As part of the Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities, 2021 edition, here you will find a few examples of the activities that were organized in our cities.

BRUSSELS

On the occasion of the Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities, the city of Brussels shared a virtual visit of The Grand-Place to Be on their website. This exhibition was organized to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the inscription of the Grand-Place on the World Heritage List in 2018.

Located at the Maison du Roi of the Museum of the City of Brussels, the exhibition is entirely dedicated to the Grand-Place’s history, heritage, management and daily life.

CIDADE VELHA

On 8 of September, Cidade Velha offered an event for its citizens to celebrate Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities, which included a series of speeches, cultural activities and exhibitions. Two videos were shared on the Municipality’s Facebook page, showcasing this celebration event.

As part of the Solidarity Day celebrations, Cidade Velha also organized a round table with specialist to discuss the topic of Heritage.

GRANADA

The city of Granada arranged five free cultural activities to celebrate the Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities, organized by the City Council of Granada, through the Albaicín Agency, and the Patronato of Alhambra and Generalife. These activities were held between the 8^th and 11^th of September.

KRAKOW

The city of Kraków celebrated the Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities together with the youngest inhabitants through an educational series “Heritage with Lajkotek, or a journey into the future of our past” developed for school pupils.

A set of 10 educational notebooks together with a notebook for a teacher, commissioned by the Municipality of Krakow, can be downloaded free of charge in PDF format here.

KUTNA HORA

Kutna Hora celebrated the 2021 Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities with a meeting of the Steering group ensuring the UNESCO World Heritage Agenda in Kutna Hora, held at the Dacicky house. The meeting started with an introduction of the participation of Kutna Hora in the OWHC and a brief information about the OWHC in general.

During the event, and in memory of the 25th anniversary of the inscription of Kutna Hora on The World Heritage List, a documentary was presented including a series of 4 interviews with Mr.Sanc, Mr.Rezler, Mr.Riha and Mr.Benes. All 4 interviewees took part in the preparation for the inscription of Kutna Hora to the World Heritage List in 9/12/1995.

In addition, during the meeting, the current reconstruction process of some monuments in Kutna Hora, such as Sedlec Ossuary and The Church of St James, were presented followed by a rich discussion on the importance of protection and promotion of heritage.

LUXEMBOURG

On the occasion of the Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities, the city of Luxembourg offered 8 “A Journey to Pfaffenthal in the 19th Century” guided tours free of charge throughout the day, with 4 participants each (respectively 5, if they are all members of the same household).

With the use of 3D glasses, the “A Journey to Pfaffenthal in the 19th Century” guided tour, takes visitors back to the Pfaffenthal district of the 19th century, during a bus ride through the narrow streets of the suburb. Enriched with numerous photographic documents, animated images, sounds and music, this multi-sensory experience allows visitors to immerse themselves in the daily life of the district: they can see private houses and functional buildings, such as the Vauban military barracks, while riding in an animated carriage pulled by virtual horses.

OAXACA

For the past 10 years, the Children of Heritage Foundation coordinated by the Federico Froebel School of Oaxaca, has been commemorating the Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities. This year a meeting was held with 168 young people where Architect Gerardo Corres was invited to present a report on the conditions of two inscribed properties in the UNESCO World Heritage List: Historic Centre of Oaxaca and Archaeological Site of Monte Albánand; and Prehistoric Caves of Yagul and Mitla in the Central Valley of Oaxaca.

PHILADELPHIA

The city of Philadelphia had a virtual fireside chat on the evening of 9^th of September to celebrate the Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities. The chat was a most informative interview between NBC News Anchor Andrea Mitchell and Kristen Welker, Chief White House Correspondent, NBC News.

QUEBEC

On the occasion of the Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities, the Maison de la photo de Québec prepared an exhibition to pay tribute to Mr. Eugen Kedl, a great photographer and lover of Quebec landscapes who passed away in 2008. The photos in this exhibition were taken from his last book “Québec et ses merveilles”, published on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of the founding of the City of Quebec and were on display from 8^th until 30^th of September 2021.

SAN ANTONIO

As part of the Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities celebration, the City of San Antonio World Heritage Office and its collaborative partners held the 6th annual World Heritage Festival September 8-12, 2021 with both in-person and virtual programming. The multi-day World Heritage Festival is an annual collaborative event to celebrate and promote the San Antonio Missions as the first and only UNESCO World Heritage site in Texas.

SEGOVIA

In the city of Segovia, the Councillor for Tourism, Miguel Merino, and the Councillor for Historical Heritage, Clara Martín, symbolically raised the flag of the Organisation of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) in the Plaza del Azoguejo in Segovia, in commemoration of the 28^th Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities.

In addition, the Tourism Department scheduled a guided tour, “From the Azoguejo to the Plaza: the living room of the Segovians”, led by the architect Alberto García Gil, to raise awareness of factors affecting historic centres. A video “The World Heritage List. The Spanish idea that originated it” was also shared on the city’s social media, in which Alberto García Gil relates his personal and professional experience in the development to of the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage.

SINTRA

On the occasion of the 28^th edition of the Solidarity Day of World Heritage Cities, the municipality of Sintra and the Cultursintra Foundation joined the solidarity initiative by donating 1 euro for each visitor of the Quinta da Regaleira on September 8^th 2021, raising a total of 1,564 euros for the Portuguese Red Cross – Sintra Delegation.