Every Christmas/New Year season I like taking a week or so off to recharge and learn more about the world while doing some research on different things that I’m interested in. Last year I was researching mountain peaks around the world and logging summits I’d climbed using an online application called Peakery. peakery.com/ more on that later.
This year while researching for the new Adventure Club adventureclub1000.com/ I was reading up on the UNESCO World Heritage sites that I’ve travelled to around the world whc.unesco.org/en/about/ and wanted to share with you a little of what I’ve learned.
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972.
After reading and learning about all the amazing things that UNSECO is doing all over the world, I decided to became a UNESCO Member, cool right? whc.unesco.org/en/register
In the recent news, I learned of the collapse this past Christmas Day of the “House of Wonders”, in Zanzibar, Tanzania, a city and country I have yet to visit.
whc.unesco.org/en/news/2233
Then reading about more bush fires in Australia and the resulting impacts to the flora and fauna on Fraser Island, off the east coast of Australia. The Aussie’s sure are getting hit hard with bush fires in recent years. I remember as a kid growing up in Sydney, some of the terrible fires and homes lost only a few miles from our home. Scary stuff.
whc.unesco.org/en/news/2232
This got me thinking about what I could do to help UNESCO and a donation seemed to make sense, so pledged a small donation.
whc.unesco.org/en/donation/
The cool thing was that I ended up getting a map as a result of my donation, of all the World Heritage sites which was one of the reasons I’d originally gone on to the site.
whc.unesco.org/en/map/
Of course, being just a little competitive with my 2 brothers, the next thing you know I’m pouring over the map looking at all the places I have travelled to during my lifetime trying to figure out how many of the sites I have been to.
Then yesterday, New Year’s Day, I was sitting down with my wife working on our annual planning and goal setting, which always includes our planned trips over the next few years. Going forward we’ll incorporate into our travel plans future UNESCO sites to visit.
Maybe you have never left your home city or maybe you’ve travelled extensively around the world. What I can say, is that travelling around the world has significantly expanded my horizons, enabled me to learn about people and other cultures. I firmly believe that travelling has really helped me to understand others, communicate better, and truly appreciate both the natural and man-made wonders even more.
My wish for you, is that once this current pandemic is behind us, you will also find a way to see some of the world and share in it’s amazing beauty and wonder.
Wishing you Happy New Year and Happy Travels in 2021.