2419 news
Thursday, 7 October 2004
On 6 October, the Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, opened an exhibition on "World Heritage Sites in Croatia" in the presence of Mr Krešimir Filipec, Assistant Minister of Culture; Ambassador Ritz, Permanent Delegate of Croatia to UNESCO; the Mayors of Dubrovnik, Split and Togir, as well as the Deputy Mayor of Poreć and the Director of Plitvice Lakes National Park ...
2 min read
Friday, 10 September 2004
On Thursday 9 September, the Director-General of UNESCO together with H.R.H. Prince Philippe of Belgium, Mr Z’Ahidi Ngoma, Vice-President of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Mr De Decker, Belgian Minister for Co-operation and Development, inaugurated the exhibition "CONGO - Nature and Culture in the Democratic Republic of Congo". Curated by the Royal Museum for Central Africa (Tervuren, ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 8 September 2004
UNESCO is organizing, with the United Nations Foundation (UNF) the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and several conservation organizations, the first international event to support the DRC’s heritage in danger. The event, “Congo – Heritage in Danger” aims to contribute to the long-term survival of this unique natural heritage.
Placed under the high patronage of Mr Jacques ...
2 min read
Friday, 27 August 2004
On Friday, 27 August 2004, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura and Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK) President Katsuji Ebisawa held a public signing ceremony at NHK Headquarters in Tokyo, Japan to seal their new partnership agreement. Through the Heritage Images Archives Initiative, NHK is offering to contribute to the documenting and safeguarding of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 28 July 2004
The 28th session of the World Heritage Committee was held in Sushou, China, under the chairmanship of Zhang Xinsheng, Vice Minister of Education of China and Chairperson of China’s National Commission for UNESCO, from 28 June to 7 July 2004. Over 700 delegates from States Parties, Advisory Bodies and non-governmental organizations participated. 29 cultural sites and 5 natural sites were ...
4 min read
Monday, 26 July 2004
This document was prepared by the Arab States Unit of the World Heritage Centre, following the request of the World Heritage Committee that an analytical summary of the Periodic Reporting exercise be prepared for the Arab Region in view of its publication. This report aims at evaluating the implementation of the World Heritage Convention in the Arab Region, on the basis of the Periodic ...
1 min read
Friday, 16 July 2004
A new Chinese edition of UNESCO’s World Heritage Review is being launched by the publishing house World Affairs Press of the People’s Republic of China, UNESCO and Ediciones San Marcos (Madrid). The Chinese edition will be launched at the 28th session of the World Heritage Committee in Suzhou on 28 June 2004.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Review has been published in English, French and Spanish ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 7 July 2004
The ruins of the great sea-ports of Kilwa Kisiwani and of Songo Mnara situated off the coast of the United Republic of Tanzania were inscribed yesterday on the List of World Heritage in Danger by the 21-member World Heritage Committee, which is holding its annual meeting in Suzhou until July 7.
The Committee took this decision in response to threats to the integrity of the site, which was ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 6 July 2004
One of Europe’s masterpieces of Gothic architecture, was inscribed today on the List of World Heritage in Danger by the 21-member World Heritage Committee, which is holding its annual meeting in Suzhou until July 7.
The Committee sounded the alarm for the integrity of the urban landscape around the Cathedral after hearing of the construction of several high-rise buildings on the bank ...
1 min read
Sunday, 4 July 2004
Cambodia’s celebrated temples and palaces at Angkor were removed from UNESCO's List of World Heritage in Danger today, as were the Bahla Fort (Oman) and Rwenzori Mountains National Park (Uganda).
As it reviewed the state of conservation of World Heritage sites whose outstanding universal value is severely threatened, the 21-member World Heritage Committee meeting in Suzhou until July 7 ...
2 min read
Saturday, 3 July 2004
The rich archaeological remains of the Iranian city of Bam, where 26,000 lost their lives in the earthquake of December 26, 2003, was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List, alongside 12 other new cultural sites listed today by the World Heritage Committee holding its 28th session in Suzhou. This brings to 788 the number of cultural, natural and mixed sites now on the List.
Bam Cultural ...
10 min read
Friday, 2 July 2004
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea had its first site inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List today with the addition of a complex of Koguryo tombs. Andorra also entered the List with the cultural landscape of Madriu-Claror-Perafita Valley. They were among 13 cultural sites listed in Suzhou today.
Below are the new sites inscribed on July 1 at the World Heritage Committee meeting ...
