UNESCO World Heritage Education Programme

The WORLD HERITAGE EDUCATION PROGRAMME gives young people a chance to voice their concerns and to become involved in the protection of our common cultural and natural heritage. Launched as a Special Project in 1994 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and officially called ‘Young People’s Participation in World Heritage Preservation and Promotion’, this programme seeks to encourage and enable tomorrow’s decision-makers to participate in heritage conservation and to respond to the continuing threats facing our World Heritage. Young people learn about World Heritage sites, about the history and traditions of their own and other cultures, about ecology and the importance of protecting biodiversity. They become aware of the threats facing the sites and learn how the international community works together to save our common heritage. Most importantly, they discover how they can contribute to heritage conservation and make themselves heard.