A two-day International Coordination Conference on the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage in Liberated Areas of Iraq ended at UNESCO’s Headquarters on Friday, laying the ground for an emergency, medium and long term action plan to preserve the country’s rich, diverse millennial archaeological sites, its museums, religious heritage, and historic cities. The Iraqi government officials and some ...

The Republic of Mauritius received International Assistance from the World Heritage Fund to elaborate a Local Economic Development Plan for Aapravasi Ghat World Heritage property. The grant followed a request from the UNESCO World Heritage Committee for the State Party of Mauritius to take necessary action to prevent the demolition of historical buildings in the Buffer Zone of the ...

Over the last 16 years between 2001 and 2016, the Netherlands supported the World Heritage activities through the Funds-in-Trust agreement. In January 2017, the agreement was extended for another 4 years, which will enter its 5th cycle of the Netherlands Funds-in-Trust. A total amount of € 1.5 million (€375,000 annually) will be contributed for the 2017-2020 cycle.  The Netherlands ...

The latest version of the World Heritage map, produced by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and National Geographic Maps with the generous support of Poland, can now be ordered from the World Heritage Centre website. The featured image on the Map presents the Historic Centre of Kraków in Poland, country hosting the next session of the World Heritage Committee in July 2017. This ...

The First Coordinating Committee for International Voluntary Service (CCIVS) Partnership Meeting on “Future of Cultural Heritage and Diversity with International partners” was held on 8 February 2017 in Paris. Ms Mechtild Rössler presented a keynote speech on “The Challenges of Heritage Conservation and Volunteering Best Practices”. The event brought together more than 200 international and ...

World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2 February, marking the date in 1971 when the Convention on Wetlands, known as the Ramsar Convention, was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar, drawing attention to the importance of wetlands. The theme for 2017 “Wetlands for Disaster Risk Reduction” is selected to raise awareness and to highlight the vital role of healthy wetlands in reducing ...

The UNESCO World Heritage Centre and Panasonic Corporation have released the 2017 World Heritage calendar. Featuring stunning photographs of World Heritage sites from around the world, this popular calendar can be used in paper, online and tablet app versions. UNESCO and Panasonic have been creating wall calendars since 1995 and a web version since 2010. The wall calendar includes brief ...

On 31 October 2016, the Government of Timor-Leste officially deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage with the Director-General of UNESCO. Timor-Leste has become the 193rd State Party to the World Heritage Convention on 31 January 2017, when the Convention entered into force for this country. To date, 44 ...