Activities
The World Heritage Centre is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts to protect and preserve.
The Temple of Preah Vihear, which is dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva, is situated on Cambodia’s northern border with Thailand. The property consists of a series of sanctuaries which are linked by a network of paths ...
Bangkok, in Thailand, is one of the most populated cities in the world, a symbol of uncontrolled urban growth, marked by heavy pollution and huge traffic problems. In 1998, a project entitled "Humanise Bangkok" was ...
Connecting river banks and cultures, bridge are a work which has, today, acquired great symbolic value, whether as historical testimony or contemporary creation. Reconstruction of the Mostar Bridge (which is part of ...
Since 2008, the World Heritage Centre, within the framework of the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, supported and participated in the initiative “Developing Historic Cities: Keys for Understanding and Taking ...
Carried out under the aegis of the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, this project aimed to strengthen local capacity and sustain actions undertaken at the local level.Surrounded by the huge Djurdjura, the Bibans ...
The project in Constantine is part of the cross-sector project “Poverty Reduction through Sustainable World Heritage Management”, launched in 2002, on the theme of eliminating poverty and extreme poverty through the ...
In Africa, natural heritage is often protected and sustained because it belongs to a shared system of belief and culture. Furthermore, many cultural and natural properties are transnational, and are either they are ...
The Okapi Wildlife Reserve has been on the World Heritage List since 1996. It occupies about one-fifth of the Ituri forest in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, near the borders of Sudan and ...
Pastoralism is defined as a system of livestock farming which depends, for the most part, on the generally non-intensive use of naturally-occurring plant materials for grazing, either on a farm or as part of a ...
Caribbean archaeological heritage has been the subject of enhancement initiatives at the beginning of the years 2000, to valorise underrepresented heritage on the World Heritage List in the region. An international ...
Urban heritage preservation policies, when separated from development strategies, can lead to a marginalization of the poorest populations. Constraints caused by regulations, in the absence of assistance mechanisms, ...
Within the framework of the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, the French Ministry of Culture and the Director General of heritage for several African countries organized a week of meetings for directors of the ...
Founded in the ninth century, the Agadez, Niger, occupies a prominent position on the crossroads of the principal commercial routes of the Sahara, which allowed it to play an important role in the region until the ...
As part of the Indian Heritage Cities Network project, and in link with the “Rivers and heritage” initiative, a seminar was held in February 2007 in Varanasi, India. The objective was the enhancement of this ...
The France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, similar to the technical cooperation provided to the Town of Luang Prabang in the Lao People's Democratic Republic, has provided technical and financial support to national ...
Ethiopia has numerous megalithic sites. The most important of them is Tiya, which was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1980. It has thirty-six monuments, including thirty-two stelae inscribed with sometimes ...
The Rainforests of the Atsinanana are predominantly old-growth forests, and, as such, are critically important for the maintenance of ecological processes and the survival of Madagascar’s unique biodiversity. The ...
Located 200km from Brazzaville, Congo, the Royal Domain of the Mbé was inscribed on the Tentative Lists in 2008. The property, which is also of significant historical value, is made up of a group of areas linked to ...
The Royal Hill of Ambohimanga in Madagascar consists of a royal city and burial site, and an ensemble of sacred places. It is associated with strong feelings of national identity, and has maintained its spiritual ...
The Ehotilé Islands National Park is a group of six islands situated along the eastern shoreline of the Côte d’Ivoire that shelters a complex and diverse flora and fauna. It was listed as a Ramsar Site (see the ...
The Kingdom of Wu and Six Canal Towns of the Lower Yangtze River, China, are located to the south of the Yangtze River, near Lake Tai, approximately 60 km east of Shanghai, in a landscape shaped by crisscrossing ...
North of the Tian Shan Mountains, 1608 m above sea level, is the Issyk Kul Lake, Kyrgyzstan, a natural reservoir of warm water contained in a region famous for its natural resources. In the Soviet era, the lake was ...
The Koutammakou landscape in north-eastern Togo, which extends into neighboring Benin, is home to the Batammariba people whose remarkable mud tower-houses have become a symbol of Togo. In this landscape, nature is ...
