From Friends of World Heritage

Grand Canyon : dawn panorama from Desert View
Photograph by Ian Parker

Places like Grand Canyon National Park and the Statue of Liberty in New York symbolize the best of U.S. natural beauty and history. But did you know these destinations are also UNESCO World Heritage sites?

Currently the United States has 20 World Heritage sites, and that list may grow. For the first time in over 25 years, the U.S. government is reviewing American places that may merit the international recognition that comes from being identified as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Is the next U.S. World Heritage site near you?

Last fall, the U.S. National Park Service received dozens of nominations from both publicly and privately owned sites throughout the United States that were interested in being a part of the United States’ “Tentative List” of World Heritage sites. Of these nominations, 14 have been selected by the Secretary of Interior as potential candidates for the next U.S. World Heritage site.

To learn more about these places and how the tentative list works, visit our website to view an interactive map of these sites.

Stay tuned as the United States and other countries select their potential sites, we’ll bring you more about places and peoples contending for what is sometimes considered the Nobel Prize for world’s most important natural and cultural sites.

The Friends of World Heritage Team
http://www.friendsofworldheritage.com/

The New Edition of the UNESCO Courier is Out

More than half of the 7000 languages spoken in the world are in danger of disappearing. Yet, they are an essential part of people's identity. The United Nations has proclaimed 2008 the International Year of Languages. To find out more, read the February issue of the UNESCO Courier.

This year the UNESCO Courier is celebrating its 60th anniversary. It is now interactive! Send your comments and the Courier will publish them.

James Michael Kulikowski, Deputy Assistant Director-General for External Relations and Cooperation

Jim Kulikowski receives plaque fromMatthew Cooper
at meeting of the UK National Commission

Appointed Deputy Assistant Director General for External Relations and Cooperation in August 2005, Jim Kulikowski leads the UNESCO Division responsible for relations with Member States and for National Commissions as well.

Prior to joining UNESCO, he worked for the U.S. Government for some 21 years. Of those, the first 16 were with the Appropriations Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives, much of it dealing with the State Department and international organizations. Then, after joining the Senior Executive Service in 2000 as a senior career civil servant, he spent five years in Office of Management and Budget, again dealing with international affairs, and 6 months with the Office of Global Health Affairs in the Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2002, he was detailed to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Geneva for four months during its startup phase, and then worked as part of the U.S. Delegation to the Global Fund in 2004 and 2005.

He also tried a couple of short stints as a lawyer in the private sector.

He has three degrees -- undergraduate, law and public health -- from Harvard University, and a diploma from the Phillips Exeter Academy.