Dear Valued Members of the League of Historical Cities,
It is my great privilege and honor to invite the mayors and government officials of member cities to "The 18th World Conference of Historical Cities" held in Andong, Korea, from November 14 to 16, 2022.
As Andong boasts a beautiful natural landscape with beautiful landscaping, the city has known as the "Capital of Korean Spirit, where you can have the best experience of Korean culture and history. Andong has various tangible and intangible cultural assets and four World Heritage sites including Hahoe Village, Confucian Printing Woodblocks, UNESCO Memory of the World, and Hahoe Byeolsingut Tallori(Hahoe mask dance drama), etc.
"The 18th World Conference of Historical Cities" is to be held at the Andong International Convention Center, which opened in 2022 as a new landmark in Andong, under the theme of "Future-Oriented Historical City based on Community." The main purpose of the conference is to create a vision of "Urban Regeneration and Local Community of Historical cities" through information-sharing and in-depth discussions on newly focused areas, such as "Community-centered Sustainable Historical Cities" and "Smart Historical Cities through Digital Tools." The conference also aims to help take on the challenges faced by historical cities resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition, we are preparing for a youth drawing contest and a UCC video contest to provide opportunities for the youth, the future of our historical cities, to understand and sympathize with the culture and history of other member cities. We kindly ask you to participate actively so that many young people would be encouraged and participate.
As the world feels uncertainty, it is our role and mission as historical cities, which have been overcoming hardships and adversity for a long time and have inherited the long history and culture as it is, to share our experiences and wisdom and move forward to a sustainable future. Andong City will also do its best to prepare for this year's conference to serve as a venue to proclaim the mission and significance of the historical cities to the world yet again. However, we sincerely ask for huge support and participation from member cities' mayors and government officials.
Sincerely,