Photo: Prensa Latina
New constructions in the vicinity of the historic center of Mbanza Kongo, in northwestern Angola, could affect the preservation of the place, which was declared a World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), local media reported.
Angola – Mbanza Kongo, Vestiges of the Capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo
Angola received last Friday at UNESCO headquarters in Paris the international certificate that confirms Mbanza Kongo historical centre as World Heritage.
During the delivery of the certificate to the Angolan Culture minister, Carolina Cerqueira, the Director of the Division for Heritage and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, Mechtil Rossler congratulated the country for the unmatched worldwide value and widely recognized traces of Mbanza Congo historical centre.
Mechtil Rossler underlined the importance of this project of social integration and cultural aspect and of support for the sustainable development of the Central Africa subregion.
The Angolan minister stressed that the preservation and protection of the Angolan cultural heritage is part of the political agenda and National Development Programme.
Angola – Mbanza Kongo, Vestiges of the Capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo
The historic sites of Mbanza Kongo in Angola, Eritrea’s capital Asmara and South Africa’s ǂKhomani Cultural Landscape were added to the UNESCO’s World Heritage List in July.
These are the first world heritage sites in Angola and Eritrea, but the ninth for South Africa which boasts of eight other sites.
The eight include the Fossil Hominid, Maloti-Drakensberg Park, Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape, Vredefort Dome, Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape, Robben Island Museum, iSimangaliso Wetland Park and the Cape Floral Region Protected Areas.
Angola – Mbanza Kongo, Vestiges of the Capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo
While the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is a tribute to every victim and their resistance against slavery, it is also a reminder of the importance of teaching history, a senior United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural (UNESCO) has stressed.
“The legacy of the slave trade is a symbolic victory for human rights freedom; and the International Day acts as a reminder of the eternal effort to reaffirm human dignity and break down ignorance” Nada Al-Nashif, UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human Sciences told UN News ahead of the International Day of remembrance, marked annually on 23 August.
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Aizudin Zainal
IU7. UNL.
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