The Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary hosted from 17 to 24 November the training on the use of new technologies to improve the surveillance and ecological monitoring of this property inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Bird Sanctuary is inscribed since 1981 on the World Heritage List as a natural site, alongside the Niokolo Koba National Park in Senegal. It is the third largest ...

On 25 November 2020, the World Heritage Centre held an 'Online technical meeting for Libyan properties on the List of the World Heritage in Danger' to support Libya in drafting the desired state of conservation and corrective measures for the eventual removal of Old Town of Ghadamès from the List of World Heritage in Danger. The online meeting brought together representatives of Libyan ...

On 23 November 2020, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, in cooperation with the Arab Regional Centre for World Heritage (ARC-WH), organized an online meeting on “World Heritage in Danger in the Arab States Region, Processes and Actions”.    Focal points and site managers responsible for properties inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger in the Arab States region, as well as ...

The World Heritage Centre in collaboration with the five field offices in the African region (Abuja, Dakar, Harare, Nairobi and Yaoundé) 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 Periodic Reporting ...

Climate change is now the biggest threat to natural World Heritage, according to a report published today by IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). A third (33%) of natural World Heritage sites are threatened by climate change, including the world’s largest coral reef, the Great Barrier Reef, assessed as having a “critical” outlook for the first time. “Natural World Heritage ...

As part of its new cooperation programme with UNESCO, the Government of Norway committed an additional amount of NOK 50 million over two years (equivalent to USD 5,64 million), to further strengthen efforts to improve the state of conservation of World Heritage sites in Africa, in particular natural World Heritage properties and those inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Norway ...

IUCN Protected Areas and World Commission on Protected Areas are proud to announce the new International Ranger Awards, developed in collaboration with the International Ranger Federation, Global Wildlife Conservation, and Conservation Allies. People need nature, wild places and green spaces, for our health and well-being, and for our water, air and food. Rangers are the people who care for ...

UNESCO joined forces with the Somalia Academy of Science and Arts (SOMASA) in collaboration with the Somali National Commission for UNESCO and the Somali Permanent Delegation to UNESCO to organize a national consultation meeting on 23 and 24 November 2020 with national and international experts and other key stakeholders in the culture sector in Somalia to develop a National Strategic Plan ...

Following the reopening of Somalia National Museum on 1 July 2020, UNESCO partnered with the Somali Academy of Science and Arts (SOMASA) in collaboration with the Somali National Commission for UNESCO and the Permanent Delegation of Somalia to UNESCO to organize a capacity building workshop on 25th November 2020 that aimed to strengthen the management and administration of the National ...

World Olive Tree Day was proclaimed at the 40th session of the UNESCO General Conference in 2019 and takes place on 26 November every year. The olive tree, specifically the olive branch, holds an important place in the minds of men and women. Since ancient times, it has symbolized peace, wisdom and harmony and as such is important not just to the countries where these noble trees grow, but ...

In 2000, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution officially designating 25 November as the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.  In doing so, the United Nations invited governments, international organizations as well as NGOs to join together and raise public awareness every year on that date. Twenty years on, the battle to prevent and ...

On November 18 2020, colleagues from UNESCO’s Africa Unit of the World Heritage Centre (WHC), Field Offices in the Africa region, as well as from the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF), met online for their periodic meeting concerning the progress of the implementation of the 1972 World Heritage Convention in Africa. The discussion focused on UNESCO’s longstanding Priority Africa Initiative, ...

On November 9 2020, the Africa Unit of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and ICCROM experts met online to develop a project that will contribute to capacity-building in disaster risk management and protection systems for World Heritage sites in Africa. The project will be implemented in two phases: a series of online webinars, followed by a visit to an African World Heritage site. Lasting one ...

Further to a large number of correspondence received related to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone, we would like to direct you towards the latest UNESCO ...

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

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

The 16th of November marks the 48th anniversary of the World Heritage Convention. This Convention protects the world’s most outstanding places, belonging to us all. Where it all began The idea of creating an international movement for protecting heritage emerged after World War I. The 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage developed from the ...

 On 28 October 2020, the World Heritage Centre (WHC), in collaboration with the African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) started the Data Analysis and Report Synthesis Online Workshop in the framework of the Third Cycle of Periodic Reporting in the Africa Region. More than 35 participants from the AWHF, WHC, Advisory Bodies and international heritage experts met online for three days to discuss ...

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

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