The Silk Roads Programme, a major 'Routes of Dialogue’ project, is one of UNESCO’s flagship initiatives. For more than three decades, it has served as a valuable tool for understanding how cultures and societies interact and enrich each other. Shared legacies and plural identities, resulting from commercial, cultural and scientific exchanges, have played a major role in the development of modern societies and cultures.
© Wai Yan Linn / UNESCO Youth Eyes on the Silk Roads
The UNESCO Silk Roads Programme
Shared pasts, connected futures.
The Silk Roads Programme, a major 'Routes of Dialogue’ project, is one of UNESCO’s flagship initiatives. For more than three decades, it has served as a valuable tool for understanding how cultures and societies interact and enrich each other. Shared legacies and plural identities, resulting from commercial, cultural and scientific exchanges, have played a major role in the development of modern societies and cultures.
News
Initiatives
Explore the Programme's key initiatives and areas of action.
Publications
Key publications of the Silk Roads Programme.
Architecture, Monuments and Urbanism – Part I: Architectural influences along the Silk Roads
2025
Youth Lens on the Silk Roads: best photos from the International Silk Roads Photo Contest, 6th edition
2026
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
Showcasing the role and legacy of the Arabic Language along the Silk Roads
2024
Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO (CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO)
