Meeting time: December 14-16, 2021

Meeting location: Online participation

Participants of Jingpohu Lake Global Geopark: Ma Xiaoqun, Fu Chonghua

Meeting Details:

From December 14 to 16, the 9th UNESCO Global Geoparks Conference was held on Jeju Island, South Korea. China's National Forestry and Grassland Administration organized representatives from the National Geopark Network Center, the Global Geoparks Network Office, China's 41 global geoparks, and related candidate sites to participate online.

The theme of this conference was "Fascinating Geoparks," focusing on discussions and reviews of new applications and revalidation projects for some UNESCO Global Geoparks in 2020 and 2021, as well as boundary adjustment applications, including those for the Huangshan UNESCO Global Geopark in China. The meeting highlighted the risks and challenges to the sustainable development of global geoparks, their resilience in combating the COVID-19 pandemic, actions in response to climate change, and their crucial role in advancing the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

During the conference, a series of meetings and events were held, including the Asia Pacific Geoparks Network Coordinators Meeting, the UNESCO Global Geoparks Council Meeting, the UNESCO Global Geoparks Youth Forum, the UNESCO Global Geoparks Advisory Committee Meeting, the UNESCO Global Geoparks General Assembly, the UNESCO Global Geoparks Film Festival Awards Ceremony, as well as the UNESCO Global Geoparks Online Exhibition and Jeju Island UNESCO Global Geopark Virtual Tour. The microfilm from Longyan Geopark in China won the second prize at the UNESCO Global Geoparks Film Festival.