68 news
Year2024close
Thursday, 10 October 2024
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 ...
2 min read
Thursday, 10 October 2024
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 ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 9 October 2024
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 ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 1 October 2024
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 ...
2 min read
Monday, 30 September 2024
‘‘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 ...
1 min read
Thursday, 26 September 2024
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 ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 3 September 2024
Presentation events were held to present the results of the project with technical assistance from UNESCO and financed by the Netherlands Funds-in-Trust.
Asunción hosted on 6 August the presentation of the initial results of the project ‘Design and implementation of the Risk Management Plan for the Jesuit Missions of Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangüe, World Heritage site ...
3 min read
Tuesday, 20 August 2024
On 22 July 2024, the Republic of Nauru officially deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (1972), with the UNESCO Director-General Ms Audrey Azoulay. With this new ratification, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention now has 196 States Parties making the Convention one of the most ratified instruments in the ...
1 min read
Wednesday, 7 August 2024
The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee ended on Wednesday July 31st in New Delhi, India. The 10 days of work resulted in significant advances in the recognition and protection of African heritage, with the inscription of five new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List and the removal of Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal) from the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Thanks to these ...
4 min read
Wednesday, 7 August 2024
On February 22, 2024, Somalia officially submitted its first Tentative List. This act marks an important milestone in the country's recovery and testifies to its ongoing efforts to identify, preserve and promote its national heritage.
The List features two natural sites. The first, "The Hobyo grass and Shrubland", is located along the south-east coast from Galkacyo to Warsheik, and stretches ...
1 min read
Thursday, 1 August 2024
The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee ended on Wednesday in New Delhi, India. The Committee inscribed 26 new cultural and natural properties on UNESCO's World Heritage List. The session concluded with Nauru ratifying the World Heritage Convention and becoming its 196th State Party.
The Committee inscribed 26 new properties, including making 2 major extensions to properties which ...
3 min read
Monday, 29 July 2024
During its 46th session in New Delhi, India today - the World Heritage Committee adopted the 2024-2031 Regional Action Plan of Europe and North America, as one of the outcomes of the Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting for this region.
Action Plans are a tool for setting regional priorities for the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. It is a way of interpreting and translating the ...
1 min read
Friday, 26 July 2024
On 23 July 2023, during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee, UNESCO organized a side event to showcase the progress and achievements of the 'Dive into Heritage' project.
Generously funded by the Ministry of Culture of Saudi Arabia, this event presented an opportunity to highlight the project's advancements to a broader audience, invite States Parties to share their digital World ...
1 min read
Friday, 26 July 2024
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, meeting in New Delhi, India, has decided to inscribe the site ‘The Monastery of Saint Hilarion/Tell Umm Amer’ in Palestine simultaneously on the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger. This decision recognizes both the site's value and the need to protect it from danger.
In view of the threats to this heritage site posed by the ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 24 July 2024
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee, meeting in New Delhi (India), decided on Wednesday to remove Niokolo-Koba National Park in Senegal from the List of World Heritage in Danger, following the positive steps taken by the State Party, which have contributed to improving the natural site’s state of conservation.
Inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1981 for its unique biodiversity and ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 17 July 2024
The latest version of the World Heritage map, produced by the World Heritage Centre and Geo4Map with the generous support of India, can now be ordered from the World Heritage Centre website.
The featured image on the map presents the Rani-ki-Vav (the Queen’s Stepwell) at Patan, Gujarat World Heritage property in India, country hosting the next session of the World Heritage Committee in July ...
1 min read
Monday, 8 July 2024
The National Monuments Service World Heritage Scholarship programme has been established in support of the newly proposed National Strategy for World Heritage.
A goal of the Strategy is to advocate for World Heritage nationally and internationally and a principle means of doing this is through education and capacity building initiatives. To this end, Ireland's National Monuments Service is ...
1 min read
Thursday, 4 July 2024
In April and May 2024, UNESCO and its partners organised a webinar series aimed to raise awareness of the site management authorities on the impacts of the avian influenza outbreak on wildlife in UNESCO World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and Ramsar sites. The webinars were attended by nearly 700 people and financially supported by the Swiss Federal Office for Environment ...
