Jakarta - Solo in Central Java will host a meeting called International Conference of World Heritage Euro-Asian Cities on October 25-28, 2008, the city`s chief administrator said.
"The conference will be themed `The Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritages and Sustainable Urban Development`. The mayors of 143 cities in 29 countries will attend the conference," Solo Mayor Joko Widodo said at a press conference here Thursday.
The international meeting was part of UNESCO`s biennial program to give an opportunity to world heritage city officials to gather and discuss all sorts of issues and exchange knowledge.
"Already registered with the world heritage organizations, Solo will become the first city in Indonesia to host an international meeting like this," Widodo said.
The meeting was expected to issue a declaration emphasizing the importance of saving intangible cultural heritages and of sustainable urban development.
Meanwhile, Eddy Pratomo, the Indonesian foreign affairs ministry`s director general of international laws and treaties, said the ministry fully supported the holding of the conference since it would be a second-track diplomacy event that would promote Indonesia among the international community.
"We really appreciate the Solo city administration`s intention to host this event. Our ministry always supports efforts by regional administrations to hold events that are part of second-track diplomacy," Pratomo said.
The conference would be officially opened by Coordinating Minister for People`s Welfare Aburizal Bakrie on Oct 25, 2008. It would comprise several activities such as an expo, cultural events, a carnival and workshops.
The conference sessions would be addressed by speakers from UNESCO, the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), the World Trade Organization (WTO), government officials, and professors from Gadjah Mada University and Turin University (Italy).
Source: http://www.antaranews.com (October 16, 2008)