About Friends of World Heritage

Whether your quest is to understand ancient civilizations, you’re passionate about unique coral formations in tropical waters, or you're an avid traveler determined to satisfy your wanderlust, Friends of World Heritage provides a way to learn and explore more about the world around you.

The mission of Friends of World Heritage is to foster a constituency of World Heritage supporters and travelers to ensure the protection of World Heritage sites for today’s travelers and future generations. Expedia, Inc., UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, and the UN Foundation are working together to support this mission.

How Friends of World Heritage Works

Friends of World Heritage is dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of protecting World Heritage, promoting sustainable development, and offering ways to explore these sites through sustainable travel. There are many ways you can become involved.

We encourage people to:
• Become active and talk about the importance of World Heritage;
• Volunteer in conservation activities at World Heritage sites;
• Travel to the sites to support local economic development;
• Sign up to become a Friend; and,
• Contribute to the Friends of World Heritage Fund.

100% of the resources raised through the Friends of World Heritage Fund will go to World Heritage projects and priorities where resources are scarce. Furthermore, contributions from individuals may be matched twice over by Expedia, Inc. and the UN Foundation (up to a total of $50,000 each), turning every $1 into $3. Friends of World Heritage also welcomes and accepts corporate, foundation and other donations.

Friends of World Heritage’s founding partners – Expedia, Inc, UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, and the UN Foundation – jointly allocate the Fund, identifying projects that support local tourism enterprises that can help alleviate poverty and conserve World Heritage sites. Projects that benefit from Friends of World Heritage support will be profiled on the web site so you can learn more about the impact of your contribution.

What Is World Heritage?

World Heritage sites are places around the world that have been internationally recognized for their outstanding value as natural and cultural treasures. Sites currently on the World Heritage List include Independence Hall, Stonehenge, the Galapagos Islands, the parks, forests and wildlife reserves of the Democratic Republic of Congo, the historic Centre of Prague, the Pyramids of Egypt and the Great Wall of China.

All sites are protected by the 1972 World Heritage Convention, signed to date by 180 countries and administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), making it one of the most universal international legal instruments for the protection of cultural and natural heritage. While fully respecting the national sovereignty, the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention recognize that the protection of our World Heritage is the duty of the international community as a whole. There are currently 878 World Heritage sites (679 cultural, 174 natural and 25 mixed properties) in 145 countries.

Become a friend of World Heritage

About the Partners

Expedia, Inc. is one of the world's leading travel services companies. With its portfolio of leading travel brands, Expedia, Inc. empowers business and leisure travelers with the tools and information they need to easily research, plan, book and experience travel. The company also provides wholesale travel to offline retail travel agents. Expedia, Inc.'s main businesses and brands include: Expedia.com®, Hotels.com™, Hotwire®, Expedia® Corporate Travel, Trip Advisor™ and Classic Vacations™. Expedia, Inc.’s companies also operate internationally with sites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands and China, through its investment in eLong™.
http://www.expediainc.com

The UN Foundation was created in 1998 with businessman and philanthropist Ted Turner’s historic $1 billion gift to support United Nations’ causes. The UN Foundation promotes a more peaceful, prosperous, and just world through the support of the United Nations. Through new and innovative public-private partnerships, advocacy and grantmaking, the UN Foundation acts to meet the most pressing health, humanitarian, socioeconomic, and environmental challenges of the 21st century.
http://www.unfoundation.org

World Heritage Centre at UNESCO
For more than 30 years, UNESCO and its partners have worked through the World Heritage Centre to identify, assess and protect places of outstanding universal value. To date, 184 countries have adhered to the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, making it one of the most universal international legal instruments for the protection of cultural and natural heritage. Whilst fully respecting the national sovereignty, the States Parties to the World Heritage Convention recognize that the protection of our World Heritage is the duty of the international community as a whole. There are currently 878 properties including 679 cultural, 174 natural and 25 mixed properties in 145 countries.
http://whc.unesco.org