Charleston to host preservation leaders from across the globe

About 140 preservation leaders from across the globe will arrive in Charleston this week to discuss how to interpret historic sites, including those with difficult issues.

The gathering will be one of the largest preservation conferences ever held in the city and could provide a boost for local preservationists’ long-term goal of having Charleston listed as a World Heritage City, said Jonathan Poston of the Historic Charleston Foundation.

The eighth annual meeting of the International Council on Monuments and Sites runs Thursday through Sunday.

Since 1965, the international council has advised the United Nations on the protection of historic sites around the world, including the Great Wall of China, the Egyptian pyramids, and the Taj Mahal. Some of the sessions will be open to the public for a fee.

The conference features two days of presentations on international archaeology, cultural tourism, historic landscapes, and vernacular architecture. Delegates also will tour historic sites between McClellanville and Savannah.

The Hon. Jean-Pierre Van Der Meiran, deputy of culture and social affairs of the Province of East-Flanders in Belgium, is expected to attend and also will meet with Charleston Mayor Joe Riley to discuss cultural cooperation between Charleston and the province of East Flanders.

IF YOU GO

— What: The eighth annual meeting of the International Council on Monuments and Sites

— Where: Charleston

— When: Thursday through Sunday

— Contact: For more information on its schedule and events visit the Web site, www.icomos.org/usicomos/ or call the Historic Charleston Foundation, the local host for the conference, at 723-1623.