UNESCO is supporting the establishment of campus-based heritage studies resource centres and World Heritage courses at universities in five African countries as part of a pilot programme that will eventually grow into a 30-member university network linked to UNESCO Chairs.

The five countries participating in the programme are South Africa, Cameroon, Morocco, Senegal and Tanzania.

UNESCO press officer Nolwazi Mjwara said that a meeting was held in February 2026 to map the way forward in implementing the programme.

She said that following the meeting, the next step is to convene the five pilot universities and L’École du patrimoine Africain (the African Heritage School, or EPA) to draft tailored roadmaps and implementation calendars.

Role of L’École du patrimoine Africain

EPA is a pan-African institution in Porto-Novo, Benin, which trains professionals and students in the conservation and management of cultural heritage such as museums and archives.

Mjwara said the five pilot universities involved in the programme are the University of Cape Town, the University of Yaoundé II, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, Cheikh Anta Diop University and the College of African Wildlife Management Mweka, Tanzania.

She explained that the heritage initiative will run until 2027, but the plan is ultimately to increase the number of participating universities.

“The main goal is to institutionalise World Heritage development in Africa by anchoring it in universities and heritage institutions, rather than relying only on short-term workshops. In practical terms, the project is building durable curricula, accredited training pathways, advisory support and a pan-African university network to strengthen heritage identification, conservation, management and nomination.”

UNESCO Press Officer Nolwazi Mjwara

Expanding the University Network

This is a Korean Funds-in-Trust pilot project with the wider plan to expand it into a broader network. Korean Funds-in-Trust is a channel through which the Republic of Korea makes voluntary contributions to United Nations agencies to fund specific development projects in other countries.

“Beyond the project itself, UNESCO and the African World Heritage Fund plan to sustain a 30-university network and build on the results through a two-phase nomination programme scheduled for 2027,” added Mjwara.

UNESCO Strategy for Africa and Heritage Development

The initiative is part of UNESCO’s organisation-wide strategic priority for Africa. The Strategy for Priority Africa (2022-29) focuses on fostering cultural heritage and development, including through World Heritage. Mjwara explained,

“This is why strengthening World Heritage courses and creating campus-based initiatives are central to the current strategy and approach in Africa. They are practical tools for embedding expertise in African institutions, promoting South-South and North-South cooperation, and making heritage education more relevant to jobs, local development and long-term stewardship of cultural and natural heritage.”

Nolwazi Mjwara

Flagship Programmes and Partnerships

UNESCO’s Operational Strategy for Priority Africa has five flagship programmes aimed at achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and the African Union’s Agenda 2063. These include Campus Africa, General History of Africa, Open Science, sustainable development through emerging technologies and AI, and heritage development.

Participating universities will be linked to African and international academic partners, and the network will eventually involve additional African universities and UNESCO Chairs.

UNESCO Chair on African Heritage Studies

In 2020, the University of Botswana started hosting its UNESCO Chair on African Heritage Studies and Sustainable Development, the first of its kind in Africa.

“It provides a platform for driving research, teaching and policy engagement on African heritage and international sustainable development,” said the University of Botswana.

Other objectives include enhancing interaction between academia and practitioners, disseminating modern heritage conservation knowledge, conducting research on trans-boundary heritage in Southern Africa, and fostering cross-sector collaboration on heritage and sustainability.