Unesco

Unesconews

‘Indefensible’: fossil fuel extraction at Unesco sites set to rise by more than 70% in coming decades, report says

A study by Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO) research group states that fossil fuel activities within Unesco sites across the world are due to produce 11.9 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide

Polish bank works with blockchain company and an Arctic vault to safeguard country's artistic heritage

Bank Pekao and the Aleph Zero platform collaborate to keep secure data by tokenising the digitised records of important works of art

Cultural sector must do more to protect heritage, say campaigners, as Unesco sites most at risk from climate change revealed

A study by the climate risk firm Climate X has shown how drought, extreme heat and flooding has put historic locations across the world at risk

Ukraine calls for UN to intervene after ancient Crimean heritage site transformed into cultural complex

Tauric Chersonese, a Unesco World Heritage Site, has been transformed by Russia into a “historical and archaeological park”

Ancient Roman highway and Brâncuși sculptures among 26 sites added to Unesco World Heritage list

Landmarks in Iran, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia also included as committee meets in New Delhi

Historic Gaza monastery added to Unesco’s world heritage in danger list

The “situation” around the fourth-century Monastery of Saint Hilarion has "deteriorated rapidly" due to the war, an expert says

Unesco rejects proposal to place Stonehenge on ‘in danger’ list

The decision, which may be reviewed in 2026, could pave the way for controversial tunnel redevelopment scheme, say campaigners

Unesco warns that AI could rewrite Holocaust history

What can museums and heritage institutions do about disinformation powered by artificial intelligence?

Leading Ukrainian art academy devastated by Russian air strike

The Mykhailo Boichuk Kyiv State Academy of Decorative Applied Arts and Design reportedly sustained serious damage from falling fragments of a missile

Venice city council proposes limiting tourist groups and banning loudspeakers

Latest measures are attempt to stem mass tourism and conserve the historic city

Gaza City archives among heritage sites destroyed in Israel-Hamas war

Brief truce allowed International Council on Monuments and Sites and Palestinian antiquities ministry to investigate damage on the ground

Ancient Saint Hilarion Monastery in the Gaza Strip gains enhanced protection from Unesco

The archaelogical site, which dates back to the fourth century, has reportedly sustained damage during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war

Heritagefeature

Mexico’s $28bn Maya Train puts 25,000 historic sites at risk

Many organisations, including Unesco, fear the project will negatively affect the region’s cultural heritage, natural environment and residents when it opens in December

The ancient villages and historic monuments destroyed in western Afghanistan earthquakes

Last month's deadly quakes affected key historic monuments in Herat and beyond

Icom releases first public statement on Gaza war

Comments come four days after Icom Israel demanded that the Unesco-affiliated museum organisation condemn Hamas as terrorist organisation

What happens when Unesco becomes the enemy?

Plus, remembering Fernando Botero and a pioneering Barkley L. Hendricks portrait

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Unesconews

Unesco reiterates plea for UK government ‘not to proceed’ with Stonehenge redevelopment

The UN cultural body is requesting modifications to the controversial scheme, which will see a dual-carriageway tunnel running close to the ancient heritage site by next year

Unesco’s addition of West Bank archaeological site to World Heritage list fans Israel-Palestine tensions

The ancient site of Tell es-Sultan in Jericho is one of many archaeological sites in the region whose status has been mired in political and territorial disputes

Unesco adds 13 new sites to World Heritage List as Riyadh committee session enters second week

The committee voted to protect ancient sites in China, Iran, the West Bank and along the historic Silk Road, but Venice was not included

Unesco adds sites in Kyiv and Lviv to list of world heritage in danger

Amid the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine, Kyiv’s Saint Sophia Cathedral, the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra and the historic centre of Lviv join Odesa on Unesco’s endangered list

Venice analysis

For the second time, Venice escapes listing as at risk, but now Unesco is the enemy

Italy’s politicians attack the cultural body as “arrogant”, “politicised” and lacking in common sense

Unesco beefs up protection for 20 cultural heritage sites in Ukraine

Damaging any of the sites inscribed in the agency's new list qualifies as a ‘serious violation’ to the 1954 Hague Convention

Day-trippers to Venice to be charged €5 admission fee in bid to save lagoon city

Residents, students and visitors in Airbnb properties will be exempt from the scheme, which will be implemented next spring

What took you so long? Unesco will ask for Venice to be added to the Endangered Heritage Sites list

The organisation has repeatedly bowed to pressure from the Italian government not to do so

Russian attacks on Odesa damage Orthodox cathedral

The bombing of several buildings including in the historic city centre—a World Heritage Site—has been strongly condemned by Unesco

Unesconews

The United States officially rejoins Unesco

Following a five-year absence, one of the founding members of the UN's cultural agency is readmitted as the organisation's 194th member state

Unesco members vote overwhelmingly—but not unanimously—to readmit the United States

The US will have to repay $619m in dues that accrued after it ceased paying in 2011 but before its formal departure in 2019

Unesconews

Worried about Chinese influence, the US agrees to rejoin Unesco

The Biden administration has agreed to pay more than $600m in arrears to the United Nation cultural agency responsible for protecting the world's most significant heritage sites

After Isis, Mosul Museum is rebuilt from the rubble

The terrorist group almost destroyed the museum in 2014. Less than a decade later, it is beginning to exhibit once again

Unesco seeks to improve artists’ protection from censorship and violence

New report finds that, unlike journalists, artists are often "in the dark" about the organisations they can turn to when their rights are threatened