11 min read
Thursday, 1 July 2004
A glacier-fjord in Greenland, the Ilulissat Icefjord, is among the five new natural sites inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, while the extraordinary earthen architecture of Koutammakou, the Land of the Batammariba, in Togo, is one of three new cultural sites inscribed by the World Heritage Committee in Suzhou today.
The ongoing 28th session of the Committee, chaired by Zhang ...
7 min read
Tuesday, 22 June 2004
Forty-eight sites will be considered for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List of outstanding cultural and natural sites during the 28th session of UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee, which will meet at the Urban Planning Convention Center in Suzhou (China) from June 28 to July 7.
UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura will address the inaugural session of the meeting, which will be ...
3 min read
Friday, 11 June 2004
The Fifth International Volunteer Khami Restoration Camp (3-26 June) near Bulawayo is now in progress, to be followed by a “1972 World Heritage Workshop” for Zimbabwean journalists. Operating on an annual basis since its inception in 2000, this year’s camp groups a total of 20 students from Botswana, Cameroon, Germany, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Reunion, South Africa, Zambia and ...
1 min read
Friday, 11 June 2004
The web site for one of the World Heritage Advisory Bodies, the World Conservation Union (IUCN), regularly updates news on IUCN's work on protected areas.
Recent features include:
Guidelines for Planning and Managing Mountain Protected Areas;
A mission to the Volcanoes of Kamchatka World Heritage Site in the Russian Federation;
Establishment of a Global network on Transboundary ...
Friday, 4 June 2004
Tripoli-Kufra-Jebel Ouenat, 27 March - 5 April 2004Jebel Ouenat (in Arabic "Mountain of the springs") is a natural and cultural heritage site located at the border among Egypt, Libya and Sudan, which was discovered by the Egyptian explorer Ahmed Hassanein Bey only in 1923. This spectacular mountain, together with the neighbouring Jebel Arkenu, in Libya, and Jebel Kissu in Sudan, is the result ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 26 May 2004
The workshop focused on the redefinition of the boundaries, the preparation of an Action Plan addressing conservation challenges and the discussion of mechanisms to assist the Nepalese Government in soliciting international cooperation.
Various stakeholders including national and local authorities, Nepalese and international experts, members from Universities and INGOs, actively ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 19 May 2004
UNESCO Conference 16-17 September at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris to evaluate the current status and future needs of the World Heritage Centre / UNF project: "Biodiversity Conservation in Regions of Armed Conflict: Protecting World Heritage in the Democratic Republic of the Congo".
Co-sponsored by the Government of Belgium and the Government of Japan, this conference aims to raise global ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 18 May 2004
The 2nd workshop obtained excellent feedback from the fifteen Arab trainees nominated by their governments. Experts were again brought in from leading international institutions, including:
Department of Geography, University of Ghent
R. Lemaire International Centre for Conservation, University of Leuven
WCMC, the World Conservation Monitoring Centre
University of California, ...
Monday, 3 May 2004
Presentations will be made everyday at 10am, 1pm and 3pm on issues such as World Heritage destinations, sustainable tourism at World Heritage sites, the effects of tourism on the conservation of World Heritage sites, individual conservation efforts, the trade's role in site conservation, and World Heritage tours as new markets. World Heritage Site Managers will be on hand to present ...
2 min read
Monday, 3 May 2004
2nd training workshop to be organized in the Arab region for the application of Information Management for World Heritage Sites, fucusing on nature.
This training to be organized from may 3 to 16, 2004 will gathered a group of trainees from different Arab Countries and known specialists on World Heritage environmental issues.
Wednesday, 28 April 2004
The World Heritage Committee consists of representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, elected by the General Assembly of States Parties to the Convention.
The current composition of the Committee is: Argentina, Benin, Chile, China (Chair), Colombia, Egypt, India, Japan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Lithuania, Netherlands, ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 31 March 2004
The United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is still accepting entries for the 2004 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Cultural Heritage Conservation.The Awards programme recognizes outstanding conservation projects of the built heritage, undertaken by private sector entities or through public-private partnerships. Now in its fifth year, the programme has ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 11 November 2003
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Atsunori Kawarmura, Executive Producer of Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK TV) at UNESCO Headquarters.The MoU launches a new public service project aimed at creating a database of high-definition, digital motion pictures on different forms of cultural heritage to ensure the transmission of ...
