UNESCO

1. UNESCO World Heritage Sites

2. UNESCO • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) • Seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.

3. Heritage is… • Our legacy from the past • What we live with today • What we pass on to future generations

4. UNESCO’s Mission • encourage countries to sign the World Heritage Convention and to ensure the protection of their natural and cultural heritage; • encourage States Parties to the Convention to nominate sites within their national territory for inclusion on the World Heritage List; • encourage States Parties to establish management plans and set up reporting systems on the state of conservation of their World Heritage sites; • help States Parties safeguard World Heritage properties by providing technical assistance and professional training;

5. UNESCO’s Mission • provide emergency assistance for World Heritage sites in immediate danger; • support States Parties' public awareness-building activities for World Heritage conservation; • encourage participation of the local population in the preservation of their cultural and natural heritage; • encourage international cooperation in the conservation of our world's cultural and natural heritage.

6. History • The idea of creating an international movement for protecting heritage emerged after World War I. • The 1972 Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage developed from the merging of two separate movements: • the first focusing on the preservation of cultural sites • the other dealing with the conservation of nature.

7. Criteria • To be included on the World Heritage List, sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. • The criteria are regularly revised by the Committee to reflect the evolution of the World Heritage concept itself.

8. The List • The World Heritage List includes 890 properties • These include • 689 cultural properties • 176 natural properties • 25 mixed properties • There are 15 sites in Canada

9. Canadian Sites - Cultural • Cultural • Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump (1981) – Alberta • Historic District of Old Québec (1985) – Quebec • L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site (1978) - NFLD • Old Town Lunenburg (1995) – Nova Scotia • Rideau Canal (2007) – Ontario • SGang Gwaay (1981) – British Columbia

10. Canadian Sites - Natural • Natural • Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks (1984) – BC & AB • Dinosaur Provincial Park (1979) - AB • Gros Morne National Park (1987) - NFLD • Kluane / Wrangell-St Elias / Glacier Bay / Tatshenshini-Alsek (1979) – YK, BC, Alaska • Miguasha National Park (1999) - Quebec • Nahanni National Park (1978) - NWT • Waterton Glacier International Peace Park (1995) – AB • Wood Buffalo National Park (1983) – AB & NWT • Joggins Fossil Cliffs (2008) – NS

11. Sites Around the World • Great Barrier Reef (1981) – Australia • The Great Wall of China (1987) – China • Pyramids (1979) – Egypt • Palace and Park of Versailles (1979,2007) – France • Acropolis, Athens (1987) – Greece • Vatican City (1984) – Italy • Taj Mahal (1983) – India • Pompeii (1987) – Italy • Auschwitz (1979) – Poland • Stonehenge (1986) – UK • Yellowstone National Park (1978) – United States

12. Sites Around the World • Interactive Map • http://whc.unesco.org/en/list