vocations Patrimoine fellowships to pursue post graduate research at University College Dublin (Ireland) and at the Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus (Germany) in a ceremony at UNESCO Headquarters on the evening of 22 October.
The fellowships were awarded by the Organization's ...
3 min read
Monday, 20 October 2008
World Heritage is a quarterly magazine featuring in-depth articles on World Heritage sites around the world written by experts and illustrated with spectacular photographs. Published by UNESCO in English, French and Spanish since 1996, this is a wonderful source if you’d like to learn more about World Heritage sites, get the latest news on sites in danger, and discover new books and ...
1 min read
Monday, 20 October 2008
The UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2009 has just been published. Featuring a useful week-at-a-glance design, it is illustrated with 79 colour photos of World Heritage sites, each accompanied with a short caption. It also introduces the Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage; its objectives, the selection criteria, the institutions which ensure its ...
Monday, 20 October 2008
The first book published by Our Place, is now available. The first in a series of ten books produced in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, this edition includes 350 original photographs of 50 World Heritage sites in 35 countries. Through a partnership with UNESCO, Our Place and its international network of professional photographers is developing the first collection of ...
Monday, 20 October 2008
The World Heritage Centre has been awarded the 2008 World Tourism Award in recognition of its ‘outstanding guidance, support and encouragement to 185 countries around the world by establishing and monitoring 878 World Heritage sites’ and its ‘outstanding accomplishments in the travel industry.’ Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of Egypt’s Supreme Council on ...
1 min read
Thursday, 16 October 2008
A Funds-in-Trust Agreement to support World Heritage activities was established in August 2008 between UNESCO and the Australian Government, thanks to the latter’s generous contribution of 2.5 million Australian Dollars.
The objective of this Fund-in-Trust is to support, through UNESCO, activities related to the World Heritage Convention in the Asia-Pacific region. These include the ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 15 October 2008
With a view to enhancing the capacity of the Indonesian national and local authorities to improve the state of conservation at Borobudur Temple Compound World Heritage property, the World Heritage Centre developed a technical cooperation project under the Netherlands Funds-In-Trust with UNESCO.
The project aims to enhance the management effectiveness at Borobudur Temple Compound World ...
1 min read
Monday, 13 October 2008
On the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the ‘Association of World Heritage Cities of Spain’, celebrated in the city of Avila on 17 September, the World Heritage Centre was awarded Spain’s first ever ‘Patrimonio’ prize for its ‘exemplary efforts in safeguarding the world’s cultural and natural heritage.’
Her Majesty Infanta Cristina ...
1 min read
Friday, 10 October 2008
Over the last few days, Virunga National Park has been the scene of violent fighting between the Congolese Army and Congrès National pour la Défense du Peuple (CNDP) rebels.
On Thursday 9 October, the Managing Director of the Institut Congolais pour la Conservation de la Nature (or ICCN, the body in charge of the Democratic Republic of the Congo protected areas management), Mr. Cosma ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 23 September 2008
The World Heritage Centre and the World Air League, a U.S.-based nongovernmental organization, will present an ambitious new partnership at UNESCO Headquarters on 24 September aiming to promote environmental protection and the use of lighter-than-air skyships as a means to reduce pollution and pressures caused by transportation. Tomorrow’s announcement will showcase the World Sky Race, ...
1 min read
Jaeger-LeCoultre and International Herald Tribune provide support to World Heritage Marine Programme
Friday, 12 September 2008
With the support of Jaeger-LeCoultre, Swiss luxury watch manufacture, the World Heritage Marine Programme will begin a series of conservation activities aimed at identifying, monitoring and preserving marine sites around the world. This partnership is being promoted through a series of articles entitled ‘Tides of time’ published by the International Herald Tribune, also a partner ...
Friday, 5 September 2008
“The reinstallation of the Aksum Obelisk is a source of pride for UNESCO,” said Assistant Director-General for Culture, Françoise Rivière, during the official inauguration ceremony of the Aksum Obelisk in its original site in northern Ethiopia on 4 September.
“It is a technical achievement but it is also a source of pride because it shows that cultural ...
1 min read
Friday, 8 August 2008
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets de la Convention France Unesco.
Saint Louis du Sénégal : Suivi de projet.
« Niger - Loire : gouvernance et culture », projet européen.
« Villages antiques » du nord de la Syrie : atelier de travail et sensibilisation. idlib, 11-12 avril 2008.
Riga, Lettonie : cooperation riga, ...
Friday, 1 August 2008
Aksum, August 1 - The third and last block of the Aksum Obelisk was successfully mounted by the UNESCO teams yesterday 31 July in its original location in Ethiopia. The monument’s reinstallation was greeted with joy by the local people, who spontaneously organized musical concerts yesterday at the site.
Weighing 150 tons and 24 meters high, the obelisk is the second largest stela on ...
