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1.
Threats to cultural and natural heritage sites from the effects of climate change are further substantiated in a new report presented at the 12th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change taking place in Nairobi, Kenya. The report, entitled 'The Atlas of Climate Change: Mapping the World's Greatest Challenge' describes impacts ...
2.
As part of an ongoing UNESCO Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) project for “Post-fire emergency assistance for the World Heritage property of the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi, Uganda,” an online peer exchange was organized on 15 December 2021 by the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa between the site management authorities of the Kasubi Tombs World Heritage site in ...
3.
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to express its grief at the loss of Richard Leakey, the renowned paleoanthropologist and conservationist whose contributions helped protect Kenyan heritage and furthered the study of human evolution.
Richard spent part of his childhood in Olduvai, in Ngorongoro Tanzania, and his parents Louis and Mary Leakey made important ...
4.
Following the devastating fire at Mount Kenya National Park in February 2019 and the subsequent rampaging wildfire at Simien Mountains National Park in April 2019, UNESCO organized a capacity-building workshop in disaster risk management for World Heritage site managers and other stakeholders from Kenya and Ethiopia from 11 to 14 June 2019 at Mount Kenya World Heritage ...
5.
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 ...
6.
The Kenyan National Commission for UNESCO organized a three-day workshop from 26 to 28 March 2018 in Nairobi, Kenya in order to increase youth engagement in the conservation and promotion of World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage.
As a State Party to three important UNESCO Conventions in the field of Culture, Kenya has made the Protection of the World Cultural and ...
7.
A fire in Mount Kenya National Park/Natural Forest, burning for over two months, escalated to uncontrolled levels on the northern slopes in February. The Rapid Response Facility (RRF), a UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Fauna and Flora International joint initiative providing small grants in emergency situations affecting biodiversity within natural World Heritage sites ...
8.
For more than a week, devastating fires have raged in Mount Kenya National Park, inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997 and a part of the Mount Kenya Biosphere Reserve since 1978.
According to the Kenya National Parks Service (KWS), these fires have already destroyed more than 80,000 hectares of forest and grassland, which represents almost half the area of the World ...
9.
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, ...
10.
On January 15th, forest fires were spotted on the slopes of Mount Kenya, the highest mountain in Africa. Inscribed onto the World Heritage list in 1997, Mount Kenya is a critical refuge for a host of iconic species, ranging from the African elephant, the leopard, and a variety of antelopes and rare birds. The mountain is also referred to as Kenya’s water tower, as it ...
11.
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 ...
12.
On 22 November 2023, the Republic of Kenya and UNESCO signed the Letter of Agreement to establish a partnership for the implementation of the UNESCO Thematic Indicators Culture in the 2030 Agenda (UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators) in Kenya.
The UNESCO Culture|2030 Indicators is a framework to measure and monitor culture’s contribution to the national and local implementation ...
13.
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed the Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley (Kenya) and Australia's Ningaloo Coast on UNESCO's World Heritage List.
The Kenya Lake System in the Great Rift Valley (Kenya), a natural property of outstanding beauty was the first to be added to UNESCO's World Heritage List during the current Committee session. It comprises three ...
14.
The 15th session of the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention elected Kenya and Peru to the World Heritage Committee at the 3rd open ballot. The World Heritage Committee is composed of the following States Parties:BeninCanadaChileCubaIndiaIsraelJapanKenyaKuwaitLithuaniaMadagascarMauritiusMoroccoNetherlandsNew ZealandNorwayPeruRepublic of ...
15.
The field testing of the World Heritage Centre’s field guide for climate change adaptation in natural World Heritage sites was launched last Friday in Nairobi.
Managers from Mount Kenya National Park/National Forest and the Kenya Lakes System in the Great Rift Valley and their civil society partners gathered for a two-day introductory workshop on the field guide. The ...
16.
In response to the fires in Mount Kenya National Park in early March, the Kenyan authorities - Mount Kenya Trust - submitted a grant application to the Rapid Response Facility (RRF) and obtained the maximum amount of US$30,000. This support will make it possible to finance hours of helicopter flights to monitor the Park's risk areas and intervene with water bombers in the ...
17.
Remarkable natural and cultural properties from 40 countries will be considered for inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during the meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Paris (19 – 29 June).
Six of these countries stand to have properties inscribed on the World Heritage List for the first time during the forthcoming session: Barbados, Jamaica, ...
18.
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, ...
19.
On 22 January 2021, the Sultanate of Oman signed an agreement with UNESCO in the amount of Euros 583,566 to provide support for capacity-building of nomination projects and promotion of World Heritage sites in five Eastern African countries: Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia and United Republic of Tanzania. The three-year capacity-building programme will support the ...
20.
In May 2014, forty participants, including site managers and local community representatives from World Heritage sites in Africa, participated in two separate “Entrepreneurial Training Workshops for World Heritage” in Ghana and Senegal, coordinated by the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) in partnership with the World Heritage Centre, UNESCO Offices in Accra ...
21.
The World Heritage Committee has inscribed a total of 25 sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List, including three natural properties, 21 cultural and one mixed site. Two properties were added to the World Heritage List in Danger and one was removed from that list. The World Heritage List now numbers 936 properties: 183 natural sites; 725 cultural; and 28 mixed.
Natural ...
22.
Project Publication on Tourism Management at World Heritage Sites of Portuguese Origin and Influence
In January 2013, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Turismo de Portugal (the Portuguese Tourism Authority) concluded their joint project on capacity-building for tourism management in World Heritage sites of Portuguese origin and influence. The project culminated in a final event at the School of Tourism in Lisbon, Portugal, where were showcased the project’s ...
23.
On 26 March 2021, the Ambassadors of the Sultanate of Oman, Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, United Republic of Tanzania and representative from Somalia joined the UNESCO World Heritage Centre to launch the three-year project entitled: “Supporting capacity-building of World Heritage sites in East Africa” financed by the Sultanate of Oman.
In her welcoming remarks, Ms Mechtild ...
24.
As we celebrate International Day for Monuments and Sites 2019, with the theme of Rural landscapes, we highlight the value of conserving this heritage formed through long-term, harmonious interaction between humankind and the natural environment. Protecting these landscapes is key for sustainable development.
Rural landscapes are biocultural mosaics—using land sustainably ...
25.
Midway through a discussion on risk analysis, someone jumps to their feet and shouts “ELEPHANTS!!” and within a matter of seconds the classroom is deserted. For the next few minutes, the participants in Earthwatch’s Business Skills for World Heritage programme can be found lined up along Mpala Research Centre’s electric fence watching the herd pass on the far side of the ...
26.
The African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) is coordinating the Modern Heritage of Africa (MoHoA) Programme in collaboration with the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), ...
27.
From September to October 2021, five sub-regional meetings were organized with African site managers from Eastern, Central, Southern, Western and Northern Africa to elect the members of the Interim Committee of the African Site Managers Network. 15 members were elected (3 members per sub-region) to work as the Interim Committee to ensure the official establishment of the ...
