The 2012 conference of the International Council on Monuments and Sites is being held in Beijing from Oct 27 to Nov 1 with 112 representatives from 56 countries attending the event.

The theme of this year’s discussion is “Reducing the harm on cultural relics caused by natural and man-made disasters”. Experts from China, Japan, Italy and Australia are sharing their experiences and ideas.

Guo Zhan from the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and also the secretary general of ICOMOS China said during the conference that China is playing an increasingly important role in the world arena.

“We used to have limited experience and ideas in heritage protection and are inclined to learn from other countries,” Guo said. “But in recent years, China is stepping on an equal position in communicating ideas and methods in heritage protection, especially when many important conferences and seminars on heritage protection are being held in China.”

Guo also pointed out that traditional cultural values and philosophy are now increasingly contributing to worldwide heritage protection.

ICOMOS was set up in Poland in Warsaw, Poland, in 1965 and is the only international non-governmental organization protecting and repairing cultural heritage and relics. The organization plays a vital role in approving nominations for UNESCO’s World Heritage List.

China joined ICOMOS in 1993 and has remained closely connection with the organization ever since. Forty-three items from China are enlisted on the World Heritage List.

“China is such a large country with a deep history as well as huge global impact,” Gustavo F. Araoz, president of ICOMOS, said. “The impact of China’s cultural heritage protection is immense. Regarding heritage protection, China is working in a different circumstance because you have a huge urbanization process. You have huge demographic shifts bringing people in the countryside to the cities. I was amazed by how China is able to save so many places.”