Last modified: 2023-11-25 by zachary harden
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image by António Martins, 3 July 2010
See also:
There is a flag in use, white with the logo in red, surrounded by the name of
the program in three languages. English, Swedish and Spanish:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UNESCO_World_Heritage_flag.jpg, but
also
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Welterbe.svg English, French and
German, or (official languages) English, French and Spanish at
http://asmaliana.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/world_heritage_logo.png.
I used this version to create the image above in 2:3 ratio.
António
Martins-Tuválkin, 3 July 2010
There's a variant of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites flag seen here:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_jijEmx3KxfQ/TRM4IJOD-lI/AAAAAAAAFlY/83yajRgMk90/s1600/800px-UNESCO_World_Heritage_flag.jpg
(Source:
http://noticiasvina.blogspot.com/2010/12/6-templos-hindues-en-lista-patrimonio.html)
Notice the writing on the top is in Indonesia, thus, it seems that the top
writing on the flag corresponds to the local City/Place that is actually being
selected to become one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites. I come to this
conclusion since the article above refers to Indonesian religious sites.
Esteban Rivera, 31 May 2011
This is simply the version with English, Swedish and Spanish, which is the
first mentioned by António on our page (in fact, he gives what was probably the
original source for that photo - it was reportedly taken at Karlskrona, Sweden).
As António says, the image on our page shows the official languages to be used
in the Emblem: English, French and Spanish - "WORLD HERITAGE . PATRIMOINE
MONDIAL" and "PATRIMONIO MUNDIAL". Section VIII of the /Operational Guidelines
for the Implementation of the
World
Heritage Convention deals with the World Heritage Emblem. Paragraph 259
reads:
"The Committee decided that the Emblem proposed by the artist could be used,
in any colour or size, depending on the use, the technical possibilities and
considerations of an artistic nature. The Emblem should always carry the text
"WORLD HERITAGE . PATRIMOINE MONDIAL". The space occupied by "PATRIMONIO MUNDIAL"
can be used for its translation into the national language of the country where
the Emblem is to be used."
It seems that the version on the flag at Karlskrona replaced the wrong language.
While it makes some sense to show the version with the default Emblem, we only
provide evidence that the Swedish version appears on a flag, let alone in this
particular arrangement.
A
photo at Preah Vihear temple in Cambodia shows a flag that seems to be UN
blue with the graphical part of the emblem (no text) in white. (For context,
according to
this page, a
flag signifiying the WH status was raised during border conflict to protect
the site - unsuccessfully.
A
presentation on the Sundarbans says "The Honorable Prime Minister of
Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina hoisted the Blue Flag of World Heritage Site and
unveiled the plaque at Hiron Point (Nilkamal) of the Sundarbans on the 4th
February 1999 (Nuruzzaman and others 1999)."
A
report for the World Heritage Committee on 1997 activities tells us
"[S]pecial events included the launching of an information campaign for the 25th
Anniversary of the Convention held in September during the two-day French
National Heritage Day (Journées du patrimoine). The World Heritage flag and
information material were made available to the 22 inscribed sites in
France...", but there is no indication of the design of the flag.
Alternatively, there are mentions of the use of the flag of the UN itself to
represent WH status at three sites in Canada:
Head-Smashed-In Buffalo Jump,
L'Anse aux Meadows and
Dinosaur Provincial Park.
The Emblem itself is describe in the /Operating Guidelines/ paragraph 258:
"At its second session (Washington, 1978), the Committee adopted the World
Heritage Emblem which had been designed by Mr. Michel Olyff. This Emblem
symbolizes the interdependence of cultural and natural properties: the central
square is a form created by man and the circle represents nature, the two being
intimately linked. The Emblem is round, like the world, but at the same time it
is a symbol of protection. It symbolizes the Convention, signifies the adherence
of States Parties to the Convention, and serves to identify properties inscribed
in the World Heritage List. It is associated with public knowledge about the
Convention and is the imprimatur of the Convention's credibility and prestige.
Above all, it is a representation of the universal values for which the
Convention stands."
Jonathan Dixon, 31 May 2011
A blue variant of the World Heritage Sites flag can be seen at
http://l7.alamy.com/zooms/163cc316b66c4de484fddd05d41b726f/unesco-flag-ffne9d.jpg,
with the symbols in white (this version with text in English, Hebrew and
Arabic).
Dave Fowler, 9 July 2016
image by Olivier Touzeau, 3 February 2021
The World Heritage flag in use in Le Havre is white with a black logo.
Olivier Touzeau, 3 February 2021
image by Zachary Harden, 26 May 2017
From
http://www.manager.co.th/asp-bin/Image.aspx?ID=1100575, the World Heritage
Convention flag is displayed at Preah Vihear Temple, which is in dispute between
Thailand and Cambodia (both the ICJ and UNESCO has it currently listed as
Cambodia). For the flag itself, it confirms the comments by Jonathan Dixon on 31
May 2011 that the UN blue field has the white logo with no text. This flag,
along with the Cambodian national flag and the Cambodian National Commission for
UNESCO (white logo on UN blue), fly at the site.
Zachary Harden, 26 May 2017