28.
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 ...
29.
Water is essential to life; no living organism can survive without it. We need water for human survival, and water is critical for sustaining healthy ecosystems, which provide a wide range of benefits to people.
World Heritage sites include a large variety of landscapes, from wet tropical rainforests to arid deserts. Mountains inscribed on the World Heritage List provide ...
30.
The 24th General Assembly of the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention is meeting from 22 to 23 November 2023 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, convening the 195 States Parties to the World Heritage Convention.
During the session, the General Assembly elected nine members to the World Heritage Committee:
Ukraine, Republic of Korea, Viet Nam, Kenya, ...
31.
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 ...
32.
In the Framework of Priority Africa, UNESCO intends to empower African institutions and professionals to safeguard better and promote UNESCO World Heritage properties on the Continent.
Capacity development is, therefore, one of the hallmarks of the new Strategy for World Heritage in Africa. For that, the World Heritage Centre (WHC), in close collaboration with the African ...
33.
The World Heritage Committee will inscribe some of the 30 sites nominated for inclusion on UNESCO’s World Heritage List during its forthcoming meeting in Manama under the chair of Sheikha Haya Rashed Al Khalifa of Bahrain from 24 June to 4 July.
The proposed additions to the World Heritage List number five natural sites, including one extension to a site already inscribed, ...
34.
On 1 and 2 October 2012, a workshop took place in Nairobi, Kenya to launch the UNESCO Africa Nature Programme, which was developed following the results of the second cycle of Periodic Reporting in Africa (2010-2011).
The Africa Nature programme aims to improve the management effectiveness of the natural World Heritage sites in Africa through targeted capacity building and ...
35.
Konso Cultural Landscape (Ethiopia) , Fort Jesus, Mombasa (Kenya) and Citadel of the Ho Dynasty (Viet Nam), have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. Inscriptions are to continue this afternoon.
Konso Cultural Landscape (Ethiopia), is a 55km2 arid property of stone walled terraces and fortified settlements in the Konso highlands of Ethiopia. It constitutes a ...
36.
Following the launch of the first regional competition for Eastern Africa entitled: “Mobilizing Youth Engagement in the Celebration of African World Heritage Day - 5th May 2021,” six (6) proposals from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda were selected as finalists and will receive 5000 USD grants to raise awareness and engagement of youth for the ...
37.
WHTour.org, a non profit organization sponsored by the J.M. Kaplan Fund, announces that 80 World Heritage sites shot in the Middle East and East Africa are now available in 360° panographic format at its website.
Currently panographies from Israel are being explored by thousands of visitors daily. In the coming weeks photos in this unique format will be uploaded from ...
38.
With support from the German Commission for UNESCO’s #SOSAfricanHeritage Fund, seven World Heritage sites from five Eastern African countries have received grants to help overcome impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on management and conservation.
The recipients include: Simien National Park in Ethiopia; Sacred Mijikenda Kaya Forests and Mount Kenya National Park/Natural ...
39.
Following the official launch of the project “ Supporting capacity-building of World Heritage sites in East Africa (Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia, United Republic of Tanzania)” supported by the Sultanate of Oman, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) organized the first consultation meetings with concerned national institutions and partners of the five beneficiary ...
40.
After a rigorous selection process, a total of 18 managers from five World Heritage sites in Africa were recently selected for admission into the World Heritage Centre / Earthwatch / Shell 2011 "Business Planning for natural World Heritage site managers" programme. First offered in South East Asia in 2009 and 2010, this year's programme will focus on Africa. The ...
41.
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 ...
42.
The opening ceremony of the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee took place Sunday at the Bahrain National Theatre in the presence of Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa of Bahrain. It marked the beginning of the Committee's work, which will continue until 4 July.
Several hundred people took part in the ceremony, which was opened by the President of the ...
43.
Thirty-nine nominations from 33 countries will be considered for inscription on UNESCO's World Heritage List during the meeting of the World Heritage Committee underway in Brasilia. Three of the countries - Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Tajikistan - have no properties inscribed on the World Heritage List to date.
The Director-General of UNESCO Irina Bokova and Brazil's ...
44.
The Africa Nature risk preparedness workshop took place from the 20th-25th May 2013 at the Golden Gate Highlands National Park. Organized by African World Heritage Fund with the support of the Government of South Africa, this workshop aimed at English-speaking African countries. It gathered 14 site managers from natural World Heritage Sites in Ethiopia, Kenya, Seychelles, ...
45.
On 10 November 2011 UNESCO’s General Conference adopted the Recommendation on the Historic Urban Landscape, six years after the General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention adopted Resolution 15GA/7 (in October 2005) that called for the elaboration of a new international standard-setting instrument that would be based on the recognition and guidance ...
46.
This year’s World Migratory Bird Day is dedicated to the world’s major bird flyways—the flight paths of migratory birds that span continents and oceans. These flyways include World Heritage sites that are key stopover sites for birds, so the effective conservation of these sites are crucial for migratory bird conservation on a global scale.
The three major flyways, shown ...
47.
The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of 45 new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when it meets for its 31st session in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 23 June to 2 July.During the session, the Committee will also examine a strategy to reduce risks from disasters at World Heritage properties; the impact of climate change on World ...
48.
The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List when it meets for its 34th session in Brasilia (Brazil), from 25 July to 3 August.
During this year’s session - to be chaired by João Luiz Ferreira, the Brazilian Minister of Culture and President of the World Heritage Committee - 35 ...
49.
50 Years of UNESCO World Heritage in partnership with National Geographic
For 50 years now, UNESCO World Heritage has been a source of resilience, humanity and innovation. Through 30 splendid photographs, accompany us on a virtual world tour, focused on the future and youth.
Temporal Illusion, Pyramids of Giza, UNESCO World Heritage, Cairo, Egypt, 2018
Memphis and ...
50.
Mr John Zulu, site manager of Zambia's Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls National Park and World Heritage site arrived in the U.S. August 5th to spend six weeks immersed in the details of people, park and resource management at Grand Canyon National Park as the latest "U.S. World Heritage Fellow" sponsored by the National Park Service with support from the United Nations ...
51.
Every year some 300,000 elephants are killed by poachers in Africa for their tusks, and approximately 41 tons of pangolin scales were seized in Africa (in 2017), that is the equivalent of over 34,000 animals.
On Sunday, 30 September 2018, the Democratic Republic of Congo organized a ceremony, in the presidential park of N’sele, 50 km from the centre of Kinshasa, to set ...
52.
The World Meteorological Organization is launching a series of climate change videos featuring TV weather presenters ahead of the COP21 climate conference (21st Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) to be held in France from 30 November to 11 December 2015.
If humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to ...
53.
With the slogan “ … and when the skies fall silent ", the World Migratory Bird Day 2016 on 10 May aims to highlight the incredible numbers of migratory birds being threatened and lost each year . This is often linked to illicit activities are various and the toll that they are taking is disastrous – millions of birds are being killed each year. Such numbers are totally ...
54.
