Third Meeting of European World Heritage Associations, 5 and 6 October 2017
The 3rd Meeting of European World Heritage Associations will take place in the Hanseatic City of Lübeck from 5 to 6 October 2017. It is being organized by the German World Heritage Sites Association, the German Commission for UNESCO and Lübeck & Travemünde Marketing GmbH, and features as its theme “Sharing World Heritage”.
Following the launch of the initiative in Strasbourg in 2015 and its successful continuation in Segovia in 2016, the third meeting aims to further consolidate this young network for exchange and closer cooperation among the European World Heritage Associations.
The meeting will focus on cross-border protection and management, sustainable tourism, and communication and interpretation of World Heritage as European places of encounter and learning. The declarations of the two previous meetings in Strasbourg and Segovia, as well as the Lübeck Declaration of 2007, will provide the basis for discussion, set within the broader context of the current International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development and the upcoming European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018.
For more information on this event, please consult the website www.whmeeting-luebeck2017.de/en or contact the organizing team.
Attendance is limited, and participation is by invitation only.
Decisions (1)
The World Heritage Committee,
- Having examined Document WHC/17/41.COM/10B,
- Recalling Decision 40 COM 10B.5 adopted at its 40th session (Istanbul/UNESCO 2016),
- Welcomes the progress made in the follow-up of the Second Cycle of Periodic Reporting for Europe;
- Commends the States Parties of Europe who participated in the Helsinki Action Plan Monitoring Survey, the first of its kind, which will allow for a regular self-assessment and tracking of progress by the States Parties of Europe towards the achievement of the regional targets set out in the Action Plan;
- Takes note of the responses received on the implementation of the Helsinki Action Plan and of the publication of the results of the survey on the website of the World Heritage Centre, and requests the World Heritage Centre to take the opportunity to fine-tune the survey in preparation for its second edition in 2018;
- Encourages the States Parties of Europe to continue pursuing their efforts, with a focus on monitoring activities and integrating World Heritage mechanisms into the management of World Heritage properties;
- Also encourages the States Parties of Europe to accelerate their efforts on the Action Plan targets for which little progress has been reported, and, if needed, to seek out technical assistance from the World Heritage Centre and the Advisory Bodies where appropriate;
- Further encourages States Parties to financially support the implementation of the regional Action Plans through support to the World Heritage Centre;
- Also requests the World Heritage Centre to present a progress report on the implementation of the Action Plan for Europe every two years as from 2019 (43rd session), and further requests the States Parties of North America to submit a progress report on the implementation of the Action Plan for North America at its 43rd session.