- Recently,World Heritage Day has been celebrated on April 18th,2019.The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) in 1982 had decided to celebrate April 18 as the International Day for Monuments and Sites or World Heritage Day.
- The objective of World Heritage Day is to raise awareness about monuments and other sites which form a part of our history and culture.
- The theme for this year’s celebrations is ‘Rural Landscapes’,which is related to the theme of the 2019 ICOMOS Scientific Symposium on Rural heritage that will take place in Marrakesh,Morocco in October.
- ICOMOS defines rural landscape as terrestrial and aquatic areas co-produced by human-nature interaction used for the production of food and other renewable natural resources.
- Rural landscape has been a site of both tangible and intangible heritage and has also helped in maintaining a balance between the environment and human activities.
- ICOMOS is a professional association that works for the conservation and protection of cultural heritage places around the world.It was founded in 1965 in Warsaw as a result of the Venice Charter of 1964 and offers advice to UNESCO on World Heritage Sites.It is headquartered in Paris,France.
- Further,ICOMOS is also a partner and founding member of the Blue Shield,which works to protect the world’s cultural heritage threatened by wars and natural disasters.
- A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area which is selected by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having cultural,historical,scientific or other form of significance and is legally protected by international treaties.