With the slogan “Their Future is Our Future – A Healthy Planet for Migratory Birds and People”, the World Migratory Bird Day 2017 on 10 May aims to highlight the interdependence of people and nature, and more specifically people and migratory birds, as they share the same planet and the same limited resources.
For more than ten years now, World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) ...
55.
The future of the World Heritage Convention ahead of its 40th anniversary next year and the growing challenges of heritage preservation were the key themes of the opening addresses of the 35th session of the World Heritage Committee at UNESCO in Paris today. The session will end on 29 June.
The Chairperson of 35th session, Shaikha Mai bint Muhammad Al Khalifa, ...
56.
Participants to the 4th 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 2012, 18 World Heritage site staff from 6 sites in Africa will travel to the Mpala Research Centre in the shadow of ...
57.
A practical guide on climate change adaptation for natural World Heritage sites has been published in the latest edition of the UNESCO World Heritage Paper Series, thanks to the generous support of the Netherlands Funds-in-Trust and the Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment.
Climate change has become more prominent as a management ...
58.
On 28 June 2022, the UNESCO eDNA initiative was featured at the United Nations Oceans Conference in Lisbon (Portugal), during a side event which showcased ambitious science-based initiatives that inform policy.
Environmental DNA (eDNA) has the potential to revolutionize marine biodiversity assessments. This could save marine World Heritage site managers' precious time and ...
59.
The following sites have been inscribed on the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee at its 21st session, meeting in Naples, Italy, 1-6 December, 1997. A total of 46 sites were inscribed: 7 natural sites; 38 cultural sites; and 1 mixed site. The work of the 21st Session thus brings the total number of sites on the World Heritage List to 552 (418 cultural, 114 ...
60.
From 23 to 24 May 2014, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the Beijing Zhongkun Investment Group organized the workshop “Strengthening South-South collaboration on World Heritage and Sustainable Tourism” in Hongcun Village, China.
Hongcun Village is one of the Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2000. The event ...
61.
Following the first African World Heritage entrepreneurship training workshops, which took place in Ghana and Senegal in May 2014, an Anglophone Entrepreneurship Field Training Workshop for World Heritage site managers and community representatives from Africa was organized from 22 September to 10 October in Livingstone, Zambia.
This Field Training Workshop was devoted to ...
62.
The German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has provided UNESCO with 2 million euros to address some of the immediate socio-economic impacts of COVID-19 on tourism and heritage. The project aims to support UNESCO’s efforts to accelerate the recovery, to protect livelihoods and to transform the sectors to become more inclusive and ...
63.
New report on lessons learned to engage local communities in the Conservation of World Heritage sites launched during the 37th session of the World Heritage Committee
The role of local communities in ensuring that World Heritage contributes to sustainable development was chosen by the World Heritage Committee as the central theme for the celebration of the 40th anniversary ...
64.
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 ...
65.
The World Heritage Committee will consider requests for the inscription of new sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List when it meets for its 32nd session in Québec, Canada, from 2 to 10 July.
During this year’s session, hosted by Canada to coincide with the 400th anniversary celebration of the founding of Québec City, 41 States Parties to the World ...
66.
States Parties elected at the 1st Open Ballot:
Canada
Israel
Korea, Republic of
Madagascar
Morocco
Spain
Tunisia
United States of America
State Party elected at the Ballot for the Reserved Seat:
Mauritius
Detailled Results of the 1st Open Ballot
Number of States Parties present and voting:
160
Invalid votes:
2
Number of valid votes:
158
Majority ...
67.
Nine new members have been elected to the 21-member World Heritage Committee in charge of implementing UNESCO's Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.Australia, Bahrain, Barbados, Brazil, China, Egypt, Jordan, Nigeria and Sweden were elected for four-year terms. The election took place during the General Assembly of the 184 ...
68.
Managers from 10 World Heritage sites throughout Africa met at the IUCN ESARO regional offices in Nairobi, Kenya to reflect on and learn more about management effectiveness of natural World Heritage sites in Africa.
The Africa Nature project, a collaborative effort by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, IUCN and the African World Heritage Fund, with financial support from ...
69.
UNESCO and the Development Fund of Protected Areas (DFPA) of Georgia have signed an agreement to support sustainable tourism and heritage conservation activities in Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands (Georgia) World Heritage site.
The partnership between UNESCO and DFPA, worth around US$ 150 000, will support Georgia’s sustainable tourism recovery through enhancing visitor ...
70.
The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Manama since 24 June under the chair of Shaikha Haya Bint Rashed al-Khalifa of Bahrain, inscribed three cultural sites on the World Heritage List this afternoon. The inscription of sites will continue through 1 July.
The new World Heritage sites, in order of inscription, are:
Thimlich Ohinga archeological site (Kenya) – Situated ...
71.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay has issued the statement below following news of the death of French architect and heritage conservation expert Pierre-Andre Lablaude:
“Pierre-Andre Lablaude leaves behind him an immense body of work, including a remarkable contribution to the safeguarding and restoration of UNESCO's World Heritage, for which I wish to express our ...
72.
The devastating earthquakes of 25 April and the aftershocks that followed have heavily damaged the monuments and sites within the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage property, as well as an enormous amount of other cultural sites in the northwestern area of Nepal.
Currently closed to tourists and the general public, the three monument zones - Hanumandhoka (Kathmandu) Durbar ...
73.
UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova today expressed her relief at the news that the reconstruction of the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi (Uganda) is feasible, following its near-destruction by fire on 16 March.
"I am glad to report that an expert mission confirms the feasibility of this unique World Heritage site's reconstruction. UNESCO will do everything in its power ...
74.
During the recent 7th Conference of the Parties for the Nairobi Convention (December 2012, Maputo, Mozambique), dedicated to "Partnering for a Healthy Western Indian Ocean", important discussions on the potential for new Marine World Heritage sites in the region were held. On the basis of these discussions, the Parties to the Nairobi Convention encouraged its Secretariat, ...
75.
Join us and contribute to a knowledge-building initiative connecting climate change to the diversity of human cultures and heritage.
To read the call, please go to the ICCROM website: bit.ly/3obL2JH
To access the web form click here
Proposal deadline: 22 December 2021
Climate.Culture.Peace aims to share and exchange knowledge, research, practices and capacities through a ...
76.
On 6 December 2021, UNESCO and ICCROM launched the first edition of their joint training initiative “Improving Management Effectiveness in African World Heritage properties (2021-22)” targeting 25 African countries and 80 experts, of which 21 are women.
The first phase, starting this month, is composed of three online workshops with six sessions each, delivered in ...
77.
In collaboration with UNESCO and supported by BMZ and GIZ, a ‘cash for work’ scheme has been launched by the Agency for Protected Areas in Georgia and the Development Fund of Protected Areas of Georgia (DFPA) in the Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands World Heritage property. 20 youth have been recruited as part of the project, and are receiving on the job training in visitor ...
78.
My Son, Viet Nam: Director-General Celebrates Restoration of World Heritage Champa Kingdom Monuments
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 ...
