Organizations of World Heritage Cities will develop an emergency relief programme in Vilnius

In cooperation with the City of Vilnius and the Public Institution Vilniaus senamiesčio atnaujinimo agentūra (Vilnius Old Town Renovation Agency), the Central and East-Central European Secretariats of the Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) are organising a meeting in Vilnius on Monday, 20 March, at the Town Hall to discuss threats to historic towns and cities, their prevention, and crisis management measures. All this will eventually come together in a universal and relevant Emergency Relief Programme to be developed by the OWHC.

The OWHC is a political network of urban solidarity and expertise dealing with the urban management of historic cities on the World Heritage List. During its meeting in Evora in May 2022, in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Network’s Board of Directors asked the General Secretariat to include in the OWHC’s Action Plan the “Emergency Assistance Programme for Member Cities”. The issue was discussed during the World Congress in Quebec in September 2022, in relation to the needs of Ukrainian member cities.

The aim of the meeting in Vilnius was to start preparing a detailed proposal for the programme to be presented to the OWHC Board of Directors meeting in autumn 2023. Therefore, the experts from eight countries who are to meet in Vilnius will consider all the threats that cities can face, including natural disasters, military conflicts, etc, as well as possible OWHC responses. The main tasks of the discussions include: a list of crisis situations (typology), a list of questions to be answered by the working groups, a plan of action and working methods to achieve the objectives.

“Examples such as the war in Ukraine remind us that World Heritage Cities must have a clear plan of action in case of crisis situations,” says Remigijus Šimašius, the Mayor of Vilnius.

The first session will present the results of the seminar “Managing Hazard Risks in a Changing World”, which took place in Vilnius last year. The second session will analyse risks in armed conflict, protective measures, crisis management and reconstruction processes. Examples from Ukraine, Croatia, Poland, prevention and assistance initiatives will be presented.

On 21 March, as a follow-up to the meeting in the capital of Lithuania, the Public Institution Vilnius Old Town Renovation Agency (VSAA) will host an OWHC regional meeting to discuss the organisation’s 2022-2024 strategic action, the Quebec Roadmap.

Vilnius will actively participate in the implementation of the Quebec Roadmap 2023-2024, presenting and developing themes of relevance to the city, such as the involvement and encouragement of the community to participate in the management of the Old Town (from the VSAA’s advice to the municipality’s financial support), or the revitalisation of historic buildings (their research and management adapting for contemporary use, ensuring the preservation of the Old Town’s outstanding universal value and the continuity of its urban development.