Africa is underrepresented on the World Heritage List, particularly concerning archaeological sites. This is why it is important to assist countries in the preparation of nominations. In a territory approximately ...
The Ancient Villages of Northern Syria constitute one of the most extraordinary archeological ensembles in the world. There are more than 700 sites from the Roman and Byzantine eras located in a vast region. They ...
The Aka Pygmies are considered the very first inhabitants of the Central African Republic. They live in the Mongoumba Forest, of Lobaye. A preparatory assistance mission, under the framework of the France-UNESCO ...
In the 19th century, the riches of Chile aroused the greed of European and American powers, resulting in the establishment of large industrial plants, including intensive saltpetre mining companies. The production ...
At the initiative of the Permanent Delegation of Morocco and the “Agence pour la promotion et le développement économique culturel et social des provinces du Sud du Royaume du Maroc” (agency for the economic, ...
Le Corbusier is one of the greatest architects of the 20th century, and his work both built and written have had a huge impact on the world, and demonstrate major technical and conceptual changes of the Modern ...
Wishing to submit the Slave Route (running from Djougou in the north of Benin to Ouidah, and passing through the Royal Palaces of Abomey) for inscription on the World Heritage List, the Benin authorities submitted a ...
In order to identify and protect its heritage, Cameroon launched a national inventory of cultural heritage in 2001. The French Embassy in Cameroon passed on the request for technical assistance to the French ...
The transfer of responsibility from private ownership to local and territorial governments poses new management problems in the centres of European countries in transition. France, which has a long tradition in this ...
After the World Heritage Committee warned in 2016 that the poor state of conservation of the property could lead to its inscription on the List of World Heritage in Danger, a number of local, national and ...
Hué, Viet Nam, is one of the last large fortified citadel cities of south-east Asia which was the imperial capital until 1945. The Complex of Hué Monuments has exceptional architectural and landscape heritage which ...
This project’s objective was to provide technical assistance to set up management and conservation plans on several sites distributed across a vast territory.600 km south of Algiers, Algeria, the small M'Zab ...
In 1992, the World Heritage Committee changed the Operational Guidelines for the inscription of cultural landscapes on the World Heritage List. It was defined as the “combined works of nature and man” as set out in ...
Following the 4th Global Strategy Meeting for West Africa, 16 to 19 September 1998, Porto Novo, Benin, nine African States Parties to the 1972 World Heritage Convention were invited to a meeting organised by the ...
In 1994, the World Heritage Committee launched the Global Strategy for a representative, balanced and credible World Heritage List. Crucial to the Global Strategy are efforts to encourage the nomination of ...
Within the framework of the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement support was provided for the preparation of cultural heritage inventories for several African countries. A similar request was made to UNESCO by ...
Rock art is one of the most interesting types of remains for the study of ancient civilisations. It is a fragile and vulnerable form of heritage which can become the subject of degradation as a result of mass ...
In October 2001, initiated by UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, with the support of the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, a workshop focused on Global Strategy raising awareness of the heritage of the Islands of ...
Grand-Bassam is the first capital of the former French colony of Côte d’Ivoire, from 1893 to 1900. The historic city, or “France quarter” as it was called, was built on a stretch of land between the Ouladine Lake to ...
The property Vat Phou and Associated Ancient Settlements within the Champasak Cultural Landscape, Lao People's Democratic Republic, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2001, as a cultural landscape, at the ...
The Koguryo Kingdom covered the majority of Democratic People's Republic of Korea and north-eastern China, from 227 BCE until 668 CE. Some of the most significant tangible remains of this civilisation include ...
From 2006 to 2013, the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, with the support of the French Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has been providing support to the UNESCO Regional Office in New ...
The President of the Republic of Senegal (by Decree 2001-1065 of 20 December 2001) requested the Ministry of Culture (in particular, the Department of Cultural Heritage) conduct an inventory of historical sites and ...
The Comoros islands possess a rich cultural and material heritage as well as a rich intangible heritage. The country ratified the World Heritage Convention in 2000 and identified 4 sites for inscription on the ...
