News

At its 38th session to be held in Doha, Qatar, from 15 to 25 June 2014, the World Heritage Committee will examine the state of conservation of 150 World Heritage properties.  The full reports are now publicly available through the World Heritage State of conservation Information System at the following Web address: whc.unesco.org/en/soc As part of the reactive monitoring process for ...

On the occasion of the 38th Session of the World Heritage Committee (Doha, Qatar), the World Heritage Centre and the African World Heritage Fund are organizing a Roundtable Discussion for African Ministers responsible for World Heritage with the Director General of UNESCO on 21 June. This Roundtable Discussion will allow African Ministers to share their views on the accomplishments, ...

The reconstruction of the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi in Uganda was launched today at a ceremony held on the World Heritage site, which was partially destroyed by fire in March 2010.The project , which is financed by Japan, is being implemented by the Ugandan Government and UNESCO. The ceremony was attended by several government representatives including Uganda’s Permanent ...

From 22 to 25 April 2014, government leaders, ocean practitioners, business, science, donors and international agencies came together at the Global Oceans Action Summit for Food Security and Blue Growth. The Summit, hosted by the government of the Netherlands, aimed at identifying solutions, financing mechanisms and mobilizing innovative partnerships to scale up the efforts toward healthy ...

UNESCO Bangkok Director Gwang-Jo Kim and Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) Director-General Nalikatibhag Sangsnit officially launched the “Cultural Heritage Specialist Guides for the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns World Heritage Site” project at a ceremony in Sukhothai on 21 April. The Historic Town of Sukhothai and ...

The latest version of the World Heritage map, produced by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and National Geographic Maps, has now been published in Arabic thanks to support from the Qatar Museums Authority. The map is an extremely valuable learning and awareness-raising tool that gives a rich and initial contact with the World Heritage concept, allowing UNESCO to communicate its work in this ...

"It is with distress and anger that I learned of the violent attack against Emmanuel de Merode, chief warden of Virunga National Park,” said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova. “We are following his condition closely and wish him a full and speedy recovery," she added. “It is unacceptable that professionals like those of the Congolese Institute for the Conservation of ...

The cultural landscape of the Loire Valley (France) has launched a new promotion and interpretation tool: a geo localized application for Smartphones on the landscape of the Loire valley: "The Loire valley: view from the train “. This application is a Mission Val de Loire’s initiative with the Centre and Pays de la Loire regions’, in partnership with France’s national ...

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today expressed deep concern over the destruction caused by fires that have been raging around the city of Valparaiso and pledged the Organization’s support for Chile in safeguarding the Historic Quarter of the Seaport City of Valparaíso inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2003. “I wish to present my heartfelt condolences ...

This manual provides guidance for States Parties and all those involved in the care of World Heritage cultural properties on how to comply with the requirements of the World Heritage Convention. It also aims to help States Parties to ensure that heritage has a dynamic role in society and harnesses, but also delivers to others, the mutual benefits that such a role can create. The English ...

Launched on 14 March 2014 in partnership with UNESCO, the rehabilitation work carried out on Sheik Baber Baba Idjé and Sheik Mahamane Al Fullani mausoleums of Timbuktu was completed this week. Mausoleums, adjacent to the west side of the Djingareyber Mosque, had been razed to the ground by armed rebel groups on 10 July 2012. Their reconstruction was thus carried out along the ...

UNESCO has announced the renewal of its partnership agreement with OUR PLACE Publishing Ltd. The New Zealand-based company will continue its mission to photograph and promote the sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. Our Place has been documenting World Heritage sites around the globe since first partnering with UNESCO in 2007. So far, Our Place has documented over 360 sites in more ...

On 24 March, the UNESCO Director-General opened an International Conference in Bergen, Norway, on the UNESCO 1972, 2003 and 2005 conventions, entitled “Synergies for Development -- Using natural and cultural heritage in sustainable development.” The Conference is organized by the University of Bergen, in cooperation with the National Commission of Norway for UNESCO, the City of Bergen, the ...

The URHC project team invites young filmmakers and urban heritage lovers aged between 18 and 30 years to produce a video of 5 minutes or less, expressing their vision of Historic Cairo. How do you see Historic Cairo heritage? Show us your vision of the historic soul of the Egyptian capital and of its future.Your video could win the opportunity to represent the image of Historic ...

Residents of Timbuktu today launched the reconstruction of World Heritage mausoleums damaged by the armed extremists who occupied the north and centre of Mali in 2012. During the occupation, the extremists began to destroy the mausoleums - important edifices that bear witness to the golden age of Timbuktu as an economic, intellectual and spiritual centre in the 15th and 16th centuries. These ...

Today, we celebrate the first World Wildlife Day, proclaimed by the UN General Assembly. Since time immemorial, humanity has marvelled at the wild animals with which we co-exist and on which we depend. Prehistoric peoples have depicted wildlife through rock art and engravings, many of which are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. UNESCO’s global network of World Heritage sites ...

The third edition of The World’s Heritage is available now, published by UNESCO Publishing and Collins. Featuring all 981 entries on the UNESCO World Heritage List, with all the new sites inscribed onto the list by the World Heritage Committee in 2013. With only the world’s most spectacular and extraordinary sites making it on to the list, The World’s Heritage (third edition) is a beautiful ...

On 20 February 2014 in Bukhara, Uzbekistan, a discussion on the requirements of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage was organized jointly with the Senate of the Republic of Uzbekistan and the UNESCO Tashkent Office. Mr Sodik Salikhovich Safoev, Head of the Committee on International Relations of the Senate of Oliy Majlis (Parliament) of the ...

In the face of a deteriorating situation inside Syria, the UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova, made the following statement : "The situation in Syria is deteriorating at a rapid pace with incalculable human suffering and loss. Syria’s unique cultural heritage is also subject to tremendous destruction from the conflict. To date, three UNESCO World Heritage Sites -- Palmyra, the Crac ...

Managers of natural World Heritage sites in Africa met with national coordinators of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Small Grants Programme from several African countries in Limbe, Cameroon from 10 to 14 February to discuss how to involve local communities in the conservation of World Heritage sites. This workshop is part of UNESCO’s Africa Nature Programme, which aims to ...