Wednesday, 19 June 2024
Oaxaca, Mexico.― On 17-18 June, 2024, UNESCO organized the first workshop for the project ‘Latin America and the Caribbean: Strengthening Capacities for Resilient Communities through Sustainable Tourism and Heritage Safeguarding’, an initiative supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
The workshop brought together site managers from Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, ...
2 min read
Monday, 10 June 2024
Discover the World Heritage Volunteers Initiative and join the 2024 campaign!
© UNESCO
When the World Heritage Volunteers Initiative was launched jointly with the Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service in 2008, 12 projects involving 153 volunteers were selected. Since then, more than 10,000 volunteers have taken part in over 600 action camps in more than 80 countries ...
2 min read
Friday, 7 June 2024
Gathered in Vilnius on Friday, at the initiative of Lithuania, nearly 30 States pledged to increase their support to the recovery of Ukraine’s cultural sector, through the coordination of UNESCO. A medium and long-term plan of action, drawn up by the Organization in consultation with over 40 international and Ukrainian institutions, will be implemented.
There can be no healing of the ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 4 June 2024
The African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) has launched a call for the Moses Mapesa Research Grant to support African Doctoral and Masters Students in the field of natural and cultural heritage. This research grant seeks to further research (particularly supporting fieldwork) on World Heritage and tentative listed sites in Africa.EligibilityThe call is open to students who are:a) Currently or ...
3 min read
Friday, 31 May 2024
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre is pleased to announce the selected projects of the World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) 2024 Campaign, under the theme of ‘World Heritage Volunteers 2024 - Working on the Future’.
90 action camp projects will be implemented from April to December 2024 at 85 World Heritage properties and sites on the Tentative Lists, by 69 organizations in 41 countries around the ...
1 min read
Monday, 27 May 2024
On 8 - 9 May 2024, UNESCO, in partnership with the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar, through the financial support from the Governments of Japan and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Saudi Fund for Culture at UNESCO, successfully launched the Majestic Cinema Rehabilitation Project during a two-day event in Stone Town of Zanzibar, United Republic of Tanzania. In collaboration with HIFADHI ...
2 min read
Thursday, 23 May 2024
On 22 May 2024, managers from the 29 UNESCO World Heritage-listed coral reefs came together online with experts from the United States National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) to share experiences in monitoring the effects of the fourth mass bleaching event that is currently unfolding around the globe.
The world is now experiencing its fourth global coral bleaching event, as ...
2 min read
Friday, 10 May 2024
With large ocean spaces and customary land tenures, UNESCO World Heritage sites in the Pacific region link culture and nature with people and communities through their unique values and management systems.
However, Pacific Island countries are underrepresented on the UNESCO World Heritage List. This is not due to the lack of globally significant natural and cultural heritage places but to ...
3 min read
Tuesday, 7 May 2024
It is with deep sadness that UNESCO has learned of Professor Dawson Munjeri's death. He passed away at his home in Helensvale, Harare, on 29 April 2024. Professor Munjeri was an eminent scholar and ardent defender of the World Heritage of Africa and beyond.
Professor Dawson Munjeri was a towering figure in the realm of heritage preservation, a guiding light of cultural stewardship in ...
3 min read
Monday, 6 May 2024
The mentees currently benefitting from the UNESCO Mentorship Programme for African Heritage professionals participated in a field mission as part of a workshop co-organized on 12 and 13 February 2024 by the UNESCO Regional Office in Dakar and ICCROM. This workshop aimed to support the regional and national focal points of West Africa with their Periodic Reporting, in particular to evaluate ...
1 min read
Friday, 3 May 2024
Every year, on 5 May, we celebrate African World Heritage Day to honour the natural wonders and cultural legacies of Africa.
From Mbanza Kongo, capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo in Angola, to the fortress of Fasil Ghebbi in the Gondar Region of Ethiopia, cultural sites across Africa bear witness to the continent’s multifaceted history, like vibrant strands woven into the tapestry of ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 30 April 2024
This year, 2024, the World Heritage Residence Scholarship goes to German artist Paul Wiersbinski, Berlin, for his project entitled "The Perfect House". The project will connect together the World Heritage sites Decorated Farmhouses of Hälsingland and the German Berlin Modernism Housing Estates by artistically interweaving urban Berlin with rural Hälsingland. The project was inspired by the ...
3 min read
Monday, 22 April 2024
Experts from East Africa gathered in Nairobi for a workshop to discuss current challenges posed at the World Heritage sites in danger in Kenya, Madagascar, and Tanzania.
