Contributed by LI Hong & YANG Huaqing (Intern)
Designed and edited by YANG Huaqing (Intern)
Executive Summary
From 5 to 6 November 2025, World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (WHITR-AP) hosted 2025 Annual Meeting of HeritAP on World Heritage Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals in Hangzhou, China. Under the theme “World Heritage Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals”, the meeting convened more than 150 heritage experts, practitioners and representatives from diverse institutions from 14 countries and territories. Through dialogues and exchanges about policy, practice and current challenges, the meeting explored the contribution of heritage conservation to sustainable development. During the meeting, awards for the six cases of 2025 that best exemplify Good Practices on the thematic dimension of “Prosperity & Livelihoods” were also presented. The 2026 call for Good Practice cases for the thematic dimension of “Knowledge & Skills” was also officially launched.
This meeting was organized by the World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (WHITR-AP), co-organized by WHITR-AP, Shanghai Centre, People’s Government of Yuhang District, Hangzhou, P.R. China and Hangzhou Liangzhu Archaeological Site Administrative District Management Committee, and supported by ICOMOS China. Partners for the meeting included the UNESCO Regional Office for East Asia, the International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under the auspices of UNESCO (HIST) and other UNESCO Category 2 Centres dealing with World Heritage and Intangible Cultural Heritage. Tongji University and Shanghai Tongji Urban Planning & Design Institute Co., Ltd provided professional support.
The 2025 HeritAP Annual Meeting was organized around three main areas: (1) current international and national policies and actions that incorporate heritage into the Sustainable Development Goals; (2) announcement of the 2025 Good Practices in Prosperity & Livelihood; and (3) call for practices in 2026 focusing on "Knowledge & Skills". WHITR-AP's HeritAP Sustainable Development project aligned with UNESCO's Promoting Tangible-Intangible Synergies at UNESCO Designated Sites in Asia-Pacific project. The identification of cases served to underpin the development of guidelines for streamlining sustainable development in heritage practices and for enhancing integrated approaches to tangible and intangible heritage. This presented a valuable opportunity for collaboration among Centers under the auspices of UNESCO in both tangible and intangible heritage fields.
For more information on the Webinar, please refer to the links and documents below:
- 7th Session of HeritAP Chat: https://heritap.whitr-ap.org/index.php?classid=12484&id=360&t=show
- 2025 HeritAP Annual Meeting News: https://heritap.whitr-ap.org/index.php?classid=12483&id=366&t=show
- Announcement:
2025 HeritAP Announcement - Summary of HeritAP Annual Meeting: https://heritap.whitr-ap.org/index.php?classid=12484&id=368&t=show
- Videos of Good Practices: https://heritap.whitr-ap.org/index.php?classid=12497&id=93&t=show
- China: “Libo Model of Comprehensive Regional Prosperity driven by Innovative ‘Tourism+’ Based on World-Heritage Stewardship”
- China: “The Conservation Practice and Sustainable Development of Tongli Ancient Town”
- Oman: “Bahla Fort's Role: Balancing Economic Development, Heritage Protection, and promoting a sustainable livelihood Model”
- China: “The Prosperity and Livelihood of Azheke Village: A Case Study on the Protection, Development and Inheritance of the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces World Cultural Heritage”
Agenda
