News

The Anna Amalia Library, part of Germany's Classical Weimar World Heritage site, re-opened to the public on October 24 after extensive restoration work following a devastating fire in 2004. The official opening was hosted by German President Horst Koehler. The fire destroyed the library on 3 September 2004. After the debris was removed, efforts were focused on securing the structure with the ...

The Baroque palace of Venaria Reale, built by the Savoy dynasty outside the city of Turin, has been re-opened to the public after eight years of restoration works. The palace is one of a group of buildings inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997 as the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy. Built during the 17th and 18th centuries, the palace had declined in the 19th century when it ...

Five young heritage professionals from around the world received UNESCO-Vocations Patrimoine fellowships to pursue post graduate research at University College Dublin (Ireland) and at the Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus (Germany). The aim of the fellowships is to help prepare site managers to handle the growing threats to which World Heritage sites - 851 sites inscribed around the ...

Nine new members have been elected to the 21-member World Heritage Committee in charge of implementing UNESCO's Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Brazil, China, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria and Sweden were elected for four-year terms. The election took place during the General Assembly of the 184 States Parties to the ...

The 16th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention elected 5 new members to the World Heritage Committee. The following States Parties were elected: Australia, Bahrain, China and Egypt. Barbados was elected to the seat reserved to a State Party with no properties on the World Heritage List. The third round of elections will start thursday October 25 at 10.05am, in ...

[in French only] Le Directeur général a ouvert, le 24 octobre 2007, la 16e session de l'Assemblée générale des Etats parties à la Convention de 1972, qui compte désormais 185 Etats Parties.Dans son discours d'ouverture, Koïchiro Matsuura s'est félicité que la Convention de 1972 ait été « unanimement reconnue comme un programme phare de l'UNESCO », au cours des débats de la ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Desk Diary 2008 has just been published. Featuring a useful week-at-a-glance design, it is illustrated with 77 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 ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre was informed of two attacks on an ancient rock carving of a seated Buddha located near Janabad in north-west Pakistan, a region known for its ancient Buddhist heritage and archaeological sites. According to numerous reports, suspected pro-Taliban militants carried out two attacks on the rock in early and late September, the second attack leaving the 7-metre ...

At a ceremony held today at UNESCO Headquarters Mrs Françoise Rivière, Assistant Director-General for Culture, gave the award for the International Melina Mercouri Prize for the Safeguarding and Management of Cultural Landscapes (UNESCO-Greece) to the Borodino Battlefield (Russian Federation). This prize, named after Melina Mercouri, former Greek Minister of Culture, is financed by the ...

[in French only] Actualités sur l'avancement des projets :Turin, Italie: Réunion technique d'urgence sur le site du patrimoine mondial du Minaret de Djam (Afghanistan), 24 - 25 juillet 2007Paris, France: Atelier de travail pour la mise en place d'une formation pour les collectivités africaines, 3-5 septembre 2007 Luang Pra Bang et Vientiane, RDP Laos: mission du 5 au 11 septembre ...

It's easier than ever to participate in the preservation of World Heritage sites by making an online donation on the UNESCO World Heritage Centre website. With a few clicks you can make a donation in any amount and 100% of it will be used to help protect the most spectacular sites in the world. To make a ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre sends its condolences to the family, friends and colleagues of Ruzna Amli, a young Tanzanian woman from Songo Mnara, who had worked with the UNESCO restoration project of the Kilwa Kisiwani and Songo Mnara Ruins, a World Heritage Site in Tanzania. The young mother of three died of the consequences of a tragic accident during the restoration works. We deeply ...

Living Landscapes and Cultural Landmarks: World Heritage Sites in the Philippines by Augusto F. Villalon, Photographs by Neal M. Oshima, Publisher: ArtPostAsia Pte. Ltd, Manila, the PhilippinesThis attractive book is the first publication to present all five World Heritage properties located in the Philippines in a single volume. Widely acknowledged by the international scientific community ...

A mission of experts led by UNESCO has rallied the support of the authorities of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC) and of local communities in the preservation of the endangered mountain gorillas of Virunga National Park.The mission, comprising experts from UNESCO and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and ...

UNESCO's World Heritage Centre extends its deepest sympathies to those who have been affected by the powerful August 15 earthquake in Peru, which measured 7.9 on the Richter scale and left some 500 people dead and over a thousand victims. Peru has 10 properties inscribed on the World Heritage List, including the Historic Sanctuary of Machu Picchu, the Historic Centre of Lima, and the Chan ...

Gabon celebrated the inscription of its Lopé-Okanda site on UNESCO's World Heritage List over the weekend of 11-12 August 2007. Spanning four provinces, Lopé-Okanda is Gabon's first World Heritage site and also the first mixed site in the Central African sub-region. The inscription highlights international recognition of the country's outstanding natural and cultural ...

Heritage advocates often reproach journalists for not being sufficiently interested in their field and for being only able to speak about it in a sensational or superficial way. Journalists for their part, highlight the constraints of editorial offices or express a certain mistrust towards institutions and heritage stakeholders. The international workshop which was held at Laval University, ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is relieved that the wildfires around the city of Dubrovnik (Croatia) are now under control and would like to pay tribute to the firefighters who fought the blaze. Reports from Dubrovnik indicate that the Old City, designated a World Heritage site in 1979 and then extended in 1994, was untouched by the fire.   The situation was particularly dangerous during ...

Two new episodes, the fourth and fifth in the series Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures ,are now available. 4th: Ethiopia (Lalibela) Watch English/French/Spanish Russian/Arabic/Chinese Download FLV format English/French/Spanish Russian/Arabic/Chinese 5th: Russian Federation (Novgorod) Watch English/French/Spanish ...

The winners of the most recent Patrimonito Storyboard Competition have been announced. The winning storyboard will be developed into the next episode of Patrimonito's World Heritage Adventures, a cartoon series for young people on World Heritage preservation. 6th: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Uganda (The Virunga Mountains) Watch English/French/Spanish ...