The Charleston World Heritage Coalition was founded to showcase the Lowcountry’s global historic significance through its designation as a World Heritage Site – the highest historic designation in the world. Capping off our ongoing effort, the CWHC will be hosting a public symposium to discuss the area’s international historic value and, through the city’s longstanding commitment to the protection and preservation of its cultural heritage, why it is unique. The day will begin with an address from Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. and feature lectures on Charleston’s World Heritage eligibility from local and international experts.
The CWHC welcomes you to this important event, and we hope you will join us in not only celebrating Charleston’s international significance, but also by showing your support for the history and heritage of our city. Public engagement and awareness is pivotal to the success of the city’s World Heritage nomination. It is time for Charleston’s worldwide historic significance and its status as the best-preserved city in America to be formally recognized by our global citizenry; we need your help to make that a reality.
Event Details
Free and open to the public, the Charleston UNESCO World Heritage Symposium will cover a range of topics relating to Charleston’s rich history and the city’s forthcoming bid to be designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a World Heritage Site. The event will feature speakers from the international and local community discussing various aspects of Charleston history, as well as topics relating to the UNESCO mission and process for World Heritage designation. There will be a panel of local preservation groups and sponsors, as well as a Question and Answer Session with members of the Charleston World Heritage Coalition Advisory Council included as part of the Symposium.
August 19th is the first day of a three-day event designed to evaluate Charleston’s global significance and draft bid for World Heritage designation. The following two days are closed sessions, and will include site visits, roundtable discussions and formal nomination recommendations by international academics and historians, leading UNESCO experts and historic preservation scholars from over six countries.
VENUE: KKBE, 90 Hasell Street
DATE: Wednesday, August 19
TIME: 9:00am-5:00pm
Free Admission