More than 120 representatives of civil society organizations from all over the world, including an EXPEDITIO representative, attended the conference “The UNESCO World Heritage and the Role of Civil Society” organized by World Heritage Watch in Bonn (Germany) on the 26-27th June 2015.
Following a two-day conference featuring about 50 presentations of different experiences and activities of civil sector in the field of World Heritage protection, the participants issued a Statement/Resolution on Civil Society Participation in the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention.
Some representatives of civil society organizations, including that of EXPEDITIO, participated as observers at the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee.
The Statement/Resolution calls for the recognition of the contribution of civil society organizations to the good governance of the Convention and urges the WH Committee to explore opportunities for strengthening civil society participation in the implementation of the Convention. Civil society organizations working in support of both cultural and natural World Heritage expressed their readiness to support the Secretariat, States Parties, Advisory Bodies and Committee in that process.
The Statement/Resolution in English can be viewed here, and its translation into Montenegrin here.