News

UNESCO is launching initiatives to support cultural industries and cultural heritage as billions of people around the world turn to culture for comfort and to overcome social isolation during the COVID-19 sanitary crisis, which is hitting the culture sector hard. “The global nature of the COVID-19 crisis is a call for the international community to reinvest in international cooperation and ...

The Archaeological Site of Nahr El-Kalb is an exceptional monument that testifies to the rich cultural heritage of Lebanon. The site has been included on the Tentative List of Lebanon since 2019, for potential nomination to the UNESCO World Heritage List. The site’s exceptional documentary heritage includes the commemorative stelae of Nahr El-Kalb, which reflect the entire history of ...

COVID-19 has brought into stark relief, as crises often do, the necessity of culture for people and communities. At a time when billions of people are physically separated from one another, culture brings us together.  It provides comfort, inspiration and hope at a time of enormous anxiety and uncertainty. Yet even as we rely on culture to get us through this crisis, culture is also ...

The massive wildfires in the Amazon, Australia, Central Africa, East Asia and Siberia last year brought forests to the headlines.  Forests are vitally important for sustaining life on Earth. It is estimated that around 1.6 billion people - including more than 2,000 indigenous cultures - depend on forests for their livelihoods, medicine, fuel, food and shelter. The protection of world’s ...

Over the last year, Yabotí, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1995 and one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, has witnessed a dramatic surge in illegal wildlife poaching. This Atlantic forest of more than 236,000 hectares is home to unique plants and animals, such as jaguars, bush dogs, tapirs and harpy eagles, among other threatened species. With funding severely hit by the economic ...

A celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the completion of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia took place at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Fustat, Cairo (Egypt) on 10 March 2020. The International Campaign was launched in 1960 to relocate and reassemble six groups of monuments in Nubia threatened by the artificial lake created by the Aswan ...

On 5 and 6 March 2020, the World Heritage Centre hosted a technical meeting to support Libya in the drafting of the Statement of Outstanding Universal Value, and in the development of the Desired State of Conservation and corrective measures for the eventual removal of Old Town of Ghadamès from the List of World Heritage in Danger.  The meeting, which was held at UNESCO Headquarters in ...

Marine World Heritage:50 Beacons of Hope in a changing ocean Last year was a year of highs and lows for marine World Heritage. Sites made progress in strengthening climate adaptation capacity, adopting zero emission policies and establishing fisheries no-take zones. The 2020 Annual Overview of the UNESCO World Heritage Marine Programme – which was made public today – summarizes a year of ...

Workshops were organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the UNESCO Khartoum Office aiming at developing a sustainable tourism strategy for the World Heritage Site of Gebal Barkal and the Napatan Region. In this context, between 9 and 13 March 2020, a mission team conducted a site visit to all the components of the serial property and steered various consultations ...

Workshops were organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the UNESCO Khartoum Office aiming at developing a sustainable tourism strategy for the World Heritage Site of Gebal Barkal and the Napatan Region. In this context, between 9 and 13 March 2020, a mission team conducted a site visit to all the components of the serial property and steered various consultations ...

Workshops were organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the UNESCO Khartoum Office aiming at developing a sustainable tourism strategy for the World Heritage Site of Gebal Barkal and the Napatan Region. In this context, between 9 and 13 March 2020, a mission team conducted a site visit to all the components of the serial property and steered various consultations ...

Workshops were organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the UNESCO Khartoum Office aiming at developing a sustainable tourism strategy for the World Heritage Site of Gebal Barkal and the Napatan Region. In this context, between 9 and 13 March 2020, a mission team conducted a site visit to all the components of the serial property and steered various consultations ...

Workshops were organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the UNESCO Khartoum Office aiming at developing a sustainable tourism strategy for the World Heritage Site of Gebal Barkal and the Napatan Region. The workshops were organized within the framework of the Netherlands funds-in-trust project Contributing to Sustainable Tourism at the World Heritage site of “Gebel ...

With the sustainable development policy adopted by the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention in November 2015, we look towards a more peaceful and sustainable planet and the balance of power in our relationships continues to be an important issue to redress in this new framework. This Women’s Day highlights the need for Gender Equality and women’s empowerment ...

The Government of Japan announced that it would provide USD 3.8 million dollars in financial support to the World Heritage property of ‘Cultural Landscape and Archaeological Remains of the Bamiyan Valley’ in Afghanistan. The property was inscribed simultaneously on the World Heritage List and the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2003, after the destruction of the Giant Buddhas, in ...

Today is World Wildlife Day with the theme, “Sustaining all life on Earth.” This encompasses all wild animal and plant species as a component of biodiversity, as well as the livelihoods of people. The animals and plants that live in the wild have intrinsic value and contribute to the ecological, social, economic, scientific, educational, cultural, recreational and aesthetic aspects of human ...

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the creation of Doñana National Park, the Spanish authorities organized “Doñana, 50 years of a National Park” from 14 to 16 February in Almonte (Spain) in the presence of King Felipe VI. The event brought together a great number of Spanish and international experts, local communities, NGOs and different institutions to exchange on experiences and lessons ...

From 8 to 13 February, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, hosted the 10th session of the World Urban Forum dedicated to Cities of Opportunities: Connecting Culture and Innovation, a theme that resonates closely with UNESCO’s mission and priorities. The event brought together decision-makers, representatives of international organizations, civil society and international experts, to leverage ...

Today is World Radio Day, proclaimed in 2011 by Member States of UNESCO, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 as an International Day to highlight the importance of radio. Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity. At the global level, radio remains the most widely consumed medium. This unique ability to reach out to the widest audience ...

Director-General Audrey Azoulay today carried out a historic visit to Somalia, the first by a Director-General of UNESCO to reestablish the long tradition of cooperation between UNESCO and the country after years of conflict. The Director-General held talks with Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire, Minister of Education, Culture and Higher Education, Abdullahi Godah Barre, and Minister of Women ...