31 news
MonthJune 2013close
Friday, 28 June 2013
Some 500 of the 1400 participants of the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee made the journey from Phnom Penh to Siam Reap and visited the Terrace of the Elephants at Angkor Thom ahead of the closing ceremony of the event.
The stone elephants that flank the impressive platform built some eight centuries ago by Angkor's King Jayavarman VII for public ceremonies were surrounded by ...
1 min read
Sunday, 23 June 2013
Two new sites and one extension to a Polish site were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on Sunday afternoon, bringing to 19 the total number of sites added to the List during the 37th session taking place in Phnom Penh.
The latest inscriptions are:
Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, (Germany)
Descending a long hill dominated by a giant statue of Hercules, the monumental water ...
4 min read
My Son, Viet Nam: Director-General Celebrates Restoration of World Heritage Champa Kingdom Monuments
Sunday, 23 June 2013
After 16 years of excavation and restoration work, a group of tower temples and monuments belonging to the My Son Sanctuary, once the religious and political capital of the Champa Kingdom, were inaugurated by the Director-General with Vietnamese authorities and the Ambassador of Italy to Viet Nam on 22 June.
Under steady rainfall, dancers and musicians lined the path leading through lush ...
2 min read
Sunday, 23 June 2013
The World Heritage Committee inscribed the following three sites on Sunday morning:
Ancient City of Tauric Chersonese and its Chora (Ukraine).
The site features the remains of a city founded by Dorian Greeks in the 5th century BC on the northern shores of the Black Sea. It encompasses six component sites with urban remains and agricultural lands divided into several hundreds of chora, ...
3 min read
Saturday, 22 June 2013
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed a site of rice terraces in Yunnan (China) and an extension to the uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park which is now known as the mixed cultural and natural Maloti Drakensberg Tranboundary World Heritage Site (Lesotho and South Africa).
Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China
The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China covers ...
2 min read
Saturday, 22 June 2013
Qatar and Fiji had their first World Heritage sites inscribed during the afternoon session of the World Heritage Committee on Saturday, as the intergovernmental body added six properties to UNESCO’s World Heritage List
Fujisan, Sacred Place and Source of Artistic Inspiration (Japan)
The beauty of the solitary, often snow-capped, stratovolcano, known around the world as Mount Fuji, ...
5 min read
Friday, 21 June 2013
China’s Xinjiang Tianshan and Namib Sand Sea (Namibia) were inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on Friday. Mount Kenya-Lewa Wildlife conservancy (Kenya), was also inscribed as an extension to Mount Kenya Natural Park / Natural Forest.
Xinjiang Tianshan (China)
Xinjiang Tianshan (China) comprises four components—Tomur, Kalajun-Kuerdening, Bayinbukuke and ...
3 min read
Friday, 21 June 2013
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed natural sites from Tajikistan, Italy, and Mexico on the World Heritage List.
Tajikistan National Park (Mountains of the Pamirs) (Tajikistan)
Tajikistan National Park (Tajikistan) covers more than 2.5 million hectares in the east of the country, at the centre of the so-called “Pamir Knot”, a meeting point of the highest mountain ranges ...
3 min read
Hill Forts of Rajastan and Wooden Churches of the Carpathian region inscribed on World Heritage List
Friday, 21 June 2013
The World Heritage Committee today inscribed two new cultural World Heritage sites, one in India and the other astride the border of Poland and Ukraine.
Hill Forts of Rajasthan (India)
The serial site, situated in the state of Rajastahan, includes six majestic forts in Chittorgarh; Kumbhalgarh; Sawai Madhopur; Jhalawar; Jaipur, and Jaisalmer. The ecclectic architecture of the forts, some up ...
2 min read
Thursday, 20 June 2013
The World Heritage Committee has decided to place the six World Heritage sites of the Syrian Arab Republic on the List of World Heritage in Danger so as to draw attention to the risks they are facing because of the situation in the country.
The danger listing is intended to mobilize all possible support for the safeguarding of these properties which are recognized by the international ...
1 min read
Thursday, 20 June 2013
The World Heritage Youth Forum, Cambodia 2013 was held at the site of Angkor, Siem Reap and Phnom Penh, Cambodia from 8 to 16 June 2013, in conjunction with the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee. The event gathered 36 youth representatives from 16 countries, including 20 from Cambodia.
The World Heritage Youth Forum aimed at raising awareness among young people about the ...
3 min read
Wednesday, 19 June 2013
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in partnership with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) and in collaboration with the Centre for Heritage Development in Africa (CHDA) and the Ministry of Arts and Culture of Mauritius, is organising a month-long field training project on risk management at World Heritage sites from the 19 August 2013 to 13 September 2013 at the Aapravasi Ghat and Le Morne ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
UNESCO and Panasonic Corporation announced the renewal of their strategic partnership agreement today. The new agreement will run for two years from June 2013 to May 2015.
The strategic framework agreement was signed by UNESCO Director-General, Ms. Irina Bokova and Senior Managing Executive Officer of Panasonic Corporation, Mr. Takumi Kajisha, on June 18, 2013, in Phnom Penh in the Kingdom ...
5 min read
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
The World Heritage site of East Rennell has been inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger due to logging that is affecting the ecosystem of the Solomon Islands’ World Heritage site.
The World Heritage Committee determined that logging is threatening the outstanding universal value of East Rennell, and asked the national authorities to provide an impact ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
On 16 June, during her official visit to the Kingdom of Cambodia, the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, met with His Majesty King Norodom Sihamoni, who underscored the "strong ties which unite the Kingdom of Cambodia and UNESCO".
"I will always stand at the side of UNESCO to uphold its values," declared the King, voicing his pride and privilege to host the 37th session of the World ...
8 min read
Tuesday, 18 June 2013
On 17 June 2013, in the context of the 37th Session of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, the Director-General, Irina Bokova, took part in the Round Table of African Ministers, organized by UNESCO and the African World Heritage Fund and attended by over 100 participants.
Ministers from Namibia, Tanzania, Chad, Mali, Kenya, Cape Verde, and Cameroun discussed the situation ...
1 min read
Monday, 17 June 2013
The World Heritage Committee has decided that improvements in the management and conservation of the World Heritage site of Bam and its Cultural Landscape, in the Islamic Republic of Iran, meant the property could be removed from the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Bam was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004, shortly after it was struck by a major earthquake. Damage caused by the ...
1 min read
Monday, 17 June 2013
Must countries choose between economic development and the safeguarding of heritage? This was the subject of the annual Round Table of African Ministers organized by the African World Heritage Fund and UNESCO as part of the 37th World Heritage Committee session taking place in Phnom Penh (16 to 27 June).
Speakers at the event, alongside UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova and the ...
2 min read
Sunday, 16 June 2013
The 37th session of the World Heritage Committee is now underway in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, from 16 to 27 June 2013.
Media contacts: Roni Amelan +33 (0)1 45 68 17 64 and, during the Committee meeting: +33 (0)6 31 54 30 36Photo: A photo gallery with pictures that can be used for editorial purposes (with mention of copyright) will be available here: www.unesco.org/new/whc-photosVideo: ...
Sunday, 16 June 2013
Solemn appeals for the preservation of the heritage of humanity and colourful cultural performances marked the opening of the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee in Phnom Penh on 16 June.
The opening ceremony was marked by the moving return to Cambodia of two major art treasures of the 10th century by Emily K. Rafferty, President of the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art ...
3 min read
Friday, 14 June 2013
From 23 to 26 April 2013, the Swiss luxury watch manufacturer Jaeger-LeCoultre, partner of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre since 2008, organized its fourth online auction for the benefit of World Heritage marine sites. This year, the Manufacture auctioned a watch inspired by the Memovox Deep Sea of 1959: Prototype N° 1 of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Chronograph ...
2 min read
Friday, 14 June 2013
Enter a Competition for the chance to win 1 of 5 copies of World Heritage: Benefits Beyond Borders! This book was jointly published by UNESCO and Cambridge University Press on the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. It is a cross-disciplinary collection of case studies providing a meeting point for researchers, practitioners and community representatives and promoting ...
Friday, 14 June 2013
This newly published brochure "New life for historic cities: The historic urban landscape approach explained" introduces the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, which was adopted on 10 November 2011 by the 36th session of UNESCO's General Conference, and how to apply the Historic Urban Landscape approach in the local context.
UNESCO's approach to managing historic urban ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 11 June 2013
Participants to the 5th annual World Heritage Centre / Earthwatch / Shell "Business Planning for natural World Heritage site managers" year long training programme have just been informed of their successful candidacies. In October 2013, 18 World Heritage site staff from 6 sites in Africa will travel to the Mpala Research Centre in the shadow of Mount Kenya World ...
1 min read
Sunday, 9 June 2013
“UNESCO saved the temples of Egypt and rebuilt the Mostar Bridge. UNESCO will rebuild the mausoleums of Mali,“ said UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova during the ceremony on 5 June to award French President Francois Hollande the UNESCO-Felix Houphouet-Boigny Peace Prize.
The first steps towards this project were taken this week when a UNESCO team of experts visited ...
2 min read
Friday, 7 June 2013
Over 1,000 new species have been discovered at marine sites since their inscription on the World Heritage List. This data has been compiled in UNESCO’s global marine biodiversity data portal Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). The 1972 World Heritage Convention protects 46 marine sites in recognition of their exceptional natural phenomena, their geological processes, ...
1 min read
Friday, 7 June 2013
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre has published a brochure reporting the events and activities carried out in 2012 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. This colorful, illustrated publication provides a record of the various initiatives that the World Heritage community undertook at the international, national and local levels-- more than 120 events in 48 ...
1 min read
Friday, 7 June 2013
The World Heritage Committee will consider the inscription of 32 sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during its next session, from 16 to 27 June in Phnom Penh and Siem Reap (Cambodia).
Media wishing to attend the meeting must register online. The Committee’s debates, chaired by Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister Sok An, will also be webcast. A press conference with the ...
3 min read
Wednesday, 5 June 2013
With almost a thousand sites inscribed on the World Heritage List, the reach of the World Heritage Convention is vast. To better present one important issue and the work that’s being done to make a difference, UNESCO has produced an infographic on rhinoceros conservation. This attractive, easy to follow poster describes the plight of several rhinoceros species in Africa and Asia, and how ...
2 min read
Monday, 3 June 2013
The Tubbataha Reef sprawls across 100,000 hectares and supports over 350 species of coral and almost 500 species of fish. Earlier this year, two vessels grounded in Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park – a jewel in the middle of Philippines' Sulu Sea. First a U.S. Navy ship grounded on the reef in January. A couple of months later, a Chinese fishing ...
1 min read
Sunday, 2 June 2013
In the wake of alarming media reports on damage to several historic and religious sites in various regions of Syria, I wish to express my grave concern for the safety of Syria’s cultural heritage. I call upon the perpetrators to cease the destruction immediately and demonstrate respect for the beliefs and traditions of all Syrians.
I also strongly urge all the parties to the conflict ...
1 min read