79.
UNESCO, Egypt and Sudan have started commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Nubia Campaign, a defining example of international solidarity when countries understood the universal nature of heritage and the universal importance of its conservation.
The Egyptian and Sudanese governments' request - in April and October 1959 respectively - for UNESCO's help to save the ...
80.
New York, 26 September — The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today welcomed transfer of an alleged extremist to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to be tried for destroying religious and historical monuments in Mali.
"I commend Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda and the authorities of Mali and Niger for transferring the first suspect to the ICC accused ...
81.
The 15th General Assembly of States Parties to the World Heritage Convention will be held in Room IV on 10-11 October. During the meeting, the General Assembly will elect twelve (12) new members to the World Heritage Committee. Delegates attending only the General Assembly can enter the building through the Place de Fontenoy entrance, where they will be given their ...
82.
Having been identified as a cross-cutting theme for global biodiversity conservation initiatives at the Fifth World Parks Congress in Durban, South Africa (2003) the World Heritage Convention, one of the five international conventions addressing biodiversity needs, serves as an instrumental action-orientated mechanism for the protection of the world's most valuable ...
83.
The World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the five field offices in the African region (Abuja, Dakar, Harare, Nairobi and Yaounde) and the African World Heritage Fund has organised four online workshops, between 27 November and 3 December 2020, with site managers from each of the African sub-regions in order to share and discuss the preliminary outcomes of the ...
84.
While countries start their last sprint for this decade’s UN biodiversity targets (COP15), UNESCO and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs sign a new four-year (2022-2025) Programme Cooperation Agreement. Norway’s support of NOK 25 million to the World Heritage Fund makes a significant contribution to safeguarding of the unique biodiversity and rich cultural heritage ...
85.
In 2018, the region of Gavleborg, Sweden, created the international World Heritage Residence Scholarship at the World Heritage site “Decorated Farmhouses of Halsingland”. The 5th call for applications is now open until 15 February 2023.
One aim of UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention is to create links between people and promote international cooperation. Peace is a central ...
86.
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, ...
87.
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 ...
88.
Every year on 18 April, ICOMOS celebrates the “International Day for Monuments and Sites”, whose establishment was approved by the 22nd UNESCO General Conference in 1983.
ICOMOS wishes to dedicate the 2016 International Day for Monuments and Sites to the heritage of sports, since sports have developed from the origin of humankind onwards and have left testimonies to the ...
89.
In February 2018, a joint UNESCO/ICOMOS/ICOMOS reactive monitoring mission will take place to the World Heritage property “Historical Monuments of Mtskheta” (Georgia), as requested by the World Heritage Committee to assess current conditions at the property.
The World Heritage property of the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1994 ...
90.
Paris - UNESCO Director-General Federico Mayor expressed sadness over the reported death yesterday of Raymond Lemaire, his special advisor and representative on the cultural heritage of Jerusalem.
"UNESCO has lost one of its most outstanding experts. No cultural site or monument in the world was foreign to Raymond Lemaire," Mr Mayor said. "He applied his great expertise as ...
91.
A celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the completion of the International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia took place at the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) in Fustat, Cairo (Egypt) on 10 March 2020.
The International Campaign was launched in 1960 to relocate and reassemble six groups of monuments in Nubia threatened by the artificial lake ...
92.
In 1982, UNESCO’s General Conference established 18 April as the International Day for Monuments and Sites. The Day is promoted by ICOMOS globally, and the theme for 2022 is ‘Heritage and Climate.’
Climate change is one of the defining issues of our time, and among the greatest threats facing cultural and natural UNESCO World Heritage monuments and sites. One in three ...
93.
The 2006 International Youth Volunteer Camp on the Restoration of Khami Ruins National Monument took place from 15 June to 8 July. The goal of the camp is to take remedial action and save crumbling World Heritage sites in their respective countries, and this year's camp was the seventh held since they began in 2000. UNESCO Harare Cluster Office Director and ...
94.
The World Heritage Centre wishes to pay tribute to Dr. Joseph Eboreime, a leading personality of world cultural heritage in Africa who passed away on Wednesday 27 October.
Dr. Joseph Eboreime was the pioneer Director of Monuments, Heritage and Sites of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) of Nigeria.
He was a respected heritage professional who garnered ...
95.
Archaeologists at the University of Sheffield have unearthed a huge settlement at Durrington Walls, near Stonehenge, confirming that the Stonehenge monument was part of a larger ritual centre. The excavations reveal an enormous ancient settlement that once housed hundreds of people. Archaeologists believe the houses were constructed and occupied by the builders of nearby ...
96.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, expressed profound dismay as she condemned the destruction of the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, one of the most important 1st century CE religious monuments in the Middle East, a construction unique in its design.
“The destruction of Palmyra constitutes an intolerable crime against civilization but 4,500 years of history will never ...
97.
The World Heritage Centre wishes to pay tribute to Michel Parent, a leading personality of world cultural heritage, who passed away last week at the age of ninety-three.
Born in 1916 in Neuilly sur Seine, France, Michel Parent was a highly active and creative man. During his impressive career, he successively became Inspector (1945) and Inspector General (1958) of Sites, ...
98.
Phase II of “Strengthening Conservation and Management of Lumbini, the Birthplace of the Lord Buddha, World Heritage Property” (2014-2017): Japan continues funding to safeguard Lumbini, Buddha’s birthplace
The Government of Nepal and UNESCO signed an agreement on Monday, 30 June 2014 to implement the three-year second phase of the project ...
99.
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 ...
100.
UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, the official advisory body on natural World Heritage, have welcomed a new commitment by British company Tullow Oil plc to stay out of World Heritage sites. The firm had received a licence to explore for oil in an area overlapping Kenya’s World Heritage-listed Lake Turkana National ...
101.
On 31 January 2022, African experts met to gather insights on best practices for implementing the 1972 Convention in Africa.
In the framework of Global Priority Africa, this initiative aims to propose a long-term vision for implementing the 1972 Convention while focusing on challenges and opportunities identified within the framework of the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for ...
102.
UNESCO and ICCROM held an online ceremony to mark the launch of their joint initiative “Improving Management Effectiveness of World Heritage in Africa” with representatives from UNESCO World Heritage, ICCROM, IUCN, the Ambassadors of Japan, Norway, South Africa and Switzerland, and other participants. This event marks the end of the first set of activities (from 6 December ...
103.
African World Heritage Day is celebrated annually on the 5th of May to remember and acknowledge the importance of promoting and safeguarding the UNESCO World Heritage in Africa for the benefit of present and future generations. To celebrate the 7th edition of African World Heritage Day, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC), in collaboration with the African World ...
104.
The Sacred City of Caral-Supe (Peru), the oldest centre of civilization in the Americas, was inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO. The Committee also added the historic centre of the town of Levoča to the Slovak World ...
105.
Managers of natural World Heritage sites in Africa met with national coordinators of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Small Grants Programme from several African countries in Limbe, Cameroon from 10 to 14 February to discuss how to involve local communities in the conservation of World Heritage sites. This workshop is part of UNESCO’s Africa Nature ...