1 min read
Monday, 28 July 2008
In the framework of the Aksum Obelisk reinstallation project funded by Italy, the second block of the Aksum Obelisk was successfully installed on 25 July 2008.
The first phase of the re-installation works of the Aksum Obelisk, also known as Stele 2, in its original location at the World Heritage site in Aksum, Ethiopia was completed on 12 June 2008. The first and second of three blocks of ...
1 min read
Thursday, 10 July 2008
The World Heritage Committee has asked that “reinforced monitoring” be applied to four properties on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in addition to the seven for which the surveillance mechanism is already in place.
Under the new monitoring mechanism, established by the World Heritage Committee in 2007, regular missions can be dispatched to World Heritage sites subjected to ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
The World Heritage Committee, meeting for its 32nd session, finished inscribing new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 8 July with the addition of 19 cultural sites and eight natural sites to the List.
New cultural sites inscribed during the 32nd session:
Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia)
Fujian Tulou (China)
Stari Grad Plain (Croatia)
Historic Centre of Camagüey ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 8 July 2008
The Bahá’i Holy Places in Haifa and Western Galilee (Israel) are inscribed for the testimony they provide to the Bahá’i’s strong tradition of pilgrimage and for their profound meaning for the faith. The property numbers 26 buildings, monuments and sites at 11 locations in Acre and Haifa, associated with the founders of the faith, among them the Shrine of the ...
2 min read
Monday, 7 July 2008
The World Heritage Committee, meeting for its 32nd session, inscribed 13 new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in the afternoon and evening of 7 July. The nomination of new sites for inscription on the World Heritage List will continue tomorrow morning, 8 July.The new sites inscribed are:
Preah Vihear Temple (Cambodia). Situated on the edge of a plateau that dominates the plain of ...
10 min read
Monday, 7 July 2008
The World Heritage Committee meeting in Quebec City has added eight new cultural sites to UNESCO’s World Heritage List on the morning of the 7 of July. With these inscriptions, Papua New Guinea and San Marino enter the World Heritage List for the first time.
The new sites inscribed are:
Melaka and George Town, historic cities of the Straits of Malacca (Malaysia) have developed over ...
5 min read
Sunday, 6 July 2008
Fortified Armenian monasteries in Iran were added to the new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 6 July.
The Armenian Monastic Ensembles in Iran, in the north-west of the country, consists of three monastic ensembles of the Armenian Christian faith: St Thaddeus and St Stepanos and the Chapel of Dzordzor. These edifices - the oldest of which, St Thaddeus, dates back to ...
1 min read
Sunday, 6 July 2008
The mountain of Le Morne, a former hideout of runaway slaves in Mauritius, a Nabataean archaeological site in Saudi Arabia and earthen houses in Fujian Province in China have been inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.Le Morne Cultural Landscape, a rugged mountain that juts into the Indian Ocean in the southwest of Mauritius was used as a shelter by runaway slaves, maroons, through ...
3 min read
Friday, 4 July 2008
On July 1st the Galápagos National Park announced that the parasite causing avian malaria was found in several Galápagos penguins by researchers studying the presence and distribution of diseases in Galápagos birds.
Immediate follow-up studies are needed to document the proportion of birds infected with the parasite throughout the four-island distribution of the penguin, ...
1 min read
Friday, 4 July 2008
The World Heritage Committee has decided to retain Dresden Elbe Valley on UNESCO World Heritage List in the hope that the building of a four-lane bridge across the valley will be stopped and work undertaken to reverse damage caused to the integrity of the landscape of the German site.
The Committee said it regretted the construction of the bridge underway and urged the authorities to opt for ...
1 min read
Thursday, 3 July 2008
The 32nd session of the World Heritage Committee opened on July 2nd with an official ceremony in Quebec City, which is celebrating its 400th anniversary.
Grand Chief Max Gros-Louis of the Huron-Wendat First Nation opened the ceremony with the performance of a purification ritual before Christina Cameron, Chairperson of the 32nd session, welcomed participants saying that “Canada’s ...
3 min read
Monday, 23 June 2008
The first phase of the re-installation works of the Aksum Obelisk, also known as Stele 2, in its original location at the World Heritage site in Aksum, Ethiopia was completed on 12 June 2008. The first of three blocks of the stele, which stands 24.3 metres high and weighs 152 tons, was successfully and smoothly mounted.
The Aksum Obelisk re-installation project, funded by the Italian ...
1 min read
Monday, 23 June 2008
The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when it meets for its 32nd session in Québec, Canada, from 2 to 10 July.
During this year’s session, hosted by Canada to coincide with the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Québec City, 41 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention ...
5 min read
Friday, 6 June 2008
The "Policy document on the impacts of climate change on World Heritage properties", adopted by the 16th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, has been published in English and French.The document was prepared with the participation of relevant climate change experts and practitioners of heritage conservation and management, appropriate international ...
