News

On Wednesday 20 July 2016, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA) and the municipalities of Bethlehem and Battir organized an official ceremony to celebrate the inscription of the two World Heritage properties in Palestine: “The Birthplace of Jesus: Church of the Nativity and the Pilgrimage Route, Bethlehem” and “Palestine: Land of Olives and Vines – Cultural Landscape of Southern ...

By Decision 40 COM 17, the World Heritage Committee, decided to continue the work of its 40th session at UNESCO’s Headquarters in the course of October 2016. Therefore, please save the date for this meeting which will take place in Room II at UNESCO’s Headquarters from 24 to 26 October 2016. More detailed information regarding this meeting will be available in due ...

The World Heritage Centre has learned with great sadness of the recent passing of Luc Hoffmann, a pioneer in nature conservation whose impact touched all the corners of the globe. An ornithologist, conservationist and philanthropist, Mr Hoffmann co-founded the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and helped establish the Ramsar Convention for the protection of Wetlands. He set up the Tour du Valat ...

A World Heritage partners’ event and panel discussion took place on the 15th of July in Istanbul sponsored by the Korean National Commission for UNESCO, on the occasion of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee The Partners' event, for the third consecutive year, provided a platform for discussing private sector partners’ contributions to World Heritage conservation and promotion ...

The UNESCO Dolomites Foundation is the first Italian organisation to sign up to the Google Trekker Loan Program, so from today it will be possible to enjoy the Dolomites online, anywhere from New York to Calcutta, on Google Maps Street View. The result of the combined effort put in by volunteer mapping team from the Dolomites regional mountaineering clubs, the UNESCO Dolomites park ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 17 July—The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Istanbul, Turkey from 10 to 17 July with Ambassador, Director General of Cultural Affairs and Promotion Abroad of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lale Ülker as its Chairperson has inscribed 21 sites on the World Heritage List. They include 12 cultural sites, six natural and three mixed sites. The World Heritage List ...

Istanbul, Turkey 17 July—The World Heritage Committee, on the last afternoon of its 40th session which opened on 10 July, inscribed eight new sites on the List: one transnational site (in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan), and others in Canada, Chad, China, Iraq, Iran, Mexico and Sudan. The newly inscribed natural sites are: Hubei Shennongjia (China)—Located in Hubei Province, in ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 17 July—The World Heritage Committee this morning inscribed four new sites on the World Heritage List: the transnational serial site of The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement (Argentina, Belgium, France, Germany, India, Japan, Switzerland), along with sites in Antigua and Barbuda, Brazil and India. Today’s inscription gives ...

The 40th session of the World Heritage Committee will resume on Sunday 17 July at Istanbul Congress Center, with a Bureau meeting at 9 am, followed by the Plenary at 9.30 am. The agenda of tomorrow's meeting will be restricted to a limited number of items. The 40th session will end on Sunday evening after these items are examined. Watch  Follow the Committee’s live ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 15 July—The World Heritage Committee inscribed five new sites on the World Heritage List this afternoon. One of the new sites, a transboundary property, is located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, the others are in Greece, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. The new sites, in the order of their inscription, are: Stećci – Medieval Tombstones ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 15 July—The World Heritage Committee, meeting for its 40th session since 10 July, this morning inscribed four new sites in China, India, Iran and Micronesia on the World Heritage List. Nan Madol: Ceremonial Centre of Eastern Micronesia in the Federated States of Micronesia was inscribed both on the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The new ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 14 July—The World Heritage Committee today placed the five World Heritage sites of Libya on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of damage caused by the conflict affecting the country and the threat of further damage it poses. The five sites are: Archaeological Site of Cyrene, Archaeological Site of Leptis Magna, Archaeological Site of Sabratha, Rock-Art Sites of ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 13 July — The World Heritage Committee has decided to add Uzbekistan’s Historic Centre of Shakhrisyabz to the List of World Heritage in Danger due to the over-development of tourist infrastructure in the site. The Committee expressed concern over the destruction of buildings in the centre of the World Heritage site’s Medieval neighbourhoods and the construction of modern ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 13 July—The World Heritage Committee has decided to remove Georgia’s Historical Monuments of Mtskheta site from the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee’s decision reflects recognition of Georgia’s efforts to improve the safeguarding and management of the site, which had been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2009. It had been put on the List in ...

Istanbul, Turkey, 13 July—The World Heritage Committee has added the Old Towns of Djennéthe List of World Heritage in Danger due to insecurity, which is affecting the area and preventing the implementation of protective measures for the Malian World Heritage site. The Committee has expressed concern over the property, which is situated in an area affected by insecurity. This situation is ...

Istanbul, 10 July - The 40th session of the World Heritage Committee opened today in Istanbul (Turkey) under the chairmanship of Lale Ülker, Ambassador, Director General of Cultural Affairs and Promotion Abroad of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The opening ceremony was an opportunity to stress that World Heritage, which is now, more than ever, the subject of numerous threats, must ...

Istanbul, July 10 - The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today appointed Turkish musician Kudsi Ergüner, UNESCO Artist for Peace, at a ceremony held had the Congress Center in Istanbul (Turkey) following the opening ceremony of the 40th session of the World Heritage Committee, which ends on 20 July. Kudsi Ergüner is named in recognition of his efforts to promote the universal values ...

[in French only] Il faudrait construire 90 000 logements par jour, d’ici à 2030, pour répondre aux besoins de 3 milliards de personnes selon UN-Habitat. Face à ce défi, l’architecture de terre propose un certain nombre de solutions. Souvent sous-estimée comme matériau de construction, la terre est pourtant utilisée encore aujourd’hui par plus d’un tiers de la population mondiale. Elle offre ...

From 23-25 June 2016, UNESCO brought together site managers from natural and cultural heritage sites in Tanzania, which are recognized as World Heritage and/or Man and Biosphere Reserves (MAB), community representatives, private partners and national authorities for a workshop to raise capacities in planning and writing project proposals. A total of 35 participants gathered near Kilimanjaro ...