The 39th session of the UNESCO <\/u>World Heritage Committee meets in Bonn from 28 June to 8 July, opening with a video message about the threats to world heritage from terror attacks while also considering the designation of new sites (including the UK Forth Bridge and the state of conservation of existing WHS designations (including Liverpool).<\/u>\u00a0<\/u><\/p>\n
UNESCO writes:
\n<\/u>An appeal for the international community to counter the new threat of violent extremism and cultural cleansing was issued at the opening of the World Heritage Committee, which opened its session in Bonn, Germany, today. The Committee will remain in session until 8 July under the chair of Maria B\u00f6hmer, Minister of State at the German Federal Foreign Office and member of the Bundestag.<\/p>\n
In a video message, German Chancellor Angela Merkel spoke of the importance of heritage for our understanding of cultures.\u2018Heritage is under attack today. In Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, we see the brutal and deliberate destruction of heritage on an unprecedented scale. This is a call for action,\u2019 declared the Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova.<\/p>\n
\u2018Our response to ignorance and criminal acts, must also have a cultural dimension: Knowledge, the sharing of Islam\u2019s millennial learning and wisdom, sharing the message of Palmyra, the Venice of the Sands, that is like a bridge between the legacies of ancient Greece and Rome, the Persian Empire and the Arab culture from ancient times to the present,\u2019 said the Director-General before speaking of the launch in Baghdad three months ago of the #Unite4Heritage campaign.<\/p>\n
Ms B\u00f6hmer for her part said that \u2018the fury of terrorist organizations like ISIS in Iraq surpasses our imagination. World Heritage is the foundation of people\u2019s existence and cohesion [\u2026]. It is the wellspring of social identity,\u2019 she added, invoking the role of culture in peace building.<\/p>\n
Hao Ping, President of the General Conference of UNESCO, and\u00a0Mohamed Sameh Amr, Chair of the Organization\u2019s Executive Board, gave voice to the commitment of UNESCO Member States to protect sites under threat.<\/p>\n
During the opening session, participants at the International Young Experts Forum presented the outcome of their meeting, taking place from 18 to 29 June in Koblenz and Bonn. They read out the Declaration they adopted calling on States Parties to the World Heritage Convention to include teaching about World Heritage in national school curricula.<\/p>\n
Thirty-six sites are nominated for inscription on UNESCO\u2019s World Heritage List at this year\u2019s session. They are (given here in the provisional order in which they are to be examined; though this order may be changed in the course of the session):<\/p>\n
Natural sites:<\/p>\n
Mixed natural and cultural sites:<\/p>\n
Cultural sites:<\/p>\n
During its session, the Committee will also examine the state of conservation of 94 sites already on the World Heritage List, and of the 46 sites inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger. Debates will be webcast.<\/p>\n
A number of parallel events will be held during the current session, notably the launch of the Global Coalition for the Protection of Cultural Heritage: #Unite4Heritage, on 29 June.<\/p>\n
View the press release<\/a><\/p>\n Watch the livestream<\/a> of events taking place over the duration of the conference<\/p>\n View a Liverpool Echo report<\/a> on the consideration of issues affecting designation of the city<\/p>\n Watch Dan Cruickshank\u2019s BBC4 documentary<\/a> on \u2018civilisations under attack\u2019 on the threats to global heritage on BBC i-Playerat<\/p>\n View more information on \u2018Unite4Heritage\u2019\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n IHBC newsblogs on WHS issues<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The 39th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meets in Bonn from 28 June to 8 July, opening with a video message about the threats to world heritage from terror attacks while also considering the designation of new sites … Continue reading