LAHORE (Dunya News) - World Heritage Day is being observed across the globe, including in Pakistan today (Saturday) with an aim to promote awareness about the diversity and vulnerability of cultural heritage.
World Heritage Day, also known as the International Day of Monuments and Sites, highlights the importance of protecting historical sites, monuments, and traditional legacies for future generations.
Established by UNESCO, World Heritage Day is a global celebration held annually on the 18th of April. The day focus on raising awareness about the importance of cultural heritage and the need for its preservation.
The theme chosen by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) for World Heritage Day 2026 is “Emergency Response for Living Heritage in Contexts of Conflicts and Disasters.” This theme emphasizes protecting cultural sites and traditions from crises, focusing on resilience and risk
Heritage is broader than just old buildings. UNESCO and ICOMOS recognise three main types of heritage that World Heritage Day seeks to protect:
CULTURAL HERITAGE
Cultural heritage includes tangible and intangible elements that communities have created, inherited, and passed down through generations. Tangible cultural heritage includes monuments, groups of buildings, and archaeological sites – from the Taj Mahal to the Colosseum. Intangible cultural heritage includes living traditions, oral histories, performing arts, rituals, festivals, and traditional craftsmanship – things that live in people rather than in stone.
NATURAL HERITAGE
Natural heritage includes outstanding natural areas and landscapes that hold exceptional universal value from a scientific, conservation, or aesthetic standpoint. Examples include the Sundarbans mangrove forests, the Himalayan ecosystems, and the Serengeti in Africa. Natural heritage sites often support endangered species and unique ecosystems that no other place on Earth replicates.
MIXED HERITAGE
Mixed heritage sites hold both significant cultural and natural value. India has one such site – Khangchendzonga National Park in Sikkim. The park is not only an ecological treasure with the world’s third-highest peak and outstanding biodiversity, but also a sacred landscape deeply connected to the beliefs and traditions of the Lepcha and Bhutia communities.
The idea for World Heritage Day came from a conference held by ICOMOS in Tunisia on April 18, 1982. ICOMOS proposed that April 18 be designated as an international day to draw attention to the world’s monuments and sites. In 1983, UNESCO officially approved this proposal at its 22nd General Conference. Since then, April 18 has been marked annually as World Heritage Day.