Europa Nostra, the Voice of Cultural Heritage in Europe, together with the Host Country represented by the National Heritage Board of Poland, for the first time in the history of the discussions of the World Heritage Committee, in conjunction with the 41st Session organized a companion event entitled Civil Society World Heritage Meeting. It took place in Kraków on July 5, 2017 at the ICE Kraków Congress Center.
The guiding theme of the meeting – For a Structured Dialogue with Civil Society – was at the same time a goal to improve quality and effectiveness of how civil society is involved in the implementation of the World Heritage Convention. Organisers hope that the initiative will help to establish regular dialogue, thus allowing the World Heritage Committee to fully benefit from the expertise, passion and potential of communities and citizens who are active – as professionals or volunteers – in the field of cultural and natural heritage.
The meeting met with great interest from participants of the Session. To the delight of the organizers, it was attended by about 50 people - apart from NGOs our side-event was attended by different stakeholders: State Parties, the Organisation of World Heritage Cities, the Advisory Bodies and, last but not last, by the World Heritage Centre represented by its Director, Dr Mechtild Rossler.
Speech of Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailović, Secretary General of EUROPA NOSTRA, summarizing the Civil Society World Heritage Meeting (10 July, 2017)