Africa, despite its rich and diverse cultural and natural heritage, remains the second least represented region on the World Heritage List. The continent hosts the highest number of endangered properties, with 14 out of the ...
3 min read
Monday, 22 April 2024
In harmony with the African Union's theme of the year for 2024, “Educate and Skill Africa for the 21st Century,” the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) invites African States Parties (particularly heritage professionals and institutions, civil society organisations, local communities and the youth) to participate in the celebration of the nineth edition of this international day under the ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 16 April 2024
At its extended 45th session in September 2023 in Riyadh, the World Heritage Committee, in its Decision 45COM 7A.4, adopted the desired state of conservation for the removal of the Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve from the List of World Heritage in Danger (DSOCR).
During the same session, the World Heritage Centre, in collaboration with IUCN, organized a brainstorming meeting with ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 16 April 2024
The “My Heritage” short-film competition is back.
The Arab Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH) and the Heritage Commission in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in collaboration with the UNESCO Chair for World Heritage management and Sustainable Tourism in the Arab Region, is pleased to announce to invite you to participate in the third edition of the short-film competition “My Heritage.”
In this ...
1 min read
Monday, 15 April 2024
Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981 under criterion (x) referring to its unique biodiversity and exceptional ecosystems, the Niokolo-Koba National Park (Senegal) has been on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2007, due to various disturbances to its biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as the emergence of development projects. It is in this context that UNESCO is ...
2 min read
Monday, 15 April 2024
Inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1981, and placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger twice, from 1984 to 1988 and from 2000 to 2006, the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (Senegal) has benefitted from UNESCO's support since 2021 as part of the “Protection measures against the impacts of agricultural and agro-industrial projects in the Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary” ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 10 April 2024
The Jodensavanne Archaeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and the Cassipora Creek Cemetery
Twenty-five years after being included in the Tentative List of Suriname, this serial property was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2023. “The Jodensavanne Archaeological Site: Jodensavanne Settlement and Cassipora Creek Cemetery”, is comprised of two 17th-century component parts that are ...
6 min read
Tuesday, 9 April 2024
In April 2023, during her visit to Chernihiv and her meeting with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, committed to support efforts to rehabilitate the historic centre of Chernihiv, deeply affected in the early months of the war by the attacks from the Russian Federation. To draw up this important planning tool, a new mission of UNESCO and ...
3 min read
Friday, 5 April 2024
On Thursday 4 April 2024, experts and managers from marine protected areas around the globe met online to exchange firsthand perspectives on tackling the effects of land-based pollution sources and water quality on coral reefs.
The impacts of land-based pollution on coral reefs are significant and diverse, playing a major role in the degradation of reef ecosystems. Runoff containing ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 3 April 2024
On 3 April 2024, the UNESCO World Heritage Secretariat organised a second Learning & Exchange workshop in the framework of the project entitled ‘Post COVID-19 World Heritage Site Management: Integration of Conservation, Tourism and Local Livelihood Strategies at World Heritage Sites’, funded by the government of Japan through the UNESCO/Japanese Funds-in-Trust.
The workshop started with ...
2 min read
Friday, 29 March 2024
In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the global tourism industry faced significant setbacks, particularly affecting economies heavily reliant on tourism, like Seychelles. The pandemic showed the vulnerability of tourism, leading to a drastic decline of over 70% in foreign visitors to Seychelles in 2020. This downturn highlighted the nation's dependence on tourism revenue to sustain its ...
2 min read
Thursday, 28 March 2024
In a pivotal moment for global sustainable development, the UNESCO-EU Regional Preparatory Capacity-Building Workshop successfully gathered representatives from 24 countries, emphasizing the critical role of enhanced data collection in achieving culture-driven sustainable development.
In alignment with the 2022 MONDIACULT Declaration, which emphasizes the pivotal role of data collection and ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 26 March 2024
World Heritage in the 21st Century: Building Capacities and Exploring Opportunities for Youth
As an integral part of the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee and in the framework of the UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme, the Ministry of Culture through the Archaeological Survey of India, will host the World Heritage Young Professionals Forum 2024 under the theme of World ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 20 March 2024
This is the story of an archaeological rescue operation of unprecedented scale. In the midst of the Cold War, under the aegis of UNESCO, around fifty countries managed to put aside their differences to save, together, the treasures of ancient Egypt. Threatened by the waters of the Aswan High Dam under construction, they risked being lost forever.
