The 23rd Regional Conference, organised by the Regional Secretariat for Southern Europe and the Mediterranean of the Organisation of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) and Elvas City Council, took place on 12 and 13 December 2023 in this Portuguese city. It was attended by representatives from Angra do Heroísmo, Évora, Porto, Sintra and Elvas (Portugal), Aranjuez, Baeza, Córdoba and Segovia (Spain), Cidade Velha (Cape Verde), Strasbourg (France), Rhodes (Greece), Vienna (Austria) and Québec (Canada).
During the meeting, the economic and management reports for 2023 were approved, as well as the Action Plan and Budget for 2024 presented by the Regional Coordinator. Among the most important projects to be developed are those on Crafts and Heritage, Visual Decontamination of Historic Centres, Crafts that restore Heritage, Gastronomy as Intangible Cultural Heritage and the role of Youth and Heritage. It was agreed that the 4th Meeting of Young Ambassadors would be held in the Greek city of Rhodes in April, and that a new Meeting of Projects and the Collaborative Network on Crafts would be held in the Portuguese city of Porto in June.
