The Organization of World Heritage Cities (OWHC) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization of 250 cities in which sites of the UNESCO World Heritage list are located. It was founded in 1993 in Fez, Morocco, during the second International Symposium of World Heritage Cities. The headquarters of the OWHC are located in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Altogether the 250 member cities of the OWHC have a population of more than 130 million. History During the first International Symposium of World Heritage Cities in Québec City in 1991, the participating 41 cities adopted the Québec City Declaration. This declaration states the desire to build a network of World Heritage Cities. At the second International Symposium of World Heritage Cities in Fez, Morocco, the OWHC was founded in 1993. 56 participating cities decided on the mission, goals and powers of the organisation. At the Founding General Assembly, the member cities elected the first Board of Directors and Secretary General. Since the first General Assembly, the member cities have been meeting every two years. Listed below are the years, locations and topics of the previous General Assemblies. 1995 Bergen (Norway): Communication between World Heritage Cities 1997 Evora (Portugal): Tourism and World Heritage – Challenges and Opportunities 1999 Santago de Compostela (Spain): Innovation in the Management of World Heritage Cities 2001 Puebla (Mexico): Prevention and Protection Measures for World Heritage Cities in Case of Disaster 2003 Rhodes (Greece) 2005 Cusco (Peru): Heritage of Humanity, Heritage with Humanity 2007 Kazan (Russian Federation): Heritage and Economics 2009 Quito (Ecuador): The revitalization of historic centres: how to involve all social actors? 2011 Sintra (Portugal): World Heritage Cities and Climate Change 2013 Oaxaca (Mexico): Heritage Cities, Sustainable Cities 2015 Arequipa (Peru): World Heritage Cities, Resilent Cities 2017 Ahmedabad (India): World Heritage cities 2017 Asmara (Eritrea): World Heritage cities, Africa's Modernest city Organization Any city may become a member of the OWHC if it possesses the following two characteristics. Firstly the city has to be the location of a living urban fabric of historic or contemporary interest. Its outstanding universal value has been recognized by the UNESCO and therefore has been registered in the World Heritage List. Secondly the city has to adhere to the values of the OWHC. The General Assembly is the paramount authority of the OWHC. In it the member cities are represented by their mayor. To be able to take part in the General Assembly