A landmark UNESCO session shines a spotlight on Africa as three nations celebrate their very first World Heritage sites

The story of humanity is written not only in books but also in the landscapes, cities and monuments that countless generations have left behind. Each year, a special committee gathers to decide which of these irreplaceable places deserve to be recognised as belonging to the whole of humanity, and the most recent gathering proved to be a truly historic one for the continent of Africa.

A landmark session in Busan

The latest session of the World Heritage Committee took place in the vibrant port city of Busan, in the Republic of Korea, over the course of several intense days in the middle of the year. During the meeting, the assembled experts and delegates carefully examined dozens of nominations from around the globe before finally inscribing twenty five new sites onto the celebrated list.

Each single inscription is the result of many years of painstaking preparation, research and patient diplomacy by the countries putting forward their treasures. To be added to the list is a source of immense national pride, for it confirms that a place holds a value so exceptional that it is considered important not just to one nation but to all the peoples of the world.

Three nations join the list for the first time

While every new inscription is genuinely a cause for celebration, this particular session carried a very special significance for the African continent as a whole. For the very first time in the long history of the list, three African nations saw one of their treasures inscribed, namely the Comoros, São Tomé and Príncipe, and South Sudan, each joining a select global community at last.

For countries that had never before had a site recognised in this prestigious way, the moment was profoundly meaningful and had been long awaited. It represented not only international recognition of their unique natural and cultural wealth, but also a powerful affirmation of their rightful place and their voice within the shared story of human civilisation across the ages.

Treasures of nature and culture

The newly recognised places beautifully reflect the extraordinary diversity of the continent, spanning both the works of nature and the achievements of humankind. In the Comoros, it was a historic medina, the old heart of an ancient sultanate, that earned the honour, celebrating centuries of trade, faith and craftsmanship woven into its narrow streets and weathered old walls.

In South Sudan, the recognition went to a vast transboundary landscape that sustains one of the greatest movements of wildlife anywhere on the entire planet. Meanwhile, the island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe saw a remarkable cultural landscape inscribed, a living testament to the history and traditions that have shaped life on its shores over many long generations.

A president's historic gesture

The powerful sense of occasion was heightened by a truly memorable moment during the proceedings in the city of Busan. The President of the Comoros travelled in person to attend the session at the very instant his country's first ever site was being inscribed, a gesture that underlined just how much the recognition meant to his nation and to its proud people.

In doing so, he became the first sitting head of state ever to take part in such a committee meeting for this particular kind of occasion. His presence sent a clear message to the entire world about the deep importance that nations place upon safeguarding their heritage and about the profound pride that comes with sharing it with the rest of humanity.

Towards a more balanced list

For many years, observers had noted that the World Heritage list did not fully reflect the richness of every single region of the world, with some continents far better represented than others. Sessions such as this one form part of a determined and ongoing effort to correct that imbalance and to ensure that the list truly speaks for the whole of humanity in all its variety.

A telling sign of this steady progress is that the number of countries still without a single recognised site continues to fall with each passing year. As more nations see their treasures acknowledged, the list gradually grows into a fuller and more honest portrait of the astonishing variety of cultures and landscapes that our shared world has to offer everyone.

Why recognition matters

Being added to this prestigious list is about far more than prestige alone, for it brings with it a number of very real and practical benefits too. Recognition often draws greater attention and resources towards the protection of a site, helps to attract respectful visitors, and encourages local communities to take renewed pride in caring for the treasures on their own doorstep.

Above all, these inscriptions remind us that heritage is a precious and fragile inheritance that we merely hold in trust for those who will come after us. By celebrating and protecting these remarkable places today, the world affirms its shared responsibility to pass them on, undiminished, to the many generations that are still to come in the future.