The International Day for Monuments and Sites also known as World Heritage Day is an international observance held on 18 April each year around the world with different types of activities, including visits to monuments and heritage sites, conferences, round tables and newspaper articles. Each year the International Council on Monuments and sites elects a theme, for example sustainable tourism in 2017 and rural landscapes in 2019.
History
The International Day for Monuments and Sites was proposed by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) on 18 April 1982 and approved by the General Assembly of UNESCO in 1983 during the assembly's 22nd general conference. The aim is to promote awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage of humanity, their vulnerability and the efforts required for their protection and conservation.
Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage
The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage defines monument as: Monuments: architectural works, works of monumental sculpture and painting, elements or structures of an archaeological nature, inscriptions, cave dwellings and combinations of features, which are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of history, art or science.
