Appointed on Monday, December 6 by Unesco Director General Audrey Azoulay, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, a Cameroonian national, is is the fifth director of the center and the first African to hold this position. He replaces Mechtild Rössler, who retired on September 30, 2021. Lazare Eloundou Assomo will assume his duties as Director of the World Heritage Centre in early January 2022.
There are currently 1154 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 167 countries. Of these sites, 43 are transboundary, 52 are considered to be in danger, 897 are cultural sites, 218 are natural sites and 39 are mixed.
Created in 1992, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre coordinates all actions related to World Heritage within UNESCO. The Centre ensures the day-to-day management of the Convention (adopted in 1972 – 50 years next year), organizes the annual sessions of the World Heritage Committee and its Bureau, and advises States Parties on the preparation of their nominations. In addition, the Centre coordinates the process of producing reports on the state of sites and the urgent actions required when a site is threatened. It also organizes, upon request, international assistance from the World Heritage Fund. Finally, the Centre is in charge of public information and, in this capacity, develops educational material to raise awareness of heritage protection among young people.
A man of the field
Lazare Eloundou Assomo, explains Unesco, has 26 years of professional experience, including 21 years in the field of world heritage. Lazare Eloundou Assomo is a man of the field as well as a regular advocate for the protection of heritage to governments.
A graduate in architecture (Grenoble School of Architecture) and urban planning (DEA Grenoble 1), Lazare Eloundou Assomo began his career in 1996 as a researcher associated with the International Center for Earthen Construction of the Grenoble School of Architecture. He was then in charge of implementing habitat projects in Africa, and then of the pedagogical coordination of the Africa 2009 conservation program set up by UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre and ICCROM.
Lazare Eloundou Assomo joined UNESCO in 2003 in the Africa Unit of the World Heritage Centre, where he contributed to the creation of the African World Heritage Fund and the development of the World Heritage Earthen Architecture Program (WHEAP).
Protection and restoration of several sites in Africa
From 2008 to 2013, Lazare Eloundou Assomo was Head of the Africa Unit of the World Heritage Centre, where, during this period, he coordinated several restoration projects in Mozambique (Ilha World Heritage Site Fortress), Uganda and Mali, as well as capacity building initiatives in that region. He co-authored the book “African World Heritage: Remarkable Diversity” with Ishanlosen Odiaua and published in 2012 by UNESCO.
In 2013, Lazare Eloundou Assomo joined the UNESCO office in Bamako, where he became director in 2014. He then became the leader of UNESCO in Mali. While the country is hit by a violent armed conflict, he is in charge of the protection of Malian cultural heritage. He successfully led the reconstruction of the mausoleums of Timbuktu and the safeguarding of ancient manuscripts.
Lazare Eloundou Assomo joined UNESCO headquarters in Paris in 2016, first as Deputy Director of the Heritage Division and the World Heritage Centre. In 2018, he became Director of “Culture and Emergencies”. In this capacity, he coordinates emergency responses to heritage affected by conflicts and disasters and the restitution of cultural property under the 1970 Convention.
