African World Heritage Day

While Africa is underirepresented on the World Heritage List (African properties account for some 12% of all inscribed sites worldwide), a disproportionally high percentage (39%) of these properties are on the World Heritage List in Danger. Faced with various contemporary threats, such as climate change, uncontrolled development, poaching, civil unrest and instability, many of Africa’s wonders risk losing their outstanding universal value.  It is therefore more urgent than ever that this irreplaceable heritage be protected and preserved for the enjoyment of future generations.

UNESCO is committed to spearhead international efforts to draw on the vast potential of Africa’s cultural and natural heritage as a force for poverty reduction and social cohesion as well as a driver of sustainable development and innovation. Through this international day, UNESCO aims to increase global awareness of African heritage, with a special focus on youth, and to mobilise enhanced cooperation for its safeguarding on the local, regional and global level.

Fifty years ago, the States Members of UNESCO met to adopt the World Heritage Convention, which to this day remains the cornerstone of international cultural cooperation.

Message from Director-General of UNESCO,
on the occasion of African World Heritage Day

Each year, on 5 May, UNESCO and its partners come together to celebrate the African heritage.

The richness and diversity of this heritage are embodied in natural sites of breathtaking beauty, which are often home to a unique biodiversity, such as the Ivindo National Park in Gabon, listed as a world heritage site since 2021, and the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park in Uganda. They are also embodied in cultural sites that bear witness to the extraordinary depth of African history, such as the Asante Traditional Buildings in Ghana, and the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, which are also listed as world heritage sites.

The 139 African world heritage properties are thus an integral part of the common and universal history of humanity. That is why on this Day, UNESCO would like to pay tribute to all those who preserve these treasures, to pass them on to future generations.

But, as we know, there is still much to be done to ensure that the wealth of African heritage is fully represented on the World Heritage List, when today only 12% of the sites inscribed are in Africa; and when, of the 54 African States Parties, 12 have no property inscribed on the World Heritage List. There is also much to be done to better preserve African world heritage, because out of 55 properties currently inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger, 21 are in Africa.

This is why UNESCO, within the framework of its Priority Africa, is making strong commitments to African heritage, starting with the provision of technical assistance to African States that so wish in order to compile their nomination files.

In particular, in close collaboration with our Member States and our partners, including the African World Heritage Fund, UNESCO is supporting the 12 African countries without a site inscribed on the World Heritage List: the objective is that, by 2025, all of them will have prepared and submitted a nomination file.

With a view to improving world heritage preservation and management, UNESCO is also committed to training hundreds of experts and professionals in site conservation and the use of digital technologies; we are also committed to establishing innovative partnerships with museums, the private sector and our network of university chairs to support site managers.