World-Wide exchange on UNESCO World Heritage Topics

September 30, 2005 (Press Release) -- The number of UNESCO World Heritage Sites and the public interest in it increased constantly in the last years. The "Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage", which is signed by 180 states is now protecting 812 individual sites. These consist of 628 cultural heritage sites, 160 natural heritage sites and 24 sites which are both cultural and natural heritage sites. For the protection of these places all signatory states of the convention are responsible together. Media, science and politics is taking up on the topic UNESCO World Heritage more and more, making it the subject of their reports, research and instructional contents. A new bilingual InterNet platform now supports the exchange of practice and information. A weblog with reports on current developments, photo documentations to individual world heritage sites and references to new publications and sources is now available in german and english for users. An extensive link collection to international mechanisms and institutions, who are active in field of UNESCO World Heritage, as well as a glossary with explanations of important terms is completing the website. Interactivity is located here highly in the course: Visitors of the side can contribute as a guest author and report e.g. on world heritage sites, which they visited themselves.