Mayor Heads 7 Wonders Panel

Read "The Seven Wonders Reconsidered: Internet Campaign Draws Millions of Votes, Both Predictable and Puzzling" By John Ward Anderson, The Washington Post, March 13, 2007.

The New7Wonders Foundation, after an exhaustive selection process will announce its selection for the seven wonders of the world on 7/7/07. The idea for the campaign came from Swiss Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber, who formed the nonprofit foundation "to protect humankind's heritage across the globe" and alert people "to the destruction of nature and the decay of our man-made heritage."

Voting began in 2001. Nominated monuments swelled to 177, were culled to 77, then winnowed in late 2005 by a group of experts to the current 21 finalists, each from a different country. Among the experts was Federico Mayor, who served for 12 years as head of UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural heritage agency. He is now head of the New7Wonders panel of experts.

Mayor Heads 7 Wonders Panel

Read "The Seven Wonders Reconsidered: Internet Campaign Draws Millions of Votes, Both Predictable and Puzzling" By John Ward Anderson, The Washington Post, March 13, 2007.

The New7Wonders Foundation, after an exhaustive selection process will announce its selection for the seven wonders of the world on 7/7/07. The idea for the campaign came from Swiss Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber, who formed the nonprofit foundation "to protect humankind's heritage across the globe" and alert people "to the destruction of nature and the decay of our man-made heritage."

Voting began in 2001. Nominated monuments swelled to 177, were culled to 77, then winnowed in late 2005 by a group of experts to the current 21 finalists, each from a different country. Among the experts was Federico Mayor, who served for 12 years as head of UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural heritage agency. He is now head of the New7Wonders panel of experts.

UNESCO History and Program References

A set of links has been created on del.icio.us, a social bookmarking site, with links to UNESCO. For those interested in the history of UNESCO or how it operates, these references should prove invaluable.

To access the materials click on the link below:

UNESCO references and links

Most linked publications are online, but some books that can not be downloaded are linked to booksellers. Even out-of-print books are now often available in the online used book market. There are also websites that seemed likely to be of special interest to the students.

One advantage of the online system is that it can be searched. Each entry also tells you how many other people have linked to that resource in their social bookmarking sites. Those of you who use del.icio.us should be able to easily transfer links from the site to you personal collection.

There are also "tags". If you click on one of the tags to the right of the del.icio,us list, you will get a reduced list that contains all those tagged with that term. It is possible to combine tags so that, for example, you can obtain a list of resources on the history of UNESCO that are available online.

UNESCO History and Program References

A set of links has been created on del.icio.us, a social bookmarking site, with links to UNESCO. For those interested in the history of UNESCO or how it operates, these references should prove invaluable.

To access the materials click on the link below:

UNESCO references and links

Most linked publications are online, but some books that can not be downloaded are linked to booksellers. Even out-of-print books are now often available in the online used book market. There are also websites that seemed likely to be of special interest to the students.

One advantage of the online system is that it can be searched. Each entry also tells you how many other people have linked to that resource in their social bookmarking sites. Those of you who use del.icio.us should be able to easily transfer links from the site to you personal collection.

There are also "tags". If you click on one of the tags to the right of the del.icio,us list, you will get a reduced list that contains all those tagged with that term. It is possible to combine tags so that, for example, you can obtain a list of resources on the history of UNESCO that are available online.

Nominations Are Now Open for U.S. World Heritage Sites

There are only twenty (20) World Heritage sites in the United States (including two sites jointly administered with Canada). Considering that there are more than 800 sites worldwide this number does not adequately represent the U.S. contribution to world cultural heritage, nor the world natural heritage located within the borders of the United States.

All member nations of the World Heritage Convention voluntarily nominate their own sites embracing superlative natural or cultural attributes. Among other requirements, the sites must be authentic and meet at least one of several highly stringent criteria for universal value.

