Finalization of the Cordoba Symposium and first operational partnership for the New Urban Project

Elected representatives and coordinators from the 12 pilot cities the Collaborative Networks and experts from the Advisory Board finalized the results of the Symposium on the habitability of historic centers at a meeting on December 16. This meeting concludes the post-Cordoba discussions. The Symposium’s Technical Report will be shared in early January 2025.

The Quebec Roadmap and Cordoba Path activities will collectively develop the OWHC’s New Urban Project (NUP). One of these activities will be implemented through a partnership with the Cultural Heritage Financial Alliance (CHiFA).

CHiFA promotes heritage-led regeneration through collaborative and innovative financing solutions. CHiFA aims to build a global marketplace and a supportive ecosystem of expertise and civic interests premised on opportunities for capital investment in historic places.

As part of the Cordoba Path, CHiFA will organize an Urban Heritage Regeneration Accelerator (“Accelerator”), bringing together selected World Heritage Cities in a community of practice. The Accelerator will enable stewards of heritage sites and districts to effectively define goals, fast track plans and implementation strategies in order to maximize unique cultural assets for sustainable economic and community development. The Accelerator will include training, coaching and learning activities, resulting in pilot projects addressing key Habitability issues as defined by the OWHC. Participating cities will be eligible for financial support to launch the pilot projects.

The OWHC and CHiFA will launch the call for applications to the Accelerator in January 2025 and the Accelerator will begin in Spring of 2025. Outcomes will contribute to the elaboration of the New Urban Project and will be reported at the OWHC World Congress in Marrakech in 2026.

Activities in 2025-2026 will be developed from an increasingly operational perspective. All member cities are encouraged to get involved!

With this good news, we close an intense and active 2024!