IV International Conference of Euro-Asia World Heritage Cities dedicatedto the topic ?Safeguarding of Intangible Heritage and Sustainable UrbanDevelopment? was successfully conducted in Solo City (Java, Indonesia)on October 25 ? 28 2008.

The Conference was organized by Euro-Asia Regional Section of the Organization of World Heritage Cities (headquartered in Kazan, the Russian Federation) together with the municipality of Solo.   

The movement of cities for preservation of their heritage was initiated in Kazan in June 2004, when 200 participants from over 20 cities and countries created a union with the purpose to support implementation of the World Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and the Charter about Preservation of Historical Cities and Regions as well as to establish cooperation and exchange information between the cities and organizations pursuing the same purposes. 
 

The congress in Indonesia gathered about 450 participants from 37 countries. The flags of all the countries represented in the Conference hung in the conference room during the opening ceremony on October 25. The official languages were English, Bahasa Indonesia and Russian. 

For the first time Euro-Asia World Heritage Cities Conference touched upon safeguarding of intangible heritage. The participants discussed the question how intangible heritage can enhance development of tourism, economy and sustainable urban development.   


The Conference included two scientific sessions with keynote reports made by the most prominent world experts in the field of cultural heritage preservation, workshops dedicated to traditional aspects of Indonesian culture (batik, kris, wayang, gamelan), Poster Session (exhibition of posters reflecting various projects of cities in the area of safeguarding of cultural heritage), and Final Session of the Conference in which Solo Declaration was adopted. 


Besides, on October 25 a statutory meeting of UCLG Euro-Asia took place chaired by the Mayor of Irkutsk City Vladimir Yakubovskiy. 

The Organizing Committee of Solo Municipality elaborated a rich cultural program that included a visit to a Buddhist temple Borobudur recognized as a World Heritage Cite by UNESCO and to a Hindu temple complex Prambanan.









Events:

• Opening Ceremony
  
• October 25, Saturday. UCLG Euro-Asia Council Meeting
  
• October 26, Sunday. Carnival of Intangible Heritage
  
• October 27, Monday. Conference Scientific Sessions
  
• Poster Session
  
• EXPO and Workshops
  
• October 28, Tuesday. Final Session of the Conference of Signing of Solo Declaration
  
• Cultural Program
  
• Trip to Bali 
  

28.11.2008

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