106.
An exceptional photo of the Namib Sand Sea presented by Mrinal Mohit won the first prize in the photo contest organized on Instagram by the World Heritage Centre (WHC) and the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) on the occasion of the third edition of the African World Heritage Day (5 May). The contest closed on Monday 30 April 2018 after three weeks of competition, and ...
107.
The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Manama since 24 June under the chair of Shaikha Haya Bint Rashed al-Khalifa of Bahrain, ended today. The next session of the World Heritage Committee will be in Baku, Azerbaijan.
During the session, the Committee inscribed 19 sites on the World Heritage List (13 cultural sites, three natural and three mixed sites, i.e. both natural ...
108.
On 9 May 2022, UNESCO organized an online meeting to discuss the removal of African properties from the List of World Heritage in Danger.
Despite the richness and diversity of Africa’s cultural and natural heritage, the Sub-Saharan African region is one of the least represented regions on the World Heritage List, but still registers the highest number of endangered ...
109.
“As we are receiving more information from the ground, I am deeply aggrieved by the magnitude of human loss caused by the earthquake in Nepal. I am also shocked by its devastating impact on the unique cultural heritage in the country, in particular extensive and irreversible damage at the World Heritage site of Kathmandu Valley”, declared Irina Bokova, the Director-General ...
110.
UNESCO today welcomed the opening of the hearings of the case of Ahmad Al Faqi Al Mahdi before the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for alleged war crimes and the destruction of historical monuments and buildings of religious significance, including nine mausoleums and a mosque at the UNESCO World Heritage site of Timbuktu (Mali) in 2012.
This first trial at ...
111.
Forests are some of the most biodiversity-rich habitats on Earth and contain 60,000 different tree species and more than 70% of all animal terrestrial species. Forests also play a crucial role in climate regulation and their protection is among the most cost-effective ways to push climate action. Forests fuel our economies and provide invaluable ecosystem services, being ...
112.
According to reports from the Secretary of the Civil Defense of Mexico, the heavy rains and the downpour of the past few weeks have generated severe flooding in the country, including seriously affecting the Tlacotalpan World Heritage site. The storms have also resulted in the forced relocation of almost 8500 people from the city, and at least five persons have been ...
113.
Marrakesh - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee, meeting in Marrakech (Morocco) since November 29, has today included four new sites on its List of World Heritage in Danger. They are the Iguacu National Park (Brazil), the Rwenzori Mountains (Uganda), the Salonga National Park (Democratic Republic of the Congo) and the Groups of Monuments at Hampi (India). The inclusion of ...
114.
The World Heritage Committee will examine proposals to inscribe 37 properties on UNESCO’s World Heritage List when it meets at the international conference centre of Bonn (Germany) from 28 June to 8 July. The upcoming 39th session of the World Heritage Committee will be chaired by Maria Bohmer, Minister of State at Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, and member of the ...
115.
UNESCO received several reports and satellite imagery released today by UNITAR-UNOSAT confirming the destruction of Palmyra’s tetrapylon and parts of the theatre’s proscenium.
“This destruction is a new war crime and an immense loss for the Syrian people and for humanity,” said UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova. “This new blow against cultural heritage, just a few hours ...
116.
Tuesday, June 25 - Recent flooding and the security situation threaten the preservation of the Minaret and Archaeological Remains of Jam, Afghanistan. UNESCO will send a mission to the site and launch a safeguarding project, thanks to funding from the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH) of USD 1.9 million.
The Minaret of Jam is ...
117.
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 Rossler 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 ...
118.
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 ...
119.
As requested by the World Heritage Committee at its 39th session in 2015 (Bonn, Germany), a joint World Heritage Centre and ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) Reactive Monitoring mission will be undertaken during 12-16 April 2016 to assess the overall state of conservation of the property, including factors that constitute a serious threat to the ...
120.
The 15th ICOMOS General Assembly and the International Scientific Symposium with the theme Monuments and Sites in their Setting: Conserving Cultural Heritage in Changing Townscapes and Landscapes were officially opened on 17 October in Xi’an, China. A special celebration marking ICOMOS’s 40th anniversary and an exhibition on its achievements during its existence are ...
121.
In the face of Africa's modernization and socioeconomic transformation lies the intrinsic challenges of nurturing sustainable development that considers the invaluable threads that weave through the continent’s diverse heritage.
Recognizing this pivotal moment, the Strategy for World Heritage in Africa aligned with UNESCO Global Priority Africa, Flagship Programme 3 ...
122.
This conference was held in Rome from December 5-9. The conclusions outlined below were reached thanks to contributions from ICCROM, UNESCO-WHC, UN-WTO, HERITY INTERNATIONALFrom the point of view of culture, no poor Countries exist around the World: every territory has a significant and priceless Heritage Wealth. This Heritage constitutes the collective memory of Humanity. ...
123.
Director-General of UNESCO expresses solidarity with the people of Myanmar after earthquake in Bagan
25 August – The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, has expressed her profound sympathy to the government and people of Myanmar after the devastating 6.8 magnitude earthquake that struck central Myanmar, including the ancient city of Bagan, causing loss of life and extensive damage to nearly 200 historic monuments and iconic pagodas.
“I wish to express my sincere ...
124.
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre held a workshop on 26-27 November in Bhopal, India, with stakeholders of the new ‘World Heritage Journeys Buddha’ project.
With the support of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and in collaboration with National Geographic, the project focuses on three World Heritage sites in South Asia including Lumbini, the Birthplace of ...
125.
The triennial meeting of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), taking place in New Delhi, India from 11-15 December 2017, began with the Scientific Council Meeting on 11 December in the India International Centre, New Delhi. The Opening Ceremony of the ICOMOS General Assembly was held on 12 December 2017 at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium-Auditorium in ...
126.
Since the beginning of the crisis in Ukraine, UNESCO has taken action within the framework of its mandate, in particular to protect culture. A new progress report was released on Tuesday.
“We must safeguard the cultural heritage in Ukraine, as a testimony of the past but also as a catalyst for peace and cohesion for the future, which the international community has a duty ...
127.
Cultural Landscapes of the Pacific Islands: ICOMOS Thematic Study by Anita Smith and Kevin L. JonesThis is the first regional thematic study on Cultural Landscapes in the Pacific region. Published by ICOMOS (the International Council on Monuments and Sites), it is an overview of cultural landscapes in the Pacific Islands and the defining characteristics that account for ...
128.
The Director-General, Irina Bokova, has expressed her profound sympathy to the government and people of Nepal after the devastating earthquake that struck the country.
“I wish to express my sincere condolences following the powerful earthquake that struck Nepal today, causing heavy loss of life and extensive damage, including to historic monuments and buildings of the ...
129.
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, inscribed the Historical Monuments of Mtskheta (Georgia) on the List of World Heritage in Danger because of concerns over their preservation.
The Committee asked Georgia to adopt an integrated management plan for the site and address ...
