July 2025
Every year, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) runs a World Heritage Committee, where countries and passionate professionals from across the globe to inscribe, discuss, conserve and protect the world’s most treasured places – the places that tell the story of who we are.
Important decisions, such as nominating new Sites on the World Heritage List or assessing the state of conservation of existing sites, are made during the committee.
Our Secretary General, Chiara Ronchini, attended this year’s committee in Paris, which was the 47th edition.
Alongside the Committee, several important events were held at the Wallonia-Brussels General Delegation in Paris.
The baton relay ceremony took place between Austria and Belgium for the Chair of The Great Spa Towns of Europe Inter-Governmental Committee. For the next two years, Belgium, through the Walloon Heritage Agency, will assume this presidential role. It’s also a chance to celebrate the historic spa town Spa – the ‘Pearl of the Ardennes’.
In important moments like these, we see the international collaborative spirit of Europe’s spa towns shine through!
The baton relay ceremony kicked off an insightful exhibition about The Great Spa Towns of Europe at the Wallonia-Brussels General Delegation in Paris. The exhibition explored all the characteristics of the towns within The Great Spa Towns of Europe and the history of the European spa phenomenon.
These towns developed around natural springs and sources of curative mineral water and, in harmony with the natural environment, grew into major, fashionable holiday resorts. Self-sustaining and based in nature, these towns were tranquil destinations, used for health and wellness travel from the 18th and 19th centuries. As the towns boomed in popularity, the tradition of ‘taking the cure’ became known as the ‘European spa phenomenon’, which pioneered modern tourism. It’s a unique branch of European history, which is kept alive today as residents, spa guests and tourists explore the spa towns.
The exhibition was organised by the agency of Wallonie-Bruxelles à Paris, Agence wallonne du Patrimoine and Ville de Spa.
Photos © SPW/AWaP – V. Rocher