1 min read
Friday, 6 June 2008
In coordination with the release of the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Friends of World Heritage (the UN Foundation, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Expedia, Inc.) have joined forces with Indiana Jones for an online campaign and contest to promote World Heritage education and sustainable travel. More than a dozen World Heritage sites have been featured in ...
1 min read
Friday, 6 June 2008
Officials continue to assess the damage following the devastating May 12 earthquake in China, where approximately 69,000 people were killed and 19,000 are still missing. The 8.0 magnitude quake affected Sichuan Province in southwest China. The worst affected areas were two counties where two World Heritage sites are located: The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries and the Mount Qingcheng and the ...
1 min read
Friday, 6 June 2008
Online images of World Heritage sites, an outdoor exhibit and a new book project are among the most recent developments of the partnership between the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Our Place, the World's Heritage Ltd, launched in July 2006.
Our Place is the first collection of World Heritage photographs developed in partnership with the World Heritage Centre. It includes photos of more ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 3 June 2008
Cultural Landscapes of the Pacific Islands: ICOMOS Thematic Study by Anita Smith and Kevin L. JonesThis is the first regional thematic study on Cultural Landscapes in the Pacific region. Published by ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites), it is an overview of cultural landscapes in the Pacific Islands and the defining characteristics that account for their commonalities as ...
1 min read
Friday, 23 May 2008
Works to begin the re-installation of the Aksum Obelisk, also known as Stele 2, in its original location will start June 4th at the World Heritage site in Aksum, Ethiopia. The three pieces of the stele, which stands 24.3 metres high and weighs 152 tons, will be reassembled and mounted before the end of July 2008, a year after the start of this exceptional project.
The inauguration ceremony ...
Thursday, 15 May 2008
A fire tore through the Bluecoat Art Gallery in Liverpool, United Kingdom early Tuesday morning, just two months after extensive renovation works. The building is the oldest in Liverpool and part of the Liverpool - Maritime Mercantile City World Heritage site, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004. The extent of the damage must still be assessed but seems to be concentrated in the ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
This publication marks the end of the Preservation of the Frozen Tombs of the Altai Mountains Project, which was launched in 2005 and carried out by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre with financial support from the UNESCO/Flemish Funds-in-Trust.
The booklet sheds light on the historical, anthropological, archaeological and art-historical aspects of the Altai Mountains, the Russian part of ...
Tuesday, 13 May 2008
A Master Course in "World Heritage at Work" has been created by the Universita degli Studi di Torino (Italy) and the Politecnico di Torino in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. It is intended to contribute to improved management of World Heritage sites through preparing managers and site practitioners to be cultural entrepreneurs, creative agents of their local ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
Firefighters have been struggling since last weekend to prevent a fire from spreading into Garajonay National Park, situated in the middle of the island of La Gomera in the Canary Islands archipelago. The blaze, which may have been started accidentally by a farmer clearing his land, had already destroyed 700 hectares (1,750 acres) of farmland and woods.
On Monday night the fire had reached ...
1 min read
Friday, 25 April 2008
The sixth episode in the animated series Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures is now available, and focuses on the plight of mountain gorillas and other threatened species in the Virunga Mountains of Rwanda, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The mountain gorillas are a flagship species of Virunga National Park, a World Heritage site since 1979. Due to armed conflict and ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today voiced concern about damage caused to the Castello di Moncalieri, in the Italian Province of Turin, inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1997.
A fire broke out on 5 April causing severe damage to the royal apartments and to several floors in one of the watchtowers of the building, a former residence of the House of Savoy.
"I ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 9 April 2008
Training World Heritage site managers is one of the most valuable investments in heritage conservation, particularly as these sites confront the challenges of increasing flows of tourism and diminishing flows of international assistance for conservation and management. This is why UNESCO's World Heritage Centre has joined forces - for the third year running - in an innovative ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 8 April 2008
[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets CFU :
Le Comité mixte (CMC) de la Convention FRANCE-UNESCO a eu lieu le 28 mars 2008 à l'UNESCO.
Paris, France : L'oeuvre architecturale et urbaine de Le Corbusier. Conférence de presse. 30 janvier 2008.
FOCUS ON « Niger-Loire : Gouvernance et Culture ». Projet européen.
Paris, ...
Monday, 7 April 2008
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today expressed his deep regret at the destruction of Québec’s ancient drill hall, a landmark adjacent to the Historic District of Old Québec, which was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 1985.
“I deeply regret the destruction of this important landmark,” said the Director-General. “It is particularly sad that this proud testimony ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 2 April 2008
On 23 February 2008, 40 representatives of 26 Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) from Italy, Germany; Ireland, Spain, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands met to launch the CIVILSCAPE network. This network of NGOs has been founded to facilitate and encourage people to connect to their landscape and feel responsibility for it. CIVILSCAPE's objective is to support the Florence ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Visitors to Sukhothai, Si Satchanalai and Kamphaeng Phet will now be able to click onto a new website to get information about historic monuments, nearby attractions and visitor facilities at this World Heritage site.
