News

The 22nd General Assembly of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention is meeting on 27 and 28 November 2019 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, convening the 193 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, under the chairmanship of H.E. Mr Adam Al Mulla, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the State of Kuwait to UNESCO. During the session, the General Assembly elected ...

In view of the current global pandemic and following the extraordinary measures being taken to tackle the spread of COVID-19 globally, the 2020 Campaign of the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Initiative has been postponed to 2021. Read More “Fostering Youth Commitment towards World Heritage” The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the Call for Projects for the World ...

The World Heritage Centre expresses its concern over on-going bushfires in and around the Gondwana rainforests in Australia and offers its solidarity to the people affected. The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has been receiving many expressions of concern from the media and civil society over the possible impact of bushfires on the World Heritage property, “Gondwana Rainforests of Australia”, ...

From 15 to 18 November, an expert meeting was convened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) together with Germany’s Federal Office for Nature Conservation (BfN) and in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre on the Isle of Vilm, Germany to discuss how the World Heritage Convention can contribute to the new global agenda for biodiversity conservation.  At the ...

The 2019 UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes was awarded on 18 November to Instituto do Património Cultural in Cabo Verde for its outstanding contribution to the safeguarding, management and sustainable development of the Natural Park of Cova, Paul and Ribeira da Torre. The award ceremony took place at UNESCO ...

This year’s UNESCO Sultan Qaboos Prize for Environmental Conservation will be awarded to the Bangalore-based Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) in recognition of its socially-just environmental conservation and sustainable development activities, following the recommendation of the international jury of the prize.  The award ceremony will be held in Budapest, ...

Today marks the 47th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. This Convention protects the world’s most outstanding places, belonging to us all. Where it all began The idea of creating an international movement for protecting heritage emerged after World War I. The 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage developed from the merging of two ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is closely monitoring the state of conservation of the World Heritage site of Venice and its Lagoon.  Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1987, Venice faces several threats from overtourism, damage caused by a steady stream of cruise ships, and from the potential negative effects of new developments. The site is also highly vulnerable to the negative ...

UNESCO has been at the forefront of exploring and managing the impacts of climate change on World Heritage, and supports World Heritage sites on climate change adaptation and mitigation activities. The promotion of renewable energy production is of great importance, as this technology is among the key solutions for the mitigation of climate change and the promotion of sustainable ...

From 5 to 7 November 2019, a total of 27 participants—including Focal Points, Vice-Ministers, and academics—from 14 countries of the sub-regions of Mexico and Central America and the Caribbean gathered in Havana, Cuba, to analyze and discuss the relevance of their current Tentative Lists.  One of the central objectives of the three-day workshop was to strengthen the understanding of and ...

On 18 November 2019 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, the 2019 edition of the UNESCO-Greece Melina Mercouri International Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes will be announced and the award presented.   Named after the illustrious Greek actress and former Minister of Culture of Greece, Melina Mercouri, the Prize rewards outstanding efforts to protect and ...