OWHC Day

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The Organization of World Heritage Cities was founded on September 8, and to commemorate this landmark event, September 8 has been declared “OWHC Day” (formerly World Heritage Cities Solidarity Day). Every year on this date, all member cities of the Organization are invited to celebrate the day.

OWHC Day is an invitation to member cities to highlight the values of the Organization, in order to strengthen the sense of belonging and community among network members.

That is why the General Secretariat is encouraging each member city’s administration to take advantage of this opportunity to raise awareness of the OWHC and its mission, by organizing a multitude of activities for their citizens.

2026 Edition: 33rd OWHC Day

Habitability refers not only to the physical quality of the living environment. It expresses a historic center’s capacity to remain a vibrant, welcoming, shared, and meaningful place for the residents of today and tomorrow. It connects heritage to residents’ daily lives, the use of public spaces, mobility, nature in the city, local services, collective memory, traditional skills, and contemporary forms of community life.

With this in mind, member cities are invited to organize activities that demonstrate how their initiatives can contribute to habitability—for example, by helping to improve local life, strengthening a sense of belonging, and fostering better ways of living, moving through, sharing, and transforming historic centers.

To foster dialogue with citizens, the proposed activities could include:

meetings with residents focused on daily life in the historic center;
urban walks highlighting the places, customs, narratives, and skills that define the city’s identity;
participatory workshops on the future of public spaces, housing, mobility, or heritage sites;
cultural, educational, or artistic activities that connect memory, heritage, and quality of life;
symbolic actions in public spaces to celebrate membership in the OWHC and the cities’ commitment to habitability and to historic centers that are vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable.