The African World Heritage Fund (AWHF) is committed to assist Rwanda in the nomination of its sites to the prestigious United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) world heritage list through their capacity building program.

The Chairperson of AWHF’s Board of Governors, Vusithemba Ndima, shared this during the on-going AWHF Board of Governors 32nd meeting that has been taking place in Kigali from December 5 and will end on 9.

Ndima said that the AWHF was created in 2006 through a resolution by the African Union (AU) Heads of States, as a Pan African institution which is mandated to support the promotion, conservation, and protection of cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value on the continent.

He said that the proponents of the fund saw this as an opportunity to increase nominations of World Heritage Sites on the continent in line with the Budapest Declaration of 2002, which urged the World Heritage Committee to promote the idea of a credible, balanced and representative world heritage list.

"We also saw an opportunity to improve the state of conservation of the sites on the continent so that the sites that have been inscribed maintain their authenticity and integrity.”

Speaking to The New Times, Minister of Youth and Culture, Rosemary Mbabazi, said that "Africa's cultural heritage is not only our identity, but also a source of pride.”

Mbabazi said that hosting this meeting is timely as it aligns with the country’s priorities, in particular the preservation of the cultural heritage and its inscription to the world heritage list.

She added that Rwanda has proposed different sites for inscription, including the ‘beautiful’ Nyungwe National Park as well as the 1994 Genocide against Tutsi memorial sites namely Nyamata, Murambi, Gisozi and Bisesero.

"We commend the good work that the fund has undertaken in the areas of research and training to identify African natural and cultural sites of outstanding universal value suitable for nomination,” she said.

Currently, there are more than 197 places of heritage in Rwanda, including palaces that embody the history of kingdoms, culture, bravery of Rwandans and Rwanda's early legends.

From 1972 to 2022, fifty years after the adoption of the convention, Africa, with its rich and diversified cultural and natural heritage, remains less represented on the UNESCO list with only 98 sites, representing 8.49 per cent of the 1154 world heritages on the list.