The Campaign for the Safeguarding of the ...
1 min read
Friday, 15 March 2024
UNESCO and ICOMOS visited the Archaeological Ruins at Moenjodaro, Pakistan, in early March 2024 to monitor the restoration work and elaborate a strategy for drastic intervention in recovering from the disastrous rainfall of August 2022.
Mohenjodaro, a world-renowned Indus civilisation metropolis dating back to the third millennium BCE, began to be excavated in 1922. From 1974 to 1997, UNESCO ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 13 March 2024
Following the first case of Avian Influenza in the Galápagos, the Rapid Response Facility (RRF), a UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Fauna and Flora joint initiative has provided US$ 40,000 to support active surveillance of seabird populations, aiming to understand the extent and limit the spread of the potentially devastating virus.
In mid-September 2023 the first case of H5N1 Avian ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 13 March 2024
In a groundbreaking move aimed at fostering socio-economic development and preserving cultural heritage, the Governments of Japan and the Kindgom of Saudi Arabia provided support of the Rehabilitation of the Majestic Cinema theatre in Stone Town of Zanzibar, the United Republic of Tanzania and the Government of Zanzibar has now agreed on the strategy, methodology and business plan for the ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 13 March 2024
45 experts were trained on culture’s enabling contribution to the national and local implementation of the Goals and Targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development during a 4-day online training workshop from October 27, 2023, to January 17, 2024.
The experts are pre-selected members of the latest cohort of the UNESCO/EU Expert Facility supporting the UNESCO programme “Advancing ...
1 min read
Friday, 8 March 2024
UNESCO in collaboration with the Kilimanjaro National Park (KINAPA) authority have implemented a project titled “Empowering young women and men for adaptation to climate change at the Kilimanjaro National Park World Heritage site” funded by the Netherlands Funds in Trust (NFIT) from 2022 to 2023, as part of its support to the implementation of the Flagship Programme 3 of Priority Africa. ...
2 min read
Monday, 4 March 2024
The Cook Islands and Tuvalu, two SIDS State Parties in the Pacific, submitted their first Tentative Lists in January 2024, marking a significant step in their continuing efforts on preserving their unique heritage.
The Cook Islands officially submitted their first Tentative List to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre on 17 January 2024, featuring the “Maungaroa Cultural Landscape” situated in ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 28 February 2024
The Bern III Conference convened from 23-25 January 2024 in Bern, Switzerland, bringing together representatives of parties and secretariats of 16 Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs), including the 7 biodiversity-related Conventions, as well as stakeholders, organizations, and experts, to develop ideas for increased collaboration among MEAs at global, regional, and national levels in ...
2 min read
Wednesday, 28 February 2024
The 15th episode of the Patrimonito cartoon series on the theme of World Heritage and Climate Change is now available.
This episode of the Patrimonito cartoon series is based on the winning storyboard of the Partimonito Storyboard Competition in 2022. It was selected by a jury among 710 submissions from 47 State Parties from around the world.
In this adventure, Patrimonito explores World ...
1 min read
Tuesday, 27 February 2024
From 2021 to 2023, the UNESCO Office in Jakarta partnered with the Government of Sawahlunto and the Southeast Asia Museum Services to bring to life a project titled “Supporting Interpretative Strategy, Community Outreach and Community-Led Tourism in World Heritage Site: Ombilin Coal Mining Heritage of Sawahlunto Indonesia.”
Built for the extraction, processing, and transport of high-quality ...
2 min read
Tuesday, 20 February 2024
Last Friday, the Lagoons of New Caledonia: Reef Diversity and Associated Ecosystems World Heritage site in France took a proactive step to safeguard its coral reefs with the launch of its first strategic reef resilience plan. The strategy brings all partners across the World Heritage-listed coral reef together behind a shared future for the reef. It is expected to boost climate change ...
2 min read
Friday, 16 February 2024
The initiative aims to enhance the cultural, social, economic, and environmental value of the site and its integration with the Sustainable Development Goals.
In an effort to empower the local community in the management and protection of the Maya Site of Copán, UNESCO has conducted an update workshop for the management plan. This workshop is an integral part of the project "Post-COVID-19 ...
2 min read