130.
Growing understanding that the outstanding universal value of urban heritage goes well beyond the value of the individual buildings it contains, has created a pressing need for internationally accepted guidelines and criteria for the preservation of historic city centres.
Conservationists, municipalities, architects and developers will address the issue at the Conference ...
131.
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 ...
132.
From 7 to 13 November 2016, the archaeological department of the University of Zimbabwe hosted a regional workshop on rock art conservation with participants from Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. The workshop received financial support from the UNESCO Regional Office for Southern Africa and the French Embassy in Zimbabwe.
The workshop discussed rock art ...
133.
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre (WHC) learned with sadness the news of the accidental explosion that devastated the Saratoga Hotel, in Havana, on May 6, causing a significant number of losses and injuries, as well as considerable damage.
The WHC expresses its most sincere condolences to the families of the victims, to the injured and to all Cubans.
“To address this ...
134.
Over 3 million USD pledged for the African World Heritage Fund at African Union Head of State Summit
On Friday 31 January 2014, UNESCO joined forces with the African Union Commission to raise awareness and funds for the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) during the African Union (AU) Heads of State luncheon at the AU Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants pledged a total of 3,050,000 USD in support of the AWHF Endowment Fund.
54 Member States of the African ...
135.
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 ...
136.
On 22 January 2009, the Anegundi Bridge at the World Heritage Group of Monuments at Hampi collapsed, killing eight construction workers. The unfinished bridge over the Tungabhadra River gave way under the weight of the additional concrete used to complete its construction, only weeks after resumption of the works which had been halted over 9 years ago.
The Group of ...
137.
The World Heritage Committee, chaired by María Jesús San Segundo, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Spain to UNESCO, has inscribed Pontcysyllte Aqueduct and Canal (United Kingdom) on UNESCO’s World Heritage List and added France’s Great Saltworks of Salins-les-Bains as an extension to the site of Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans, which was ...
138.
The team of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to express its sadness after learning that former President of ICOMOS International, Prof Michael Petzet passed away on 30 May 2019.
The passing away of Michael Petzet represents an important loss for the conservation community. His strong opinions were always a reflection of his unerring commitment to excellence in ...
139.
The UNESCO World Heritage Centre would like to express its sadness at the death of Prof Giorgio Croci, a structural engineer who made an indelible contribution to the support of several iconic World Heritage sites, including Angkor in Cambodia, the Colosseum in Rome and Ethiopia’s Axum Obelisk.
Dr Croci studied civil engineering at “La Sapienza” University of Rome, and ...
140.
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 ...
141.
The workshop focused on the redefinition of the boundaries, the preparation of an Action Plan addressing conservation challenges and the discussion of mechanisms to assist the Nepalese Government in soliciting international cooperation.
Various stakeholders including national and local authorities, Nepalese and international experts, members from Universities and INGOs, ...
142.
Another earthquake struck the region of Oaxaca, Mexico on Saturday 23 September, further devastating a region where more than 400 people have been killed by two other powerful earthquakes this month.
The Mexican authorities are carrying out coordinated actions at the federal, state and municipal levels and with the inhabitants of the affected regions to prepare a ...
143.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, today announced that the Organization will send a mission of experts, from September 10 to 16, to assess the potential damage caused to cultural sites in the recent conflict in Lebanon.
The mission will, among other things, visit UNESCO's World Heritage sites of Tyre, Baalbek and Byblos. Tyre and Baalbek, first built by ...
144.
The following statement is issued by the Chairman of UNESCO's Executive Board, Mr Zhang Xinsheng. 1. The six Arab members of the Executive Board addressed a letter to the Chairman of the Executive Board on 14 February 2007, requesting that a special session of the Board be held on the subject of the activities under way at the site of the Old City of Jerusalem, in ...
145.
Close to one thousand years ago, Anawrahta, king of the first Myanmar Empire and a staunch advocate of Theravada Buddhism, embarked on one of the most ambitious religious construction programs in history in his kingdom’s capital city, Bagan.
Today, over 3,000 temples and pagodas – the largest concentration in the world - stretch as far as the eye can see across ...
146.
Kyoto, (Japan) - UNESCO's World Heritage Committee today announced it removed the Old City of Dubrovnik (Croatia) and the Wieliczka Salt Mines (Poland) from its List of World Heritage in Danger due to the success of measures undertaken for their restoration and preservation. Dubrovnik, the Dalmatian Coast city dubbed "the pearl of the Adriatic" and dotted with beautiful ...
147.
The 3rd Expert Working Group Meeting for the Old City of Herat and the World Heritage property of Jam (Afghanistan), met at the Museo d’ Arte Orientale in Turin, Italy, from 4 to 6 September 2012, released a set of recommendations for future safeguarding actions for the two sites. The Meeting brought together more than 30 well-known experts and high-ranking officials ...
148.
Cultural heritage has been targeted in attacks or suffered collateral damage in armed conflict. Recent destruction in World Heritage sites such as Aleppo, Syria or Hatra, Iraq brought this this into the background and alerted the international community. One way to mitigate damage is for armed forces to be aware fully of cultural heritage sites and monuments, ...
149.
Today is World Radio Day, proclaimed in 2011 by Member States of UNESCO, and adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 as an International Day to highlight the importance of radio.
Radio is a powerful medium for celebrating humanity in all its diversity. At the global level, radio remains the most widely consumed medium. This unique ability to reach out to the ...
150.
On 7 July, the Government of Cambodia will organize a ceremony at the Preah Vihear Temple to mark the twelfth anniversary after its inscription on UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The National Authority for Preah Vihear, Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts has been making safeguarding efforts to preserve the value and authenticity as an outstanding historical monument, whilst ...
151.
Helsinki, Finland - 14 December 2001. The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Helsinki since December 11, has inscribed 31 new sites on the World Heritage List. The List now numbers 721 sites of "outstanding universal value" in 124 countries. For the first time, sites in Botswana and Israel appear on the List. The 31 inscriptions this year include six natural sites and 25 ...
152.
The 30th session of the World Heritage Committee, chaired by Ina Marčiulionytė, the Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Lithuania to UNESCO, started its work Sunday with an address by the Director-General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, who highlighted the need for synergy between UNESCO's conventions on tangible heritage, intangible heritage, and diversity of cultural ...
153.
A recent fire that devastated a neighbourhood of the Ancient City of Damascus raised the alarm about the need to protect the old city, inscribed on the World Heritage list, from future catastrophes and sparked discussions about post-conflict action in Syria.
In April, a fire erupted in al-Asrooniya area, a commercial neighbourhood located between the Citadel of Damascus ...
154.
Blog post by Director of World Heritage at UNESCO - Lazare Eloundou AssomoIs there a place you have never been, but always felt a special connection to From Peru’s Machu Picchu to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, the Temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia to the Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks, these wonders of the world are as diverse as they come. But they have one thing in ...
155.
