Contact:
  • Tony Crouch, Heritage & Environment Manager (temp. contact)
  • Address:
    Planning Services, Trimbridge House, Trim Street, Bath BA1 2DP
  • E-mail:
    world_heritage@bathnes.gov.uk
  • Telephone:
    01225 477584
  • Fax:
    01225 477663
  • Minicom:
    01225 477535
  • Page Updated:
    01/03/2008
  • Author:
    Tony Crouch
A to Z Index

Quick Guide to World Heritage

Organization of World Heritage Cities

OWHC logo

 

The Organization of World Heritage Cities is an international non-profit organisation whose aim is to help member cities adapt and improve their management methods once they become World Heritage Sites.

Founded on September 8, 1993 in Fez, Morocco, the Organisation is now made up of 203 cities which have World Heritage Sites located within their boundaries. The OWHC's headquarters are in Quebec City, Canada where the General Secreteriat co-ordinates the work of the organisation. Decisions on what the OWHC will do are made regularly by the Board (made up of 8 Mayors from member cities) and at the General Assembly. This Assembly meets every two years at the world conference and is made up of one representative from every member city. 

There are also six regional groups to help co-ordinate activity and promote close links between cities. These are North-West Europe; Central and Eastern Europe; South Europe and Mediterranean; Latin America; Euro-Asia; and, North Africa and Arab States.

The OWHC runs various projects aimed at raising awareness on World Heritage and the cities, including working with UNESCO and the Council of Europe, and to inform and train those who manage the cities. It provides a network and forum for the exchange of ideas and information.

A World Conference is held every two years, with regional conferences or meetings generally held in the intervening years. The last conference was held in Kazan, Russia in June 2007.

For further information on the OWHC please see their website at http://www.ovpm.org/

Our Region

This region is co-ordinated from Bergen, Norway. The Region's members come from Finland, Germany, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. The other UK members are Telford (Ironbridge Gorge) and Edinburgh (Old and New Towns).

The region's last conference was held at Edinburgh, UK in 2006.

Further information about Sites

For information about the World Heritage Sites mentioned on this page, look at the UNESCO website whc.unesco.org.