During the opening ceremony of the International Year of Astronomy, which took place on 15 January 2009, the Director-General of UNESCO officially launched the cycle of activities "Astronomy and World Heritage: across time and continents". One of the main activities of this cycle is the International Conference on "Astronomy and World Heritage: across time and continents", to be hosted by the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan (Russian Federation) 19 - 24 August 2009.