Each signatory to the Convention maintains sovereignty over its sites, is responsible for their protection, and pledges to assist others in preservation efforts. Direct authority over individual properties remains with the national, state, tribal, or local government or private organization in charge.

The United States was elected to the World Heritage Committee, the governing body of the World Heritage Convention, in October 2005 and will serve until October 2009. Service on the Committee involves voting on such issues as international assistance to World Heritage Sites and the selection of new World Heritage Sites. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, no U.S. nominations will be made to the List during the U.S. tenure on the Committee.

However, each signatory nation is required under the World World Heritage Convention to post a list of potential world heritage sites. The last list, developed in 1982, is outdated and all countries hare requested to update their lists on a ten-year horizon with a balance of cultural and natural properties. The U.S. Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage has now identified many more sites (cultural and natural) as likely to meet the criteria for future nomination to the World Heritage List. This tentative list is available for viewing.

A process is now underway for updating the tentative list of U.S. sites for inscription in the World Heritage List. The process is described on a webpage provided by the International Office of the National Park Service. A report is available on the Experts Briefing and Seminar held as part of this process on September 12, 2006, in Washington, D.C. The USA and Caribbean Regional Office of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has provided a website with resources for the development of that list; Involved in this process are:

* The George Wright Society

* U.S. National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites

* IUCN/US

The Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, is responsible for identifying and nominating U.S. sites to the list. The Service's Office of International Affairs provides staff support for U.S. participation in the World Heritage Convention.

Nominations Are Now Open for U.S. World Heritage Sites

There are only twenty (20) World Heritage sites in the United States (including two sites jointly administered with Canada). Considering that there are more than 800 sites worldwide this number does not adequately represent the U.S. contribution to world cultural heritage, nor the world natural heritage located within the borders of the United States.

All member nations of the World Heritage Convention voluntarily nominate their own sites embracing superlative natural or cultural attributes. Among other requirements, the sites must be authentic and meet at least one of several highly stringent criteria for universal value.

Each signatory to the Convention maintains sovereignty over its sites, is responsible for their protection, and pledges to assist others in preservation efforts. Direct authority over individual properties remains with the national, state, tribal, or local government or private organization in charge.

The United States was elected to the World Heritage Committee, the governing body of the World Heritage Convention, in October 2005 and will serve until October 2009. Service on the Committee involves voting on such issues as international assistance to World Heritage Sites and the selection of new World Heritage Sites. To avoid potential conflicts of interest, no U.S. nominations will be made to the List during the U.S. tenure on the Committee.

However, each signatory nation is required under the World World Heritage Convention to post a list of potential world heritage sites. The last list, developed in 1982, is outdated and all countries hare requested to update their lists on a ten-year horizon with a balance of cultural and natural properties. The U.S. Department of the Interior, in cooperation with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage has now identified many more sites (cultural and natural) as likely to meet the criteria for future nomination to the World Heritage List. This tentative list is available for viewing.

A process is now underway for updating the tentative list of U.S. sites for inscription in the World Heritage List. The process is described on a webpage provided by the International Office of the National Park Service. A report is available on the Experts Briefing and Seminar held as part of this process on September 12, 2006, in Washington, D.C. The USA and Caribbean Regional Office of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has provided a website with resources for the development of that list; Involved in this process are:

* The George Wright Society

* U.S. National Committee of the International Council on Monuments and Sites

* IUCN/US

The Secretary of the Interior, through the National Park Service, is responsible for identifying and nominating U.S. sites to the list. The Service's Office of International Affairs provides staff support for U.S. participation in the World Heritage Convention.

Languages in Cyberspace

Today various forces threaten linguistic diversity, particularly on the Internet. UNESCO seeks to promote wider and more equitable access to information networks by supporting the creation of linguistically and culturally diverse content in cyberspace and offering possibilities for the preservation of endangered languages.

Read more about UNESCO's language s in cyberspace efforts.

Comment assurer la présence d’une langue dans le cyberespace ?