1 min read
Monday, 16 June 2003
The letter follows the receipt of numerous individual letters and e-mails sent to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
Wednesday, 26 March 2003
Paris - The Web site of the 27th session of the World Heritage Committee, which will take place in Suzhou (China), from the 29th of June to the 5th of July 2003, is now online at this address: http://www.27whc.org. The Web site is available in Chinese and English versions (French to come) and provides numerous useful information about the forthcoming session of the Committee, the organizing ...
Monday, 17 February 2003
A large fortified city under the influence of the Parthian Empire and capital of the first Arab Kingdom, Hatra withstood invasions by the Romans in A.D. 116 and 198 thanks to its high, thick walls reinforced by towers.
The remains of the city, especially the temples where Hellenistic and Roman architecture blend with Eastern decorative features, attest to the greatness of its civilization. ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 5 February 2003
On 20 January 2003, a fire broke out in the Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains in Hubei Province, China.
Two-and-a-half hours later, the Yuzhengong Palace was burned to the ground. No one was injured in the fire but many of the structures from the Ming dynasty (14th-17th centuries) were damaged.
Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994, the Ancient Building Complex ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 5 February 2003
Following decision from the President of Romania to halt the proposed development of the themepark "Draculaland" at the World Heritage site of the "Historic Centre of Sighisoara". WORLD HERITAGE COMMITTEECHAIRMAN / PRESIDENT 6 February 2003 Excellency, In my capacity as Chairperson of the World Heritage Committee I would like to applaud the decision to halt the proposed ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 26 November 2002
Brussels - The Belgian Government and UNESCO signed an Agreement of Cooperation today, wishing to enhance their cooperation, especially between the Federal office for Scientific, Technical and Cultural affairs (OSTC) and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre. “Through this Agreement, we will make available the Belgian know-how and the expertise of the Universities of Ghent and Louvain in the use ...
2 min read
Thursday, 12 September 2002
Special events and activities
Record of Decisions of the 26th session of the World Heritage Committee Budapest, Hungary, 24-29 June 2002
Budapest Declaration
World Heritage 2002: Shared Legacy, Common ResponsibilityAn International Congress organized by UNESCO with the support of the Government of Italy and under the patronage of the city of Venice on the occasion of the 30th anniversary ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 20 August 2002
From Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre We have noted with great concern, the news of massive floods sweeping across Europe and that a number of World Heritage sites in Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany and Hungary are threatened by the worst flooding in a century. I would like to transmit our solidarity with the regional crisis committees and the people of the ...
1 min read
Monday, 15 July 2002
The World Heritage Committee concluded its 26th session (24 to 29 June 2002) by adopting the Budapest Declaration on World Heritage, marking the 30th anniversary of the signing of the World Heritage Convention in 1972. Adopted in the presence of the Director-General of UNESCO, Mr. Koïchiro Matsuura, and representatives of the Hungarian government, the Budapest Declaration recognizes the near ...
2 min read
Monday, 15 July 2002
Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1982, Tipasa on the shores of the Mediterranean, comprises Phoenician, Roman, palaeochristian and Byzantine ruins alongside indigenous monuments such as the Kbor er Roumia, the great royal mausoleum of Mauritania. An ancient Punic trading-post conquered by Rome, Tipasa turned into a strategic base for the conquest of the kingdoms of Mauritania. However, ...
1 min read
Monday, 1 July 2002
This map was produced by the Cartographic Section of the World Heritage Centre. The boundaries, colors, denominations and any other information shown on this map do not imply, on the part of UNESCO, any judgement on legal status of any territory, or any endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. January 2002 UNESCO World Heritage Centre.Legend:The grey points and triangles show World ...
Wednesday, 26 June 2002
Budapest, Hungary. The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Budapest since June 24, has inscribed today 9 new sites on the World Heritage List. The List now numbers 730 sites of "outstanding universal value" in 125 countries. For the first time, a site from Afghanistan appears on the List. The 9 inscriptions this year include only cultural sites.Simultaneously with its inscription ...
5 min read
Monday, 24 June 2002
Budapest, Hungary - 24 June 2002. The World Heritage Committee opened its 26th annual session in Budapest, Hungary, on Monday, 24 June. The opening session was attended by 320 participants representing all 21 Committee members, over 50 observers from States Parties to the World Heritage Convention, representatives from the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Committee (ICOMOS, IUCN, and ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 5 June 2002
Three States have recently signed the World Heritage Convention. This will bring the total of States Parties to the Convention to 170. The three States, with the dates on which they deposited their instrument of ratification or acceptance, are: Liberia 23 March 2002 Barbados 09 April 2002 Marshall Islands 24 April 2002 The Convention will come into force for the three countries three months ...