UNESCO World Heritage
–
38th meeting of the Committee

Qatar was host to the 38th session of UNESCO World Heritage Committee, held at QNCC.

Delegates and representatives from 21 of the States Parties to the Convention, elected by their General Assembly, decended upon Doha to mark the opening of the 38th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, on 15th June 2014, hosted by Her Excellency Sheikha Al Mayassa bint Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Watch the live stream of the meetings via the UNESCO website.

QM will be blogging direct from QNCC, read all the updates in our blog.

The World Heritage Convention is a successful document of best practice of United Nations efforts to support education, environmental and heritage conservation, and sustainable development in communities all over the world.

H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa, QM Chairperson and Chairperson of the Committee

H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa welcomed the delegates and participants to the opening ceremony, and praised their recognition of the importance of protecting our heritage around the world.

In her opening speech, H.E. Sheikha Al Mayassa talked about the tremendous challenges facing cultural heritage around the world today, and the impact of increasing conflicts, natural disasters and rapid development.

Qatar adopted the World Heritage Convention in 1984, and its first site was inscribed on the World heritage List, Al Zubarah, in 2013.

H.E. the Prime Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, announced that Qatar would support the World Heritage Fund with a donation of $10 million, marking the first donation. UNESCO will establish the fund to place proactive plans for preserving world heritage in the face of natural disasters and armed struggles.

Qatar's heritage must be passed on to the younger generations to introduce them to aspects of their ancestors' history and their long struggle to present day.

H.E. Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar