The World Heritage Centre organized an International Expert Meeting, Prehistory and the World Heritage Convention: Towards an Action Plan and the related thematic studies, at UNESCO Headquarters on 3 to 4 November 2008, to establish the foundations for the future development, strategy and implementation of the initiative, based on discussions between 18 international experts and representatives of the Advisory Bodies ICCROM, IUCN and ICOMOS.

Following the meeting, three main thematic areas were established: Human Evolution, Rock Art and Prehistoric Sites, and a calendar of activities were proposed to structure subsequent developments based on these three key areas.