Following the international donors conference for the Rehabilitation of the Cultural Heritage in Kosovo* (13 May 2005), organised by UNESCO in collaboration with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in ...
Once every six years States Parties undertake Periodic Reporting (on a regional basis), regarding the application of the 1972 World Heritage Convention at the national and World Heritage properties level. This is a ...
Over a span of ten years, the PRÉMA (Preventive conservation in museums of Africa) programme has trained more than 400 African professionals in preventative conservation and exhibition methods. As such, the School ...
Situated in an exceptionally beautiful landscape and covering a vast area of 42 km2, Hampi, in India, contains major archaeological remains of what was once the capital of the last great Hindu kingdom and one of the ...
At the request of Bolivian authorities, UNESCO provided technical assistance to advise on a mining museum in the City of Potosí, Bolivia (Plurinational State of). Assistance was provided as part of a research ...
The rationale of this project was to provide technical assistance through an advisory mission for the development of management mechanisms and tourism management for two recently inscribed sites, one natural and one ...
Zeugma is an ancient city situated on the Euphrates south of Turkey. It is composed of two cities on either side of the Euphrates: Seleucia and Apamea. The construction of a new dam on the Euphrates in Turkey ...
The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (DHR) was the first of three mountain railways of India to be inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999. The property was extended in 2005 and 2008 to include two other railroads ...
With a strategic geographic position on one of the few passageways between the Adriatic Sea and the Balkan Peninsula, and on the banks of the Osum River, Berat, Albania became a rich commercial and cultural center ...
Joya de Cerén is the name given to a rural settlement dating back to the period of the Mayan civilization. The site provides a unique window into the past. Buried in the 6th century, during a volcanic eruption, ...
With its earthen constructions unique to the Caribbean, the town of Coro, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), is the only surviving example of a rich fusion of local traditions with Spanish Mudéjar and Dutch ...
Ksar of Ait-Ben-Haddou, in Morocco, is a fortified village of adobe buildings and is an interesting example of earthen architecture in North Africa. It contains barns and dwellings within its defensive walls, which ...
The construction of the Basilica Saint. Basil the Blessed, Moscow, Russian Federation, took place between 1552 and 1561 after the capture of Kazan by Tsar Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible, to commemorate his ...
The Historic Centre of Riga, Latvia, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1997 for its urban and architectural values. The city’s urban morphology is a fine example of the development and evolution phases of ...
The Fort and Shalamar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List since 1981. The inscribed property includes two distinct royal complexes, the Lahore Fort and the Shalimar Gardens, ...
Thanks to Victoria Ocampo (1890-1979), one of the most important Argentine cultural figures of the 20th century, Villa Ocampo (Buenos Aires, Argentina) was the privileged witness of the French-Argentine cultural ...
The Ancient Ksour of Ouadane, Chinguetti, Tichitt and Oualata (Mauritania) were founded in the 11th and 12th centuries to serve the caravans crossing the Sahara, these trading and religious centres became rich and ...
The regional Shirak Museum, Armenia, was established in 1930. During the 1970s, tens of thousands of pieces representing the material and spiritual culture of the historical province of Shirak were collected by the ...
Realizing the richness of Ethiopian cultural heritage, the organization in charge of cultural heritage within the Ministry of Culture, the ARCCH (Authority for Research and Conservation of Cultural Heritage), ...
The technical cooperation for the protection, enhancement and development of the Town of Luang Prabang, Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a remarkable example of tripartite cooperation between the Lao People's ...
The Historic Areas of Istanbul, Turkey, were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1985, and as a strategic point in the Bosphorus peninsula between the Balkans and Anatolia, the Black Sea and the Mediterranean, ...
The city of Chandigarh was the first planned city in India post-independence in 1947 and is internationally renowned for its architecture and urban design. The master plan of the city was developed by Le Corbusier, ...
In 2001, the Syrian Arab Republic’s General Directorate of Antiquities and Museums (DGAM) requested technical assistance. Within the framework of the France-UNESCO Cooperation Agreement, a seminar was organised in ...