Organized by the Foundation for the Safeguarding of Cultural Heritage of Rabat, chaired by HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa, in partnership with the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, the Ministry of National Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Urban Policy, the Wilaya of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region and the UNESCO, the conference took place was held in a hybrid format at the Villa des Arts in Rabat.

According to the Foundation, "African cities trace the historical evolution of a past rich in culture, science, urban planning and architecture, hence the desire of HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Foundation, to strengthen the representation of the cultural heritage of Africa, in line with the speech made by HM King Mohammed VI before the 28th Summit of the African Union in Addis Ababa."

"Rabat is one of the cities with the most successful urban layouts, presenting different historical strata that reconcile ancient, Islamic and modern layouts in a single territory," the Foundation added. Like the capital, Rabat, other African cities have proved, by the genius of their architectural planning and that the sustainable and effective safeguarding of architectural heritage is done at the urban scale.

In this regard, HRH Princess Lalla Hasnaa has given her directives for the establishment of heritage workshops, with the desire to bring together all stakeholders by creating platforms for national and international exchanges between practitioners, researchers, institutions and the civil society, according to the same source.

The theme chosen for the conference was also highlighted during this event, which approaches heritage from a different angles, beginning with a contemplation of the urban history of African cities and then projecting into their futures.

The importance of educating young people about heritage and its representation was also raised on this occasion.

Speaking at the conference, Lazare Eloundou Assomo, head of UNESCO's World Heritage Center, said that the city of Rabat, by its urban wealth, has demonstrated the possibility of having a partnership between modern cities and historical heritage.

"Rabat has adopted an approach ensuring that development projects do not negatively impact the outstanding universal value of the property," he stressed.

For his part, Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, noted that this conference is an opportunity to celebrate Africa and to think about the challenges ahead.

"Rabat is not only the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, it is also the symbol of an continent in perpetual evolution," he added.

The conference "African Urban Heritage: Challenges of Preservation and Issues of Development" is part of the celebrations of "Rabat, African Capital of Culture", "10 years of Rabat on the World Heritage List" and the "50 years of the 1972 Convention". It brought together Urban planners, architects, academics, researchers, institutions and stakeholder representatives.