The International Centre on Space Technologies for Natural and Cultural Heritage under the Auspices of UNESCO (shortened as “HIST”) held an experts meeting on the afternoon of December 21, 2016. The meeting was an important part of the six-year evaluation which HIST, based in the Institute of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, accepts from the UNESCO Headquarters. Appointed by UNESCO, Professor S. Marsh from the University of Nottingham undertook as the third party the evaluation work of HIST.

Attending the meeting were representatives of the Department of International Cooperation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Secretariat of the National Commission of China for UNESCO, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Secretariat of the Chinese National Committee for Man and the Biosphere Programme, the Chinese Academy of Cultural Heritage, the Office of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network and other UNESCO Category 2 centres. The representative of the CAE-based International Knowledge Centre for Engineering Sciences and Technology under the Auspices of UNESCO (shortened as “IKCEST”) was present at the meeting. Based on IKCEST’s contact and cooperation experience with HIST, the IKCEST representative commented on the work done by HIST, and the future cooperation paths, and fully recognised HIST’s achievements, its capacity and enthusiasm for participating in international cooperation.

Through exchanges with the evaluation experts both at and after the meeting, the IKCEST representative gained a clearer understanding of the process and specification of the UNESCO six-year evaluation and what the evaluation experts would pay special attention to. This will help to lay a foundation for IKCEST to receive the six-year evaluation of the UNESCO Headquarters in 2020.