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The need to establish a network focusing on the ‘revitalization of heritage urban areas to generate creative economy’ was expressed at the 5th culture minister’s meeting of the asia-europe meeting/ asem in september 2012 at yogyakarta, indonesia. this call was echoed at the asia-europe foundation’s (asef) experts’ meeting and public forum on investing in heritage cities: stimulus for sustainable tourism and livelihoods held on 24-25 june 2013 in yangon, myanmar. the idea of establishing the asia-europe network of urban heritage for sustainable creative economies was conceived at the yangon meeting. in response to this call, the asia-europe network of urban heritage for sustainable creative economies was established in december 2013 with its secretariat at the indian national trust for art and cultural heritage (intach), new delhi. the core idea of the experts’ meeting was that a heritage-led development of cities in asia and europe can ensure an attractive environment for people, tourists and business, if based on the specific needs and requirements of local communities. vision – the network seeks to create a whole new paradigm for urban regeneration and revitalization of heritage cities and towns by placing ‘creative economies’ at the core of this process. mission – to design imaginative ways of integrating knowledge, culture, creativity and technology to offer solutions for local communities, thereby enhancing and sustaining heritage-linked local economies for a long-term future. aims – keeping this vision and mission in mind, the network has identified its primary aims as follows: • to understand various aspects of the ‘people-place’ connection, • to identify the ways in which local economies depend on cultural assets, and • to develop approaches for revitalization of heritage cities based on creative economies approach. key objectives – the main objectives of the project are: • to undertake documentation and knowledge sharing activities on some of the key aspects related to the urban revitalization of heritage cities linked to creative economies. • to develop a range of approaches/ solutions involving local communities. • to link creative economies with sustainable management of heritage cities. unique quality – the network employs an inter-disciplinary approach to addressing the issues of livelihood, cohesion, social welfare, local economy, sustainable management and traditional craft skills, and to design creative ways to generate economic opportunities linked to cultural assets in historic towns and areas. a long-term aim is to integrate culture and cultural diversity in sustainable development frameworks. founding partners – the network was founded by europa nostra (en), international institute for the inclusive museum (iim), international national trusts organization (into), yangon heritage trust (yht) and indian national trust for art and cultural heritage (intach). the network was initially supported by the asia-europe foundation, singapore.