Walled Cities, Open Societies - Regional Network on the Management of Historic Walls and Fortifications in Urban World Heritage Properties in Europe, Šibenik

Walled Cities, Open Societies - Regional Network on the Management of Historic Walls and Fortifications in Urban World Heritage Properties in Europe, Šibenik, Croatia 5-6 March 2018
 
 
On 26-27 January 2017, high-level representatives of 25 cities from all over Europe met in Siena (Italy), for a meeting convened by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe and hosted by the City of Siena, to discuss the management of urban areas within historic walls in World Heritage properties.
 
The meeting especially focused on the current role and functions of historic walls, on their new symbolic values. Their impacts on community involvement, participatory approaches, and the integration of historic walls within broader site management systems were discussed through keynote presentations and debates, during an intense and fruitful 2-day programme.
 
Building on the cooperative atmosphere of the Siena event, the Ministry of Culture of Croatia and the Croatian Commission for UNESCO offered to host a second workshop in order to reinforce networking among relevant cities and further advance their capacities on the management of this specific cultural heritage.
 
The workshop will take place in Šibenik, hosted by the Šibenik and Knin County, and organized by the UNESCO Regional Bureau for Science and Culture in Europe in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture of Croatia and the Croatian Commission for UNESCO.
 
 
The workshop is aimed at advancing participants’ knowledge and understanding of the Historic Urban Landscape approach (HUL), thereby promoting its implementation. In particular, attention will be paid to the specificities of applying HUL in World Heritage properties with significant presence of historic walls, fortifications and fortified urban areas.
 
Historic cities are not static monuments, but rapidly changing organisms looking for a new balance between sustainable social and economic development and the conservation of their heritage. Moving from this assumption, the Historic Urban Landscape Recommendation, adopted on 10 November 2011 by UNESCO’s General Conference, suggests a modern, inclusive and sustainable approach in managing historic cities.
 
Expected participants in the workshop are representatives of city governments (mayors, deputy mayors, city councillors) or other managing authorities of selected World Heritage properties in Europe; city professionals, UNESCO Chair holders in the field of urban preservation and regeneration, and other national and international experts associated with the subject.