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UNESCO Celebrates Stone Town Day
Every 2nd December, the Stone Town Conservation and Development Authority (STCDA) organizes Stone Town Day to celebrate the iconic site and raise awareness on the conservation and development of the site. In 2023, celebrations were held at the Forodhani Park and the event was graced by the Second Vice President of Zanzibar, Hon. Hemed Suleiman Abdalla.
As part of the Stone Town Day celebrations, the Ministry of Tourism and Heritage launched a film on the impacts of Climate Change in Stone Town. Climate crisis is on the rise and World Heritage properties are affected by the impacts of climate change at present and in the future.
During the celebrations, UNESCO Dar es Salaam Office represented by Ms. Nancy Mwaisaka, Head of Sector for Culture, commended efforts by the Government of Zanzibar in ensuring one of their top priority is protecting and preserving cultural heritage and conserving and developing Stone Town of Zanzibar, World Heritage site. She also mentioned that no development can be sustainable without a strong element of culture.
Our culture is our unity, our unity is our peace
UNESCO assured the Revolutionary Government of Zanzibar of its continuous support in protecting and preservation the Stone Town of Zanzibar in collaboration with different stakeholders, including youth and women.
The Stone Town of Zanzibar is a fine example of the Swahili coastal trading towns of East Africa. It retains its urban fabric and townscape virtually intact and contains many fine buildings that reflect its particular culture, which has brought together and homogenized disparate elements of the cultures of Africa, the Arab region, India, and Europe over more than a millennium.
The Stone Town of Zanzibar was inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in the year 2000. This was done in recognition of its Outstanding Universal Value arising from its cultural diversity and harmony; its historic part in the Indian Ocean maritime trading activity over many centuries as expressed through architecture and urban structure; and its symbolic role in the suppression of slavery.
