The 2018 annual meeting of the League of UNESCO Category II Centres in China (hereinafter “the League”) was held in Lili Town, Suzhou on January 29th , 2018. The meeting, attended by nearly 40 delegates from UNESCO Category II Centres and partners in China, was hosted together by World Heritage Institute of Training and Research for the Asia and the Pacific Region under the auspices of UNESCO (WHITRAP) and Lili Town Preservation and Management Committee. This meeting is an important event in the history of the League for consensus reached on its functional mechanisms and cooperative modes of development。

CISTRAT attended this meeting to share experiences and to discuss challenges with other Category II Centres. The delegates found similar challenges in operating Category II Centres and put forward suggestions on the future development of the League.

The meeting was concluded with a series of resolutions, such as holding annual meetings, appointing Deputy Secretary-Generals for Education, Science and Culture respectively, promoting base construction for joint activities, and facilitating information exchange and communication between different Centres.