The official launch took place on 27 March 2008 from 9-10 am at the 5th floor conference room of the UNESCO Bangkok office on Sukhumvit Road chaired by the Inspector General ...
2 min read
Thursday, 20 March 2008
As part of the ‘Initiative for World Heritage Forests in Central Africa' , UNESCO's World Heritage Centre organized an expert workshop on March 13-14 in Brazzaville (Congo) to identify the most outstanding protected areas in the Congo Basin and to study their complementarity with sites in the region already inscribed on the World Heritage List.
The workshop was inaugurated by a speech ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 19 March 2008
The Ecuadorian National Environmental Fund's "Galápagos Invasive Species" account received a major injection of US$2.19 million on March 18 under the framework of the UNESCO-World Heritage Centre/United Nations Foundation project for the management of invasive species at this globally recognized World Heritage site. The Fund, which was established in 2007 with support from the ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
The World Heritage Centre has concluded this year's map outreach campaign with its mailing of the 2007/2008 World Heritage Wall Map featuring 851 World Heritage sites produced in collaboration with National Geographic and Hewlett Packard. We had an overwhelming response for maps - attaining our target of 9000 requests within just nine weeks - and would like to thank everyone who took time ...
1 min read
Friday, 14 March 2008
[in French only] Les 10 et 11 mars 2008 la troisième session du Comité de pilotage annuel de l'initiative pour le Patrimoine Mondial Forestier d'Afrique Centrale (CAWHFI) s'est tenue à Brazzaville, sous la Présidence de la Commission des Forêts d'Afrique centrale (COMIFAC). Cette initiative vise à renforcer la gestion durable de trois complexes ...
Wednesday, 12 March 2008
WHTour.org, a non profit organization sponsored by the J.M. Kaplan Fund, announces that 80 World Heritage sites shot in the Middle East and East Africa are now available in 360° panographic format at its website.
Currently panographies from Israel are being explored by thousands of visitors daily. In the coming weeks photos in this unique format will be uploaded from Jordan, Syria, ...
1 min read
Monday, 10 March 2008
The international mission of experts sent to review plans to build a bridge in the cultural landscape of the Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) in early February is recommending that the plan be abandoned in the interest of preserving the outstanding universal value that warranted the inscription of the site on UNESCO's World Heritage list in 2004.For more information please see: UNESCO press ...
Saturday, 8 March 2008
The cyclone Jokwe on 7-8 March 2008 caused considerable damage to the Fortress' coral rock base and defensive walls and there is an urgent need for funding for repairs.
Thursday, 31 January 2008
In November 2007, UNESCO and the Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee regretted the decision of a German court to authorize the construction of a bridge likely to lead to the deletion of the cultural landscape of Dresden Elbe Valley (Germany) from the World Heritage List. The status of the property on UNESCO's World Heritage List will be reviewed by the World Heritage Committee at ...
1 min read
Friday, 18 January 2008
UNESCO has confirmed the World Heritage Committee's decision of July 2007 to request the authorities of the Russian Federation to halt the planned construction of a tower in the Historic Centre of St. Petersburg as the project threatens the outstanding universal value of this property.During an official visit to Moscow from 6 to 10 December 2007, Francesco Bandarin, Director of ...
1 min read
Friday, 18 January 2008
Entries are now being accepted for the 2008 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation. The awards programme, in its ninth year, recognizes the achievement of individuals and organizations within the private sector, and public-private intitiatives, in successfully restoring structures of heritage value in the Asia-Pacific region. The deadline for receipt of ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 16 January 2008
The 2007-2008 World Heritage map, the third to be produced in collaboration with National Geographic and Hewlett Packard, is now available. The goal of the partnership, signed at the end of 2005 for a period of three years, is to raise awareness of the World Heritage Convention, and the map is an essential tool for this purpose. The partnership combines National Geographic's unsurpassed ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 9 January 2008
UNESCO's World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with the Nature Conservancy, one of the world's largest nature conservation organizations, and with Washington State University is pleased to announce the launch of an online course entitled ‘Business Planning - Achieving Sustainable Financing for Protected Areas'.Designed to provide comprehensive and rigorous training for natural ...
1 min read
Friday, 4 January 2008
[in French only] Actualités sur l’avancement des projets :
Alger, Algérie – Zabid, Yemen : appui aux demandes du Centre du patrimoine mondial
« Les villages antiques du nord de la Syrie », Syrie : réunion du 5 octobre à Paris
Hué, Viet Nam : présentation du programme de formation « Africités » lors de ...