World Heritage
Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the , adopted by UNESCO in 1972.
What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.
Live retransmission of the committee sessions
Follow the new inscriptions of World Heritage properties, during the World Heritage Committee 2023 in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) from the 10th to 25th September
Today, 195 countries adhere to the World Heritage Convention, as it is commonly known, and have become part of an international community united in a common mission to identify and safeguard our world’s most significant natural and cultural heritage.
The Convention is unique in that it links together the concept of nature conservation and the preservation of cultural sites. Strongly emphasizing the role of local communities, the Convention serves as an effective tool in addressing climate change, rapid urbanization, mass tourism, sustainable socio-economic development and natural disasters and other contemporary challenges.
The "Five Cs" of the World Heritage Convention
Strengthen the Credibility of the World Heritage List, as a representative and geographically balanced testimony of cultural and natural properties of outstanding universal value.
Ensure the effective Conservation of World Heritage properties.
Effective Capacity-building measures: assistance for preparing the nomination of properties to the List, the understanding & implementation of the World Heritage Convention and related instruments.
Increase public awareness, involvement and support for World Heritage through communication.
Enhance the role of communities in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
Discover our publications and learn more about the World Heritage
The Emblem
The World Heritage emblem represents the interdependence of the world’s natural and cultural diversity. It is used to identify properties protected by the World Heritage Convention and inscribed on the official World Heritage List, and represents the universal values for which the Convention stands.