ICOMOS and World Heritage

ICOMOS rallies its network of experts to serve UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention.

UNESCO adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1972. The Convention is dedicated to the identification, protection, conservation, presentation and transmission of cultural and natural heritage throughout the world. To do so, sites recognized as being of Outstanding Universal Value are inscribed each year on the World Heritage List. These sites represent the shared heritage of humankind and need to be preserved for current and future generations. They bear witness of our shared history and represent the dialogue between cultures.

ICOMOS assisted UNESCO in writing the Convention text, in which it was appointed advisory body to the World Heritage Committee. Its role is to support the implementation of the cultural side of the Convention. Through its global network composed of numerous committees and experts from various backgrounds, ICOMOS has been involved in the theoretical and practical implementation of the Convention for almost fifty years.

Photo: Historic Centre of Macao, China  © Flickr / Dennis Wong