Bamiyan remains one of the most important examples of Gandharan art in the world, despite the Taleban’s destruction of its two monumental Buddhas in 2001. The Expert Working Group was formed in 2002 within the framework of the coordination mandate for all cultural projects in the country entrusted to UNESCO by the Afghan government, and will meet for the fourth time from 7 ...
156.
The Government of China will launch a World Heritage Training and Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific Region in China. The inauguration ceremony of this institute will take place at Tongji University, Shanghai with the presence of Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Mr Mounir Bouchenaki, Director-General of the International Centre for ...
157.
This workshop is part of UNESCO’s ongoing efforts to address the priorities of the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting for the Africa region, which called for increased capacity-building in dealing with risks and threats to heritage properties at both site-level and regional-level, The training course was co-organized by the African World Heritage Fund, a UNESCO category 2 ...
158.
18 April 2018 is the International Day for Monuments and Sites with the theme: Heritage for Generations.
If our heritage is what we leave behind for future generations, we need to prepare young people to protect it—and the best way is through education.
The World Heritage Education Programme gives young people around the world the chance to learn about their heritage, and ...
159.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, today expressed her deep concern over reports of fighting near Palmyra, endangering the local population and posing an imminent threat to the site, inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage list. Irina Bokova called for the immediate cessation of fighting.
According to several sources, armed extremist groups raided the city of ...
160.
The World Heritage Committee will hold its 24th annual session from November 27 to December 2 in Cairns, Australia, during which it will inscribe new cultural and natural sites on the World Heritage List and review the List of World Heritage in Danger. The intergovernmental World Heritage Committee consists of 21 States Parties elected for a term of six years by the ...
161.
An exhibition - photographs and a video installation - at UNESCO will celebrate the reinstallation of the Aksum obelisk. The show will give visitors a chance to learn about the history of the Ethiopian site and to view the key stages of reinstalling the monument, 24 metres high and weighing 150 tons.
Open to the public from 4 to 15 May (9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m.), the exhibition ...
162.
17th ICOMOS General Assembly and Scientific Symposium on the theme “Heritage: Driver of Development”
The most important triennial gathering of ICOMOS will take place from 27 November to 2 December 2011 for the first time in Paris at UNESCO Headquarters.
The General Assembly is accompanied by a Scientific Symposium on the theme "Heritage: Driver of Development". Both events are open to ICOMOS members and non-members alike.
Visit the special website www.icomos-paris2011.com ...
163.
On 4 May, on the occasion of her official visit to Estonia, the Director General, Ms Irina Bokova, gave a lecture at the Estonian Academy of Arts on “Attacks against Cultural Heritage – What can UNESCO do ”, in the presence of the Rector of the Academy Professor Signe Kivi, and the Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Estonia to UNESCO, H.E. Mr Marten ...
164.
Thanks to a contribution of 4,992 USD from the International Assistance World Heritage Fund, the State Party of Albania organized a training workshop for the development of monitoring indicators for the World Heritage property "Historic Centres of Berat and Gjirokastra”. The workshop took place in Berat, Gjirokastra and Tirana between 27 and 29 April 2016.
In 2009, the ...
165.
The World Heritage Committee, meeting for its 32nd session, finished inscribing new sites on UNESCO’s World Heritage List on 8 July with the addition of 19 cultural sites and eight natural sites to the List.
New cultural sites inscribed during the 32nd session:
Temple of Preah Vihear (Cambodia)
Fujian Tulou (China)
Stari Grad Plain (Croatia)
Historic Centre of ...
166.
On the occasion of International Youth Day, over ten Action Camps will be carried on in the framework of the World Heritage Volunteers 2015 campaign. Most of these Action Camps are led youth from all around the world. This year, the theme of International Youth Day is Youth Civic Engagement.
World Heritage Volunteers (WHV) campaign for 2015 seeks to mobilize and involve ...
167.
Last August, the UNESCO’s Marine World Heritage Managers Conference was held on board Lindblad Expedition’s National Geographic Endeavour, and we were honored to be joined by CEO and Ocean Elder Sven Lindblad. Over the course of the week, Lindblad met with the managers responsible for the day-to-day protection of our common ocean heritage of humanity, sharing the stories ...
168.
The UNESCO-Africa-China Forum on World Heritage Capacity Building and Cooperation, held at UNESCO Headquarters from 3 – 4 June 2019, concluded with Recommendations and an Action Plan for joint projects supporting long-term capacity building for the safeguarding of African World Heritage properties. It was attended by ministers, decision-makers, World Heritage site ...
169.
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 Halsingland and the German Berlin Modernism Housing Estates by artistically interweaving urban Berlin with rural Halsingland. The project ...
170.
The World Heritage Committee Thursday decided to extend the site inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2004 as Dečani Monastery (Serbia) and place it on the List of World Heritage in Danger. The Committee also extended Andorra‘s site of Madriu-Perafita-Claror Valley (Andorra), adding a buffer zone to the property that was listed in 2004. These inscriptions end ...
171.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, has decided to send a technical mission to the Old City of Jerusalem, inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List and on the World Heritage in Danger List, to carry out a technical assessment of the works on the access to the al-Haram al-Sharif. Following extensive consultations with all the parties concerned, the ...
172.
Aksum, August 1 - The third and last block of the Aksum Obelisk was successfully mounted by the UNESCO teams yesterday 31 July in its original location in Ethiopia. The monument’s reinstallation was greeted with joy by the local people, who spontaneously organized musical concerts yesterday at the site.
Weighing 150 tons and 24 meters high, the obelisk is the second ...
173.
On 2 April 2009 at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris Mr Francesco Bandarin, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, signed an agreement with INRAP, the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Institut national de recherches archéologiques preventives). The Letter of Intent was signed by Mrs Nicole Pot, Director of INRAP and Mr Jean-Paul ...
174.
On 24 November 2015, at the occasion of a visit to Viet Nam to attend the celebration of the 70th anniversary of UNESCO, Mechtild Rossler, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, visited Ha Long Bay World Heritage site. Accompanying her were Mr. Le Hoai Trung, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of Viet Nam National Commission for UNESCO, and Mr. Pham ...
175.
UNESCO, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the International Center for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) will undertake a joint Advisory mission to Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, a component of the World Heritage site "Paris, banks of the Seine", from 28 to 29 March 2022, in order to assess the works in ...
176.
The technical mission sent by the Director-General of UNESCO to the Old City of Jerusalem, which is inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List, completed its technical assessment on the works conducted on the pathway to the Haram el-Sharif.This mission, conducted by Francesco Bandarin, Director of the World Heritage Centre, took place from 27 February to 2 March 2007. ...
177.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, today voiced concern about damage caused to the Castello di Moncalieri, in the Italian Province of Turin, inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1997.
A fire broke out on 5 April causing severe damage to the royal apartments and to several floors in one of the watchtowers of the building, a former residence of the ...
178.
Pratapur Temple in the Swayambhu Monument Zone of the Kathmandu Valley World Heritage site, Nepal suffered damage from a lightning strike at around 5 a.m. on 14 February, during a sudden thunderstorm.
