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Unesco And The World Heritage List

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UNESCO and the World Heritage List
After the devastation created by World War I, and II, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) was founded in 1945. This organization was created as a way to establish peace, based on humanity’s intellectual and moral solidarity. Then in 1972, UNESCO founded the World Heritage Convention as a way to protect sites of exceptional worldwide importance (UNESCO, 2012). This convention was later ratified by 191 countries, making it almost globally accepted. The World Heritage List is made up of outstanding places that are to be safeguarded for future generations. These places include the Pyramids of Egypt, the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador, as well as the Acropolis in …show more content…

The nomination can then be submitted to the World Heritage Centre for review. Once complete the file can then be sent to the appropriate Advisory Bodies for evaluation. Two Advisory Bodies, both of which evaluate a site being nominated, include the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the World Conservation Union (IUCN). These committees provide evaluations on a site. There is a third Advisory Body known as the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), which provides expert advice as to the conservation of cultural sites, along with training activities. The World Heritage Committee will then make a final decision on whether a site will receive an inscription. This committee meets once a year to decide upon nominations, and can defer a request. When a site is deferred, it is usually because more information is needed from the state party nominating the location. Standards for selection must include outstanding universal value, and meet a minimum of one of the ten selection criteria (World Heritage Center, 2013:30-31).
As stated on UNESCO’s (2012) website, there are 10 criteria for the nomination of World Heritage Sites (Cultural criteria are listed in section I-VI and Natural criteria are placed in VII-X):
(I) represent a masterpiece of human creative genius; (II) exhibit an important interchange of human values, over a span of time or

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