4 November 2020

Co-organised by the Department of Social Science of The Hang Seng University of Hong Kong and Contemporary China Studies Center of Hong Kong Shue Yan University, the International Conference on Heritage Conservation Along the Belt and Road Zones: Between Politics and Professionalism was successfully held on 23 and 24 October 2020. The conference was fully supported by the Inter-Institutional Development Scheme (IIDS), the Research Grants Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

The organisers were honoured to have two distinguished scholars in heritage conservation, Professor Tim Winter from The University of Western Australia and Professor Tim Williams from University College London, to deliver keynote speeches on 23 October 2020. Seventeen local and overseas scholars from Asia and Europe joined the two-day conference to share their research on heritage conservation in 5 panel sessions, and around 80 participants took part in the event on-site or online. They had heated debates and discussions over issues surrounding the dynamics among UNESCO, professionals, local communities and nation states on heritage conservation along the Belt and Road Zones. The Conference Organising Committee plans to publish an edited volume of the selected papers in 2021.