A team of engineers from the Department of Archaeology of Nepal inspected the temple the following day, and the preliminary report will be available shortly thereafter. ...
179.
Following their meeting in UNESCO Headquarters, Paris 3-4 March 2011, a group of Afghan and international experts working on the safeguarding of Bamiyan (Afghanistan), as well as representatives of the Afghan and Japanese governments and UNESCO, released a list of recommendations for further activities to preserve the Bamiyan site. Bamiyan remains one of the most ...
180.
ICOMOS-ICORP recently launched its new website and Facebook page. ICOMOS- ICORP is the International Scientific Committee on Risk Preparedness of the International Council on Monuments and Sites ICOMOS; an International NGO dedicated towards the protection and management of cultural heritage.
The goals of the International Scientific Committee on ...
181.
The International Protection of Landscapes meeting was organized by UNESCO and the International Traditional Knowledge Institute and held in Florence, Italy from 19 to 21 September to mark the 40th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. The Florence Declaration on Landscape 2012 was produced during the session.
Cultural heritage is an evolving historical ...
182.
The “Technical Meeting on the Recovery of the World Heritage Site of Palmyra” took place on 18 December 2019 at UNESCO’s Headquarters, with the aim of reflecting on, and discussing the recovery of Palmyra, as a World Heritage property.
The meeting followed the latest World Heritage Committee Decisions, requesting to limit restoration works to first aid interventions until ...
183.
Following the visit of the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr Antonio Guterres to the World Heritage site of Moenjodaro on 8 September 2022, two experts designated by UNESCO jointly with the national authorities will start their emergency missions to Archaeological Ruins of Moenjodaro and to Historical Monuments at Makli, Thatta, two World Heritage properties in ...
184.
Improved conservation allowed the World Heritage Committee to remove Cologne Cathedral (Germany), Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary (Senegal), the Group of Monuments at Hampi (India) and Ichkeul National Park (Tunisia), from the List of World Heritage in Danger on Monday. The debate on the List of World Heritage in Danger will continue tomorrow. The decision by the ...
185.
The Residence of Bukovinian and Dalmatian Metropolitans (Ukraine), the Petroglyphs Complexes of the Mongolian Altai (Mongolia), The Causses and the Cévennes, Mediterranean Agro-pastoral Cultural Landscape (France) and León Cathedral (Nicaragua) - have been added to UNESCO's World Heritage List. The full list of new inscriptions which is now complete will be ...
186.
Following a devastating fire on 5 June 2020 at the World Heritage property of the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi in Uganda, UNESCO, through the Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF), is providing financial and technical assistance to support the urgent procurement and installation of a firefighting system at the property, as well as training in fire prevention and disaster risk ...
187.
UNESCO’s Heritage Emergency Fund (HEF) supported an on-site firefighting training on 7 December 2020 for local communities and site management at the Tombs of Buganda Kings at Kasubi World Heritage site in Uganda organized by the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities Department of Museums and Monuments.
The training is part of an ongoing HEF project for “Post-fire ...
188.
The 2017 International Day for Monuments and Sites is dedicated to the theme “Cultural Heritage & Sustainable Tourism”, chosen in relation to the United Nations International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development and in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.
In designating 2017 as the International Year ...
189.
UNESCO will establish an observatory in Beirut (Lebanon) to monitor and assess the state of Syria’s cultural heritage. The decision was made during an international meeting of experts held at UNESCO from 26 - 28 May. The Observatory will monitor the state of buildings, artefacts and intangible cultural heritage to combat illicit trafficking and collect information to ...
190.
World Heritage forests: Carbon sinks under pressure, a report by UNESCO, World Resources Institute (WRI) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released today, provides the first global scientific assessment of greenhouse gas emissions and sequestration by forests in UNESCO World Heritage sites.
It reveals that despite substantial carbon stored and ...
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Christchurch, New Zealand - The World Heritage Committee has removed Royal Palaces of Abomey, Benin, and Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, from the List of World Heritage in Danger, recognizing progress in the two sites' state of preservation.The Palaces of Abomey, inscribed simultaneously on UNESCO's World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 1985, ...
192.
The first phase of the re-installation works of the Aksum Obelisk, also known as Stele 2, in its original location at the World Heritage site in Aksum, Ethiopia was completed on 12 June 2008. The first of three blocks of the stele, which stands 24.3 metres high and weighs 152 tons, was successfully and smoothly mounted.
The Aksum Obelisk re-installation project, funded by ...
193.
Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO, expressed her deep sadness at the death of Professor Ikuo Hirayama, UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador, on 2 December at the age of 79.
"UNESCO has lost a friend," she said. "For more than 20 years, Professor Hirayama lent his tireless support to the Organization's projects, especially in the fields of education, emergency relief and ...
194.
Experts from UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and the International Council of Monuments and Sites will arrive in Pompei on 2 December to examine the state of conservation of the World Heritage site. The mission follows the destruction in early November of the Schola Armaturarum and further collapses yesterday and today, including that of a wall at the House of the ...
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On 6 March 2012, Liverpool City Council’s Planning Committee granted outline planning permission for the Peel Holdings £5.5bn Liverpool Waters scheme. The permission is subject to the signing of a legal agreement and has to be referred to the Government which will decide whether a public inquiry will be held.
Experts from UNESCO's World Heritage Centre and from ...
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22nd November – 24th NovemberOrganized by the State Nature Conservancy, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Slovak Republic, Slovak Commission for UNESCO and Carpathian Biodiversity Conservation Foundation, this three day workshop focused on the development of sustainable tourism for the UNESCO World Heritage Ancient and Primeval Beech ...
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UNESCO offers its sincere solidarity with the people of Japan, and in particular the residents of Okinawa, who have lost a cultural and historical symbol of the Ryukyu islands. UNESCO stands ready to assist the authorities as needed.
In the early morning hours of 31 October, a number of buildings, including Shuri Castle of the World Heritage site of “Gusuku Sites and ...
198.
UNESCO and Zanzibar to cooperate in rehabilitation of Stone Town of Zanzibar World Heritage property
Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania, 13 January--During a meeting yesterday, Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi, President of Zanzibar, and Tirso Dos Santos, Head of the UNESCO Office in Dar es Salaam and UNESCO Representative to the United Republic of Tanzania, reviewed emergency response measures following the collapse on 25 December 2020 of the Beit-al-Ajaib historic ...
199.
The World Heritage Committee, meeting in Manama since 24 June, decided today to inscribe the Lake Turkana National Parks on the List of World Heritage in Danger, notably because of the impact of a dam on the site.
The Committee expressed concern about the changes affecting the hydrology of the Lake Turkana Basin, notably the disruptive effect of Ethiopia’s Gibe III dam on ...
200.
On International Women’s Day, we celebrate girls and women across the globe – and we remember that women’s rights must never be taken for granted.
Indeed, the path towards a gender-equal world is an uncertain one: gradual progress, made over generations, can be wiped out in one fell swoop. The women and girls of Afghanistan know this well. In a few short months, they have ...