News

Following news of the collapse of a part of the House of Wonders (Beit-al-Ajaib) in Stone Town, Zanzibar on 25 December 2020, the Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Ms Mechtild Rössler joins the people of Zanzibar, and the United Republic of Tanzania in general to mourn this sudden and significant loss. The House of Wonders is one of the outstanding monuments in the Stone Town of ...

12 December, 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of the inscription of “Kyiv: Saint-Sophia Cathedral and Related Monastic Buildings, Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra” on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.  To celebrate the occasion, the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and the National Kyiv-Pechersk Historical and Cultural Preserve, in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, ...

12 December 2020 marked the 30th anniversary of the inscription of the Historic Centre of San Gimignano on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.  On this occasion, the City of San Gimignano organized a celebratory event, bringing together high-level representatives from the Italian government and UNESCO, as well as site managers, experts, artists, and representatives from the public sector and ...

The Deputy Director of the World Heritage Centre participates in the international scientific meeting on the “Heritage Impact Assessment: A Tool for the Protection and Safeguarding of World Heritage” On 26 November 2020, the Foundation for the Safeguarding of the Cultural Heritage of Rabat, in partnership with the Ministry Of Youth Culture And Sports and UNESCO, organised an international ...

On 4 November 2020, Domus organized the DomusForum 2020 “The future of cities”. The conference brought together high-profile experts, international organizations, business leaders, government officials and academics for a conversation on the challenges faced by cities, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The conference focused on a central question: "Will the concept of ...

In reaction to numerous inaccurate statements and errors circulating in the press about the situation of Hagia Sophia, UNESCO wishes to recall the following: UNESCO reacted to the change of Hagia Sophia's status as early as July 2020 and expressed its concern in this regard. This position has remained constant since then.  UNESCO immediately initiated a review process and sent a mission ...

On 5 October 2020, the Urban Economy Forum (UEF) in collaboration with UN-Habitat organized the "Urban Economy Forum 2020". The event brought together ministers, mayors, representatives of UN agencies, and high-profile experts from the private and public sectors and academia for a conversation on sustainable urban development for achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. UNESCO ...

On 29 October 2020, the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) secretariat presented the draft UfM Strategic Action Plan and its Housing Action Plan to the Euro-Mediterranean local and regional authorities, as well as associations active in the region, within the framework of the ongoing consultation process on the development of the Strategic Action Plan for sustainable urban development. The ...

This World Cities Day is the seventh global celebration since the day was launched in 2014 in Shanghai, China. The 2020 World Cities Day themed ‘Valuing our communities and cities’ underlines the importance of the local communities who are at the heart of building sustainable cities. By 2050, nearly 7 out of 10 people in the world will live in cities. Cities have become the point of ...

UNESCO profoundly regrets the loss of life and property in a number of historic centers in Yemen, including in the World Heritage sites of Zabid, Shibam, and Sana’a, in recent days following exceptional extreme weather conditions in the country. The resulting damage is endangering the lives of the inhabitants of these historic centers, leaving some of them without adequate shelter and ...

While reiterating expressions of condolence and solidarity with the people of Lebanon in the wake of the tragic explosions in Beirut on 4 August 2020,  UNESCO is taking action and organizing a meeting on 10 August together with the Directorate General of Antiquities in the Ministry of Culture of Lebanon and its partners – ALIPH, ARC-WH, Blue Shield, ICCROM, ICOM and ICOMOS - to jointly assess ...

UNESCO will support the social cohesion and resilience of communities suffering from years of armed conflict in central Mali as part of a major new project, made possible through USD 1 million in funding from the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH).  The project will provide critical support to the rehabilitation of the World Heritage site of ...

The coronavirus has challenged the core of what makes cities vibrant and successful: busy streets full of people. Will these cities ever come back to be the same? The webinar on Euro-Mediterranean cities in the post-pandemic era, organized by the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) Secretariat in cooperation with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, reflected on sustainable urban development in ...

Hagia Sophia: UNESCO deeply regrets the decision of the Turkish authorities, made without prior discussion, and calls for the universal value of World Heritage to be preserved The Director-General of UNESCO deeply regrets the decision of the Turkish authorities, made without prior discussion, to change the status of Hagia Sophia. This evening, she shared her serious concerns with the ...

From 17 to 26 June 2020, UNESCO successfully organised its first World Heritage City Lab, an online innovation laboratory for analysis, assessment, learning, and development of strategies for the protection and management of World Heritage properties in the urban context. Carried out in collaboration with the Advisory Bodies to the World Heritage Convention— the International Council on ...

The Director of the World Heritage Centre held a bilateral meeting, on 1 July, with the Ambassador Permanent Delegate of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to UNESCO in order coordinate the joint actions that could be taken concerning the state of conservation of the property Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas within the framework of cooperation between UNESCO and the State Party.  During the ...

Recent heavy rains reported in the Old City of Sana’a, Yemen, have resulted in extensive damage to the city’s infrastructure, homes, and residential areas located along Wadi Sailah. “UNESCO is deeply concerned about the impact of these flash floods on the Old City of Sana’a and the people who live there. We stand ready to assist in any way we can,” said Ernesto Ottone R., Assistant ...