News

Disaster and risk are threats to World Heritage sites. The increasing impact of disasters in Africa and their growing complexity is a great concern for site managers, heritage professionals, and decision-makers. According to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), millions of people worldwide are affected annually by disasters arising from extreme natural phenomena such ...

The Centre for World Natural Heritage Management and Training for the Asia and Pacific Region, a UNESCO Category 2 Centre, at the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), in Dehradun, India, will organize two training courses on natural heritage management in Dehradun, India in 2025. This course is directed at professionals, researchers and individuals working in the wildlife conservation/ heritage ...

The World Heritage Scholarship, an international residency, is now open. The scholarship is aimed for people who have a cultural idea, such as art, music, research etc, related to the UNESCO World Heritage list and are interested to connect the World Heritage site Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland with one or more sites around the World in a cultural or artistic way. The award consists of ...

World Heritage Regional Action Plan for Europe and North America (2024-2031) Download UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce that the user-friendly version of the World Heritage Regional Action Plan for Europe and North America (2024-2031), endorsed by the World Heritage Committee during its 46th session in New Delhi (2024), is now available and ready to use! This ...

Working On The Future After seventeen years of grassroots youth activities and international cooperation, the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) Initiative continue to involve young people, communities and site managers in building together new, inclusive societies where World Heritage is a source of resilience, humanity and innovation, beyond the challenges that faces the World. In this ...

On 13 November 2024, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre hosted the online launch of Phase 3 of the Mentorship Programme for African Heritage Professionals. The event was opened by Mr Lazare Eloundou-Assomo, Director of World Heritage, who announced the engagement of a further 20 mentees as part of Phase 3 and invited the new generation of African heritage experts to World Heritage system by ...

[in French only] À Sambava, Madagascar, le projet BIOCOM de l’UNESCO transforme des vies en alliant conservation de la biodiversité et développement communautaire. Grâce à cette initiative, les bénéficiaires acquièrent des compétences techniques tout en adoptant une nouvelle vision des activités professionnelles et de la préservation de l’environnement. Animés par une détermination ...

On 5 December 2024, managers from the 51 UNESCO World Heritage marine sites convened online with experts from UNESCO and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to share best practices in managing tourism sustainably across the globe. Tourism and UNESCO World Heritage marine sites are deeply interconnected, as these flagship marine protected areas (MPAs) often become ...

UNESCO participated actively in the 12th edition of the World Urban Forum (WUF12) in Cairo. Convened by the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the WUF12 focused on the theme of “It All Starts at Home.” The meeting was attended by 25,000 from 182 countries. A UNESCO delegation led by the Deputy Director of the World Heritage Centre, Ms Jyoti Hosabrahar,  highlighted the ...

The Community Management of Protected Areas Conservation (COMPACT) programme provides conservation grants to civil society organisations for activities that improve biodiversity conservation and promote sustainable livelihoods in UNESCO World Heritage sites. The programme is run by UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and the UNDP-led Global Environment Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme, and it ...

From 2 to 8 November 2024, UNESCO organized the 2nd Capacity Building workshop on Digital documentation of World Heritage Sites in the Arab States in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This workshop was organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Saudi National Commission for Education, Culture and Science and the Heritage Commission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. 'Dive into ...

[in French only] Jean Didier Nonta, 55 ans, père de quatre enfants, vit dans le fokontany d’Ambodivohitra, district d’Andapa, région SAVA. Comme beaucoup de membres de sa communauté, pour subvenir aux besoins de sa famille, il dépendait autrefois de l’exploitation des ressources forestières.Ceci inclue la coupe d’arbres pour la fabrication de planches et d’autres ressources forestières non ...

[in French only] Dans la région SAVA à Madagascar, Estonie, 28 ans, est agriculteur et enseignant FRAM résidant dans le Fokontany d’Andranomifotitra. Il incarne la réussite dans les pratiques rizicoles durables et la préservation des ressources naturelles. Grâce à l’adoption des techniques du Système de Riziculture Améliorée (SRA) apprises par sa propre observation, il a transformé ses ...

[in French only] A travers le projet BIOCOM, l’UNESCO se donne pour objectif d’établir, de conserver et de gérer de manière durable les joyaux de la biodiversité dans le parc national d’Andohahela, région Anosy de Madagascar. Pour ce faire, elle multiplie les efforts pour renforcer les surveillances autour et dans le parc à travers le renforcement de capacités des agents de parcs et les ...

Thanks to the continued support of the Government of Flanders (Belgium), the World Heritage Online Map Platform is being expanded to include World Heritage properties in Africa, thereby extending the benefits of this Geographic Information System to the region and enhancing the monitoring capacity of digital tool. The World Heritage Online Map Platform (WHOMP) is an innovative online tool ...

From 23 to 28 September 2024, the Jodensavanne Foundation organized an archaeology volunteer project at the Jodensavanne Archaeological Site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2023. The Foundation organized this volunteer project for the second consecutive year under the coordination of Sushmeeta Ganesh, a junior archaeologist. Nineteen participants between 12 and 70 years old participated ...

12 October 2024 - For the first time this year, the theme of the World Migratory Bird Day highlights the importance of insects for migratory birds, and calls more action to protect  decreasing populations of insects. Insects are vital energy sources for many bird species during the breeding season and their migration. They significantly affect the timing, duration, and overall success of ...

From 8 to 13 September 2024, the Península Valdés marine World Heritage property in Argentina hosted the inaugural Regional meeting of UNESCO World Heritage marine site managers from Latin America and the Caribbean. The event brought together managers from the 12 UNESCO World Heritage marine sites in the region, alongside experts from UNESCO and the International Union for Conservation of ...

 ‘‘Reshaping Heritage Conservation in Higher Education: What, How, for Whom?”, 25-26 October 2025, Shanghai China, WHITRAP Shanghai and CAUP Tongji University WHITRAP Shanghai is pleased to post the preliminary announcement & call for paper of the 1st International Network for Urban-rural Heritage Conservation in Higher Education Institutions (UHC-HEI) International Conference on ...

The UNESCO Regional Office in Cairo is pleased to announce the opening of two major exhibitions in collaboration with the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation and the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo. These exhibitions, hosted by Museum, offer an immersive exploration of the history, culture, and architecture of the Islamic world, focusing on two distinct themes which are ...