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National Focal Points for World Heritage in Eastern African countries, including: Comoros, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania and Uganda, joined National World Heritage Focal Points from across the region to participate in the , which took place online from 17 to 19 February 2021. The workshop, which was organized by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and the African World Heritage Fund, aimed to discuss and validate the Action Plan to guide the implementation of the in the Africa region over the next six years (2022-2027).

This final workshop comes at the end of a two-year process that entailed setting up a Periodic Reporting coordination team, organizing regional meetings, and providing targeted technical support to African World Heritage National Focal Points and World Heritage site managers. All 47 State Parties to the Convention in the Africa Region participated in this process.

Around eighty (80) participants joined this final workshop, which included: National Focal Points, representatives from the World Heritage Advisory Bodies, Africa World Heritage Fund, National Commissions for UNESCO, World Heritage experts, as well as UNESCO regional and national offices in Africa. They agreed on the draft  Action Plan, which will be presented to the World Heritage Committee at its 44th extended session in June/July 2021, and which includes the following five strategic objectives:

1. Strengthen the representation and credibility of the World Heritage List in the Africa region;  
2. Improve conservation, effective management and promotion of World Heritage;
3. Develop capacity for conservation, management and promotion of cultural and natural heritage;
4. Enhance heritage education, communication and awareness-raising of World Heritage in the Africa region and;  
5. Strengthen community and stakeholder engagement for effective management of World Heritage properties.

Directors of all five Regional Offices for Africa were invited to give the opening remarks for the workshop on 17 February 2021. Ms. Ann Therese Ndong-Jatta, Director and Representative of the UNESCO Regional Office for Eastern Africa provided an overview of the situation of World Heritage in the Eastern Africa region, which is home to 34 World Heritage sites, including 4 sites on the List of World Heritage in Danger.

National Focal Points from across the region expressed their appreciation for the opportunity to contribute to this important process. While confirming Seychelles' full commitment to contributing to the Action Plan's implementation, Dr. Frauke Fleischer-Dogley described the process as enriching, with many lessons learned. Congratulating the meeting organizers, Mr. Medhanie Maryam from Eritrea said that the series of workshops conducted since the start of the process gave him an excellent opportunity to share experiences with his counterparts in other African countries. Mr. Vikram Neeraj Boodhun from Mauritius also expressed his appreciation, thanking the mentors, site managers and other colleagues who had supported the periodic reporting process. "The challenge now lies in implementing the Action Plan,” he concluded.

For more information on the Third Cycle of